The short answer, yes!
What is SEO Anyway?
SEO, short for Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of using various content--landing pages, blog posts, etc.--to best meet the requirements of search engines (Google, Bing, and so on) and ultimately rank high for useful keywords. For example, when a user types a service or product into a search engine, this query (grouping of keywords) is analyzed by the search engine, which then delivers up the best results to match whatever the search may have been. Often, results will show informational Wikipedia pages, directory sites like Yelp or eCommerce websites such as Amazon, because these websites yield numerous pertinent results pertaining to the user's input. So, how does one make their site show up?
Using SEO on Your Website
While search engine algorithms and website technology are always changing, many fundamental practices still remain effective with SEO. For instance, generating content that is original, organic and useful for searchers is still very effective at helping your site's ranking. Content should be created often, but not be redundant, and as stated previously, should never be plagiarized--this can actually get your site banned off of search engines.
Another useful practice is keeping your site lean. Websites that load slowly due to poor programming, bloat, and/or low quality servers will often not rank as high as sites that have these bases covered.
The list continues on for items that need to be addressed to rank high, from security to optimizing your websites code for search engines, but we'll save those details for another post.
Is SEO Still Effective?
If it weren't, we wouldn't be seeing the results we do with our clients. SEO is certainly still effective, and arguably the most effective means of marketing currently available. SEO offers more visibility through the internet than print and signage, often at less than half the cost--your site is available everywhere with an internet connection 24 hours, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Websites are dynamic content that can be interactive and can collect real-time data from users, unlike other forms of advertising. Lastly, our marketing campaigns often exceed more than a 100% ranking increase for our client's over a three to six month period: the data really says it all. Altogether, it's safe to state that SEO is here to stay and help business owners connect to their customers for the foreseeable future.
Interested in SEO? We certainly are here at SMM! Contact us today to get a website analysis or start your online marketing campaign.
