Impact of Search Engine Optimization on your Business

What is Search Engine Optimization, also referred to as SEO, and what role does it play in your business? In very simple terms, SEO means optimizing your website such that your website ranks higher on the search engine’s results page. This optimization of your website should be done in a way that meets the needs of your target audience, while also improving your website traffic and lead conversions. With SEO, you can grow your online presence, build your brand reputation, and drive more traffic and sales. There are many points to keep in mind while optimizing your website or local business listing on a search engine. Today we will throw some light on how you can start with building the SEO strategy for your business, as a local listing as well as your website. Below are some points to start with- • Identify your goals • Know your target audience • Competitor research • Identity relevant keywords • On-page optimization • Off-page optimization • Off-page optimization

Identify your goals

It is very important to know and identify your goals. Your goals should be S.M.A.R.T, as in Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Whether you want to build your brand awareness, reach more people with your blogs, or get more sales and lead conversions, is what you need to decide at this stage.

Know your target audience

Once you have identified your goals, you should be able to think and visualize who your target audience should be. Knowing your target audience will help you in reaching out to people who may need your services, and this will aid in your growth as well. You can even narrow down your target audience to their demographics, region, interests, and so on.

Competitor Research

Before starting any actual work on optimization, you should also know and analyze your competitors. You can also check the SEO metrics of your competitor using various tools like Ubersuggest, Ahrefs, and so on.

Identify relevant keywords

Now, comes the part of keyword research. You would want your local business listing or your website to be in the top results of SERPs when they are searched with relevant keywords. These keywords are specific to the kind of services you are providing, and with proper optimization, you might rank higher when these phrases are searched for. You can use various tools like Google keyword planner, Ubersuggest, etc., for finding out the right keywords for your business.

On-page optimization

This is the optimization that we do on our website. This consists of content optimization, meta tags optimization, page performance optimization, and internal linking. The content on our website should be unique with relevant keywords. Our website should contain appropriate title tags and meta descriptions for each page, to rank higher in SERPs. Our page-loading speed should be as minimum as possible, and there should be internal links within the website. A good user interface and user experience are essential for the on-page optimization of our website.

Off-page optimization

The optimization that we do external to our website is known as off-page optimization. This mainly consists of getting quality backlinks from relevant sources, and this increases our website’s and brand’s authority on the web. This consists of directory submission, blog submission, social bookmarking, article submission, guest blogging, email outreach, local listings, forum posting, etc. A successful SEO strategy consists of both on-page and off-page optimization.