SEO, Google Search, and Your Business

SEO and Google search

People search Google 3.5 billion times per day. Now days, even kids less than 5 years say – “Google it!”
Often at the beginning of the purchase journey over 2/3 of buyers search when making a purchase decision. So, imagine  if you’re not on the list you probably be losing out on business. Once you have the website you need make it appear on the first list. Doing this requires SEO. In fact, you need to understand the principles of SEO even if you are hiring an online marketing company to do this task for you.

Higher rankings = better visibility = more enquiries

What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is the process of getting your website to show up naturally on search engines results without having to pay for it. It is combined from the page titles, descriptions and content that you have added on the website.

What is the significance of SEO to your business?

Search Engine Optimization is a tactic you can use to increasing your business website’s ranking. You can have the opportunity to rank on Google search first page if you know how to use this well.
Its like you need to be visible rock in big mountain. Your awesome content will remain invisible if you do not implement the basics of SEO. You are practically non-existent if you are not on top of SEPR (search engine page results).
6 SEO tips to get to the top of Google

  1. Optimize for RankBrain, ’Near me’ search queries, Natural language and voice search
  2. Well structured website
  3. Location with NAP information
  4. Get discovered with best keywords
  5. Focused user experience
  6. Mobile first

1. Optimization for RankBrain, ‘Near me’ search queries, Natural language and voice search

RankBrain is Google’s machine-learning AI system, which has been revealed by Google to one of the top three ranking factors in its vast array of contributing factors. Google uses RankBrain to handle ambiguous or unique questions that have never been asked before. Brand new queries make up to 15% of all searches a day. Since RankBrain is helping Google’s search engine deliver more appropriate results then your content should have the following:

  • Answer problems your target audience are having and may search for solutions online.
  • Your content should cover the topics ultimately including references and supporting information
  • Dump keyword focusing and include a natural language to convey your topic.
  • Focus on search term frequency within the content and the importance of those terms to that content

You can do the optimization in a number of ways, the most important being… Create content that answers unique queries that are particularly relevant to your audience personas.
‘Near me’ search is the micro-moment. According to Google, ’micro-moments’ are the “critical touch points within today’s consumer journey, and when added together, they ultimately determine how that journey ends.”
This basically points to mobile as being the key driver for local search, and how essentially you should be optimizing for exactly that.
Voice is a fast-rising trend in search, as the proliferation of digital assistants and the advances in interpreting natural language queries make voice searching easier and more accurate.

voice-search-queries

But the figures from Meeker’s report show exactly to what extent voice search has grown over the past eight years, since the launch of the iPhone and Google Voice Search in 2008. Google voice queries have risen more than 35-fold from 2008 to today, according to Google Trends, with “call mom” and “navigate home” being two of the most commonly-used voice commands.

2. Well structured information architecture for website

Website information structure for SEO purposes of your web site should help users find the information they want in the quickest possible way and at right place, this is your main objective.

What serves users well will naturally serve search engines too.

Essential pages trustworthy websites
About Us – A well designed about page improves the credibility and trustworthiness of a web site.
Contact Page – Should serve your visitors with pertinent contact information like email, phone and business address.
Privacy Policy – Search engines, like Google, like it when websites have a privacy policy in place.
Sitemap – Help visitors easily find and access all of your website content from one page. This would be different than an XML sitemap for search engines.
URL Structure: The format of your permalinks should describe the basis of the content of each webpage. If you have WordPress, opt to enable clean permalinks vs. id post permalinks. I.e., www.yourwebsite.com/aboutus vs www.yourwebsite.com/%page#?name%

3. Location with NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) Information

As search engines, like Google, become more advanced they will rely on more offsite signals to determine the legitimacy of a business and local ranking of the businesses website. Make sure your Name, Address, and Phone number is correct. Nothing kills your chances of success faster than bad contact information. Also, make sure your website lists your NAP information (name, address, and phone number).
Unlike other aspects of Google search, Google Maps provide your company name, address, and a clickable phone number, so the 50% of Google local searches done via a smart phone can call you on the way to your store. If you give a bum address or phone number, it severely diminishes your chances of a good ranking.
Get Reviews for your Google Maps listing. Next ask your current clients for reviews of your business.

4. Get discovered with best keywords

One of the most fundamental steps when starting your search engine optimization campaign in 2018, is finding targeted keywords that prospects will use when finding your local business online.
If you are just starting out its important to have realistic expectations on SEO. You are not going to rank #1 for your local business in your community overnight.
Your best focus is to target traffic in the city tied to your companies business address. Targeting competitive regions should be done after basic SEO goals have been set and achieved.

5. Focused user experience

The user experience has a direct impact on your website structure and site-wide SEO. Remember the goal is to give people what they want as fast as possible with ‘Aha!’ moment. Delays or confusion due to poor UX can increase your bounce rate and conversions.
Original Content: Original content is becoming more important than ever. The more original content that you can produce, image, video, or written content, the more users with actionable intent will be attracted to your website. People like things that they can quickly digest.
Navigation: The navigation of your website should help first time visitors access information as efficiently as possible. Group related pages like products and services together so it makes sense.
Breadcrumbs: Try using breadcrumbs to inform visitors where they are and how they can get back to where they were. Its a visual back button that also helps search engines group our related content together effectively.
Search box: If you have a large site with deep content, try having a search box for visitors to use. Remember, sometimes search boxes are not practical if your site has just a few pages.

6:Mobile first

With mobile search becoming such a dramatic part of online search, it’s absolutely crucial that you optimize your site in 2018 so that it is seen by searchers and engines. According to Google, the top three positions on a search page matter even more in mobile world since the digital shelf gets really small on mobile devices.

Summary

A good SEO strategy will not only benefit your sites placement in search engines, but also the usability of your site. Its not impossible to achieve it. Simple tips can help you. A good SEO helps your customers to find it easy. That means more business!

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