Whether it’s pay-per-click marketing or cost-effective outreach services, businesses are spending more and more on their digital presence. Why? In short, it’s down to the power of the search engine.
Seen by many as a tool for basic trivia, search engines are actually one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to your company’s success. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the importance of search engines and just how many customers they provide for your business.
Crunching the numbers
According to Data Reportal, a massive 81% of people use search engines to find a product or service this wish to buy. In other words, 4 out of every 5 of your customers could potentially be generated by a search engine.
But not if they can’t find you. The rather large caveat here is that the number of customers that come from search engines depends on how well your business is ranking on them.
If somebody searches for the products you sell or the services you provide, for example, and your business doesn’t show up, then they won’t become a customer. That means you could be missing out on a huge market if you’re not properly optimizing your site to help customers find you.
How exactly? The answer is a combination of both on- and off-page SEO.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO is entirely under your control. It’s simple things like content that incorporates keywords that your customers are searching for. It also takes into account things like image optimization and duplicate content. In simple terms, it’s a search engine checking how suitable your site is for its users by looking specifically at your site.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO is slightly more complex but no less important. As the name suggests, it focuses on factors that are off your site – and to some extent out of your control…
Backlinks
Backlinks are when a website links to your website. They are one of the most important parts of off-page SEO. Google uses an algorithm called PageRank which looks at the quality and quantity of backlinks to your web page.
It’s important to remember that while quantity can help, it’s the quality of the sources that are backlinking to you that are most important. Spam-filled websites will only hurt your SEO, while top-quality websites with authority that have relevance will help.
Your anchor text (the text used to create the link) is also important. Link in a natural, relevant way – don’t force it, as this could also count against you.
Google My Business
A well-optimized Google My Business page can be an important factor in how your business is found. Google My Business is a business profile you can create (for free) with Google. However, you must optimize it well. This involves inputting your information as accurately as possible and completing as many of the Google prompts as possible. While some of the prompts like photos won’t help with your listing, they WILL help with conversion, so they’re still important to complete.
The same is true for NAP citations, which stands for name, address, and phone, on several online directories.
Reviews
The more genuine and positive reviews you have on third-party sites, the better your ranking will be. Negative reviews will, obviously, do the opposite, so ensure you ask customers who you believe have received top-notch service for a review.
Interesting Related Article: “Search Engine Optimization Tactics For Business“