You might have heard about SEO without really understanding what it means. Here are the meat and potatoes of SEO so you can strengthen your business’s organic search performance. 

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. OK! But what does that mean? Every time you search for something through Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo or any other search engine, there are millions of results. SEO is the process of developing website copy that helps your website become one of the top listings for a specific set of keywords. As you refine content on your site, your ranking should improve, and ultimately more traffic will be driven to your site by search engines. A top listing among search engines helps users view your content as trustworthy and builds brand awareness.  

How can I use SEO to my advantage?

Let’s break it down. Imagine that you are the owner of an art studio and you are creating a website. Start by identifying  search terms related to your content or terms that you’d like people to use to find your site online. In this example, these might include words like “Memphis artists,” “art shows,” and others. Once you have identified these keywords, start incorporating them into your website content. It’s important to note that you should include these keywords in important areas of your site so that Google and other search engines have an idea of what your page is about, according to this YouTube video from SEO expert Brian Dean. Additionally, adding pictures, videos and other engaging content increases your credibility. Your website will then be bumped up higher in the search results from this effort. 

Learning more about LSI keywords can help with SEO as well. LSI keywords help Google make sure that your site is relevant to a particular topic. For example, if your target keywords were “Gilmore Girls,” LSI keywords might be “Rory,” “Stars Hollow” or “Chilton.” You can find some great LSI keywords by searching for a topic in Google and scrolling all the way down to see the words in bold. By incorporating those connected keywords into your content, you can increase your search engine ranking.

Getting others to link to your site is another great way to improve your ranking among other search options. But how do you do this without asking outright? One option is to create amazing content that other websites will want to link to. When creating content, be sure to get to the important information first. If users have to scroll and scroll to find the answer to their search on your site, they will quickly find another source of information to use as a resource. This hurts your ranking! 

SEO can seem like a daunting subject. Understanding how it works and how to make use of it will ultimately put you at the top of the results and drive traffic to your site. Happy keyword searching, y’all!