A Beginners Guide to SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) dates back to the 90s when search engines first emerged. Fast-forward to 2020 and SEO is now an essential marketing strategy, as well as a fast-growing industry.

70% of marketers say improving SEO and growing their organic presence is their top inbound marketing priority. But what is it exactly? Simply put, (SEO) is a process of improving positions in organic (non-paid) search results in search engines. The point? The higher the website is in search results the more people see it, and doing so successfully with no upfront payment is a win that any business will want to take.

There’s no need to worry either if you are completely unfamiliar with SEO or just know a little, you’re okay. There are simple things you can learn and execute to get you started.

Is it difficult? There’s a lot that goes into SEO success, and top search engines like to keep us on our toes with algorithm updates all the time or even keep some ranking factors a secret; however, with 3 key factors that we do know (and lots of research and practice), SEO success can be easier than you think.

1. The Technical Side: This has everything to do with your website. That means site speed, mobile-friendliness, and overall User Experience (UX).

2. Content: This is as simple as it sounds. If the content you offer is bad, your ranking will be too.

3. Quality Backlinking: Gaining links that send people from one site to yours is a great way to create an authority with search engines. However, not all backlinks are created equal. You must make sure that all sites backlinking to you are creditable and offer valuable content.

Now, with those 3 factors in mind, here’s how to get started successfully.

Basics

To really find success, you must know what your customers are actually searching for. Think of yourself as your customer, ask others their opinion, and come up with phrases you would use when searching for your business and/or products.

From here, start searching these phrases into popular search engines and start making notes on what seems to be popping up. You’ll start to notice specific keywords continually show. These are important as they are likely the most popular keywords being used for your products/services.

This list of keywords you will gain will assist you with your content and make sure that your website gets pulled more often than not with the keywords people are searching for. This is why content is so important.

The more content you have, the more options you have to rank in search results. However, as mentioned above, your content still needs to be good content. What makes it good? Keep it relevant to your business/products, use proper keywords, include imagery, and overall create something people care to see/read.

Do’s and Don’ts

DO use the mid-range keywords in your list when starting SEO and invest in your success later for broader and more competitive keywords.

DON’T repeat the same keyword everywhere. This can cause you to get filtered.

DO build a strong base of deep links throughout your content and site.

DON’T rely on text only. Videos are king and images should be included as much as possible.

DO optimize your site for mobile.

DON’T invest so much in ads over good content.

With 93% of online experiences beginning with a search engine, it’s obvious why SEO matters. Whether you take baby steps to begin with or fully invest, SEO optimization is something that won’t be a mistake. Of course, if you need help, we have SEO experts here at AIM to get you ranking with the best of them.

Give us a call to get started.