What is SEO? Business Owners: Learn How SEO Can Help Get You More Business

Business owners, you know that SEO is important, but do you know why? Discover why you need to optimize your site to reach new customers.

As a small to medium size business, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Nowadays few companies need to be convinced of the importance of search – heck, you probably use search engines like Google and Bing every day yourself to look up everything from which hotel to stay at during your next business trip based on what hotel has the best reviews to what new smart phone to buy (iPhone vs. Android). But many businesses don’t know how to get SEO search results for their own business’ website.

More importantly, most business owners or managers simply don’t have the time (or desire) to keep up with the constant SEO algorithm changes that Bing and Google search masters pass down that over the years has caused today’s integration of search, content marketing, reputation and social. Simply put: No other kind of marketing offers the power of search – so it’s important that you understand at least the basics of SEO and how you can start using those strategies on your site ASAP.

So what is SEO and how can you use (SEO) strategies to help your business’ site rank higher? Funny you should ask…

Why You Need An SEO Business Strategy

With most marketing strategies you are interrupting people while they’re doing something else. But people who are searching for your business, products or services online are literally raising their hands and screaming “I want you to show me what you got!” Bottom line: If your customers can’t find you, they can’t buy from you. Sounds simple; right? Whether you’re selling low-priced consumer goods or high-end, high-priced, high-tech products or services, your customers use the Internet to search, research and compare product reviews, services and ultimately businesses themselves to determine who they will trust their money – and business – with. Will it be with your company?

Think about it: when you look for information about products or services you’re thinking about buying, you probably go on the Internet first and do a Google search; right? Well, your customers are doing the exact same thing. Seventy-four percent of shoppers start their product research on search engines. Wait a minute, though, SEO is not just for shoppers who want to make a purchase online. For those of you who sell high-ticket items or services with (perhaps) longer sales cycles, the numbers don’t change too much: 77 percent of Americans begin their search for health-related topics with search engines and 78 percent of B2B buyers begin with searches.

You simply can’t fight or argue against SEO any more: No matter what kind of business you have, your customers are online and they’re searching. Search leads to sales. That’s what you’re after; right? It’s why you’re in business. The only big question is: Are people finding you or one of your competitors when they do a search online?