SEO

This section will cover what search engine optimization is, why it is important to optimize a website, who you want to optimize for, when to start optimizing, where to start and lastly how to begin optimizing your online businesses website.

WHAT IS SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO) //

Search engine optimization (SEO) consists of strategies and tactics used to increase the traffic (site visits) to a website. This is done by earning a high ranking placement in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for search engines such as Google and Bing. Having a well optimized site can make all the difference when it comes to competing in the online industry.

WHY OPTIMIZE //

A search engine will crawl the internet and index pages on websites so that those pages show up in search engines result pages (SERPs). If a website is not indexed by a search engine, users will not be able to find the site when using that search engine. A site that is well optimized will have such keywords strategically placed within a page title and meta description, as well as the content on the page that the customer sees. When search engines are crawling a site, one of the main things they are doing is identifying keywords embedded on the site that are used to describe your business and the product or service you offer. Once a page has been indexed, it allows the search engines to display the top recommended websites for users based on a user’s search query.

Overall, doing quality and consistent search engine optimization on your website is one of the most effective ways to set your business apart from the competition. Not only can it make the search engines job easier when indexing the site, but it can also reflect positively on your rankings, ultimately making it easier for potential consumers to find your website on top pages.

WHO TO OPTIMIZE FOR //

When optimizing your website, it’s important to keep in mind that you’re not just optimizing for search engines, but also for the people doing the searching. While you are trying to gear your website towards the search engines, the search engines are geared towards its end users by providing them the best results possible. With that being said, when writing and tying keywords into your page titles, meta descriptions and page content, you want to also keep in mind that the people conducting the actual searches will be reading these descriptions as well. This is important because most consumers that shop online start the buying process by entering a keyword term (search query) into a search engine in order to find the product or service that they’re looking for. Because of this, you want to make sure that these elements read well from a customer’s standpoint.

Once a page has been indexed, it allows the search engines to display the top recommended websites for users based on a user’s search query. Again, this is why you want result page to be both informative and for it to read well. Overall, doing quality and consistent search engine optimization on your website is one of the most effective ways to set your business apart from the competition.

WHEN TO OPTIMIZE //

Optimizing your website is something you can do both before and after your website is set live. However, having some optimization done prior to going live is recommended as it will help the search engines index the site. Once you are live, search engines do like to see that you’re constantly working on making updates and changes to the website in the effort of creating a better user experience for visitors. Overall, most online retail businesses are adding new products, new categories and new brands on a regular basis, so optimization is generally an ongoing process.

WHERE TO START //

Before you begin to optimize content on your website, you’re going to need to start by doing some keyword research. This research will identify the keywords that will be most beneficial for you to target for the products or services you offer. This process may take a little bit of time but it is extremely important. Simply guessing or assuming what the best keywords may be can get you into trouble and you may end up with high levels of competition, or the terms you choose might not be relevant at all.

To conduct keyword research, one of the recommended free tools you can use is the ‘Google AdWords Keyword Planner Tool’. This tool can be used to identify the top keywords to target by taking into consideration the level of competition and monthly search volume (how often the keyword is searched for each month). Once you’ve done some research and put together a list of keywords you want to target, you can then use the top keywords and incorporate them into your product, category or brand page titles, meta descriptions and on-page content to help optimize those pages of the site.

For more information on the Keyword Planner Tool and how to use it, you can visit the following link: https://support.google.com/adwords/answer/2999770. We are also working on a guide that will walk you through using the keyword planner tool.

HOW TO OPTIMIZE //

As you continue to read through this guide you will learn several tips and see several examples of how to optimize your website.