The internet has given us more than just cute cat videos and instant updates on the Kardashians over the last twenty years. It has also changed the game in marketing, making it more competitive, more costly, and more time-consuming. And if you aren’t using web-based marketing at all, you’re bound to lose.
In order to grow your business, you need to develop a strong online presence that potential clients can easily find. This can be achieved with an effective SEO marketing plan.
What’s SEO? We’re glad you asked! Welcome to SEO Marketing 101.
The Basics of SEO Marketing
In order to get more traffic to your website (and therefore more business), it comes down to one thing: boosting your ranking on Google and other search engines. Search engines are the gatekeepers of online information: storing and sorting billions of webpages to help Average Joe’s find the right information at the right time.
The beauty of a search engine is that Joe is coming to you. If Google knows you have what Joe is looking for, you’ve got a potential lead right there. But in order to get the Average Joe (or Jane) to see your webpage, you need to get Google to notice you. How? We’re glad you asked!
Search Engine Optimization.
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, is a kind of webpage that you incorporate into your website in order to catch Google’s attention and boost your ratings.
You develop SEO pages by writing quality content that is based around select “keywords.” These keywords are simply potential words or phrases that the Average Joe would search on Google. And by building your content around these phrases, you can get noticed by Google and have your web page appear higher on the search engine’s listing.
Still with us? Great. Then let’s have a quick look at keywords.
Keywords: The Long and Short of It
When finding keywords to incorporate into your SEO pages, it is important to realize that you are entering the Hunger Games.
Businesses worldwide are fighting for popular keywords that they can use for their SEO pages. For some popular keywords, there’s even a price to use them!
But don’t fret. You don’t have to get those broad, ‘short tail’ keywords like “vacation home” or “orthopedic surgeon” in order to achieve successful SEO. In fact, you probably don’t want to use short tail keywords at all.
If you are a dentist in the Greater Philadelphia Area specializing in whitening treatments, you may think to use short tail keywords like “dental whitening.” However, even if you do manage to make it on the first page of Google, most people searching for this term are probably just looking for a do-it-at-home whitening guide. They will likely skip over a dental website, especially as they most likely live outside the Philadelphia area.
In order to target real potential clients, use long tail keywords (3-5 words) that only real clients would be searching, such as “professional whitening near Philly.”
How We Can Help
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re total nerds when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (and Star Wars, of course). We’re all about developing great, attention-getting content. If you’re looking to improve your web presence with an SEO marketing plan, contact us, and we can help you get started on outlining a keyword strategy today!
