What is SEO and How Can it Help My Business?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results. The higher your website ranks, the more likely people will find it. And, of course, the more traffic your website gets, the more potential customers you have. As a business owner, you must have a solid understanding of what SEO is and how it can help your business.

SEO can be a complex and ever-changing field, but there are some basics that all business owners should know. In this blog post, we’ll cover some of the most important aspects of SEO so you can make sure your website is as search engine friendly as possible.

Keywords

One of the most important aspects of SEO is choosing the right keywords. Keywords are the words or phrases people use when searching for something online. If you want your website to rank higher in search results, you need to use relevant keywords throughout your content. 

But beware—keyword stuffing (filling your content with so many keywords that it becomes difficult to read) will not only turn off potential customers, but it will also get you penalized by Google. So, how do you choose the right keywords? Start by thinking about what potential customers might be searching for when looking for a business like yours. Then, use keyword research tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner to see how often those words are being searched for and how difficult it will be to rank for them.

Once you’ve chosen your keywords, place them strategically throughout your website’s title, meta tags, headers, and content. But don’t forget—quality is still more important than quantity when it comes to keywords!

Meta Tags

Meta tags are HTML elements that provide information about a web page—they don’t appear on the page itself but appear in search engine results pages (SERPs). There are four main types of meta tags: title tags, meta descriptions, header tags (H tags), and alt tags.

Title tags and meta descriptions are probably the two most important types of meta tags when it comes to SEO—they’re what show up in SERPs when someone searches for a keyword that you’ve used on your website. That’s why it’s important to ensure your title tags and meta descriptions are clear, concise, and engaging. A good rule of thumb is to keep your title tags under 60 characters and your meta descriptions under 155 characters.

Header tags (H tags) are used to indicate headings and subheadings on a web page; they range from H1 (the largest and most important heading) to H6 (the smallest heading). You should use H tags sparingly—usually just for your titles and subheadings—and ensure they accurately reflect the hierarchy of the information on your page. For example, suppose you have an H1 tag, an H2 tag, an H3 tag, and a regular text body copy. In that case, that means your H1 heading is the most crucial piece of information on that page, followed by the H2 heading, which is less important than the H1 but more important than the H3, which is less important than the H2 but more important than regular text body copy.

As a business owner, it’s essential to have at least a basic understanding of SEO and how it can help your business grow. Optimizing your website for search engines using relevant keywords and effective meta tags ensures that potential customers can find your site easily when they’re searching for businesses like yours. Of course, SEO can be complex and ever-changing field—but luckily, there are plenty of resources out there (including our blog!) to help you stay up-to-date on all things SEO.