Over 74,000.
That’s how many search queries Google processes every second. That totals up to 6.4 billion searches every single day. Think about it—how many times a day do you search for something using Google, or some other search engine? How else would you find out what you missed in “Game of Thrones?”
The fact is, if you’re marketing a brand or a company, you need to be there when someone searches for something you offer. And that means paying attention to Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
In other words, it's time to make sure your website doesn’t get lost in those 6.4 billion searches per day.
WHAT IS SEO?
At Sales Factory, we define SEO as the practice of increasing a website or web page's visibility in organic (non-paid) search engine results. This definition can be more easily understood in two parts: the search engine and the optimization.
Search engines are, of course, sites you visit, like Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. Through search engines, your site should be suggested to those who are looking for information or answers to questions your site answers or looking for services you have to offer.
But how do the search engines know which results to display? Crawlers, or website-scanning bots, and algorithms set in place by the search engine work together to find and catalog content and evaluate that content’s relevance to each individual search.
As the search engines decide which of the relevant results to display first, the quality of your site is also taken into account. Factors like links from trusted sites, how many users you attract and engage, site speed, and mobile friendliness help search engines create a perception of your site’s overall credibility.
So, the search engine bit of SEO is done behind the scenes, and involves crawling, indexing, and algorithms. And though you can’t control the search engine algorithms, you can impact how they see your content. That's where optimization comes in.
Here, optimization is all about making sure that the content you’re creating aligns with what your potential customers are out there searching for and that the structure and functionality of your website is in tip-top shape so search engines can fully grasp what it’s all about. If you can win over the robot, it’s likely you’ve got what it takes to win over the person searching.
Even better, the more you optimize your content toward what your likely customers want and what search engines like to see, the more frequently you’ll appear in search engines’ top-of-page results—prime online real estate.
TLDR: Well-done SEO can ensure that those looking for what you have to offer can find you quickly, and that users pointed your way through search engines can easily accomplish their intended goal once they land on your site.
WHY IS SEO IMPORTANT?
When we need to know something, we search for it online—it’s our first inclination. If we want to educate ourselves before making a purchase, even when we’re in a store aisle with the product right in front of us, we tend to Google it. Search is how we inform our decisions, making attention to SEO more crucial than ever.
Moz, a leading player in the world of SEO, refers to the practice as “one of the only online marketing channels that, when set up correctly, can continue to pay dividends over time.” If you’re producing quality content that aligns with your business and incorporates relevant keywords, your content will continue to receive high-opportunity traffic.
TLDR: SEO pays. Refining your content and your website gives you a better chance of showing up at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) for users who are already looking for exactly what you have to offer.
FEELING LIKE A WINNER?
It’s never a bad idea to reach out for professional help when it comes to something as complex as SEO strategy. At Sales Factory, we have a team of digital masterminds who can make sure your audience gets to your site and stays there. From identifying search terms we’re certain people are using and aligning language and content focus with that knowledge, to evaluating and optimizing the content structure and user experience, our ultimate SEO goal is driving the results our clients are looking for.
Want to win business through SEO? Reach out to our New Business team, and they’ll help you get started.