In a world influenced by instant gratification, most can agree that when looking for a business, rarely do we find ourselves on the second page of a Google search. The most clicked search engine results are within the first five, especially if they include a short description, contact information, images, or a map. Website visits go to those with the fastest, most convenient information.
As we spend June focusing on search engine optimization, it is important to recognize that how consumers search is rapidly changing. According to Forbes magazine, at the midpoint of 2015, if your website lacks SEO, it will inevitably fail…quickly. Businesses everywhere are cashing in on the opportunity to improve their search rankings. In fact, more businesses are even using negative SEO, creating millions of online links for a competitor, ultimately driving down the search ranking. The business of SEO has become competitive, strategic, and increasingly independent.
Just last year, the main form of online connection to consumers was by way of links. Now, Google claims that consumers are mainly attracted to tag lines, tag words, and hashtags. Google is trying to evolve their search engine to be more organic and less technical; this means it’s becoming focused on how people are searching for the things they want. It’s about creating a relationship with the consumer. For example, instead of searching for one word or a pure link, people are using sentences, phrases, and thoughts. So to keep up, Google now pulls keywords from such phrases to get closer to what the consumer is looking for. What does this mean for SEO? Simple terms are no longer enough, and long-tail keywords must be integrated into all of your content.
Perhaps the newest evolution in SEO is social media integration. Billions are on the social media radar, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram. The content shared globally is massive, and for SEO it was useless because it couldn’t be pulled efficiently, until now. Google is beginning to pull content, keywords, and images mainly from social media to make searches tailored to consumer needs. People voice their opinions on their personal pages rather than a webpage or a search. To find what a consumer wants, one must have a view into their opinions, thoughts, and desires. That’s the beauty of SEO and social media. Google, and now consultants and web designers, are becoming increasingly aware of the major role social media plays in the way consumers search.
It’s clear that SEO is an evolving, but very important aspect of every website and online business plan. Bellagurl recognizes this and is here to help. Sue Ford, our in-house web designer, gave a little insight on how we increase SEO to make your website stand out against the competition.
“The main things we do are coding the content of the site to include keywords and creating a professional, efficient meta description [the description that pops up under your business name on Google when doing a search]. We also like to include images, so when a consumer searches a keyword or phrase, a connected image will appear. Typically, we add alt-tags to images to make this happen.” Achieving that positive SEO that every business wants takes time, effort, and editing, but at Bellagurl, we’re experienced in getting your business to the top level of consumer recognition.
Check out our most recent web projects for Artisan East, the Boys and Girls Club, the Buddy Pelletier Surf Foundation, and High Tech Breeding, where we improved web design, mobile accessibility, and search engine optimization. When you are ready to get serious about your online presence, give us a call. We make marketing that matters.
