SEO

Search engine optimization certainly isn’t new, and at this point, most businesses know that it can help drive more website traffic. Despite this, only 55% of small businesses have invested in SEO marketing. Too many businesses think they don’t need SEO services, or they aren’t sure if the benefits will justify the investment. To help, we assembled a list of reasons why your business needs to seriously consider doing SEO, and key benefits of SEO services.

Why SEO is Important

Search engines aren’t going anywhere

Twenty years ago, we used dictionaries and encyclopedias to search for information. Now, we use search engines. Google alone sees about 63,000 searches every second. While individual search engines and algorithms may change constantly, search engines as a whole are here to stay. If you want your business to be found, you need to optimize your website so it’s visible to search engines.

There’s more competition than ever

In the year 2000, there were 17 million websites online. As of June 2018, there are over 1.8 billion.  So your business is facing drastically more competition than ever before.

Data from internetlivestats.com

If you want to be found online, you can’t just build a website and assume that people will come. Effective SEO helps you rise above your competitors and create a strong online presence that differentiates you from the crowd.

Your competitors are already doing it

Speaking of competition, many of yours are already doing SEO marketing and probably have been for a while. SEO services have been a staple of most digital marketing plans for more than a decade, so if you haven’t started yet, you’re definitely behind. Every day that your competitors are outranking you in search, you are losing more website traffic and potential customers for your business.

If you’re not mobile-friendly, you’re in trouble

As of 2015, more searches were done on mobile devices than desktops, and the mobile trend is only continuing to grow. What’s more, Google recently updated their algorithms to a mobile-first approach and will penalize website designs that aren’t mobile-friendly. Optimizing your website design for mobile devices is a critical part of any SEO strategy, which makes it a must-have in today’s mobile world.

Google values great content, and great content needs SEO

Google has over 200 ranking factors, but the top two are high-quality content and links.  A search engine’s job is to provide the best, most relevant answer to the searcher’s query, and Google has learned that sites with great content often provide those best answers.

Yet even the most well-written piece of content isn’t enough on its own. You need SEO to convince Google that your content really does provide the best answer to your customers’ questions.

 

Why You Should Care About SEO

Now you understand why search engine optimization is important, and why many businesses have chosen to invest in SEO services. But the question still remains: is it right for your business? To help answer that, take a look at these key benefits of effective SEO marketing.

SEO attracts high-quality traffic to your website

One of the big advantages of SEO is it’s an inbound, or “pull” method of marketing. It doesn’t rely on you or your sales team endlessly cold calling or “pushing” your messaging to gain business. Instead, it draws in people who are actively searching for answers related to their questions and problems.

Also, good SEO marketing doesn’t just attract any traffic. It attracts the right traffic by optimizing your online presence to appeal to your target audience and making sure you’re visible in searches about your business and services.

SEO marketing generates more qualified leads

Again, because SEO drives high-quality traffic to your website, you’re attracting people who are more likely to become customers. According to Hubspot’s 2018 State of Inbound, 60% of marketers believe their best leads come from inbound sources like SEO and content, versus only 18% reporting the most success from outbound practices. SEO services go beyond just keywords and actually improve the online experience for your website visitors, which makes them more likely to convert to leads and customers.

SEO decreases your cost per lead vs. paid advertising

Speaking of leads, SEO marketing is typically one of the most cost-effective methods for generating leads, especially compared to paid advertising. While you still need to invest in good SEO management, leads from organic search results don’t cost you anything directly, whereas you’re likely paying a dollar or two for every click from a PPC campaign.

According to research on cost per lead, SEO and Content Marketing deliver the lowest cost per lead at around $14, compared to the $71 for display advertising.

Local SEO drives visits and sales

While only a small piece of the SEO puzzle, local SEO is critical for just about any business with a physical location. According to studies, 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles, and 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase. In short, if you’re a local business, local SEO is an effective way to increase your bottom line.

SEO builds trust and brand awareness

Who would you rather do business with: someone you’ve never heard of, or someone who has helped you out before and answered a bunch of your questions?

Most of us would prefer the latter. SEO marketing helps you get your content in front of potential customers when they’re searching for answers. The more useful you can be, the more likely someone is to think of you and reach out when they’re ready to buy.

You can also gain brand awareness and trust simply by showing up in search results – even if people don’t click through to your website. In psychology, this is called the familiarity principle. Essentially, people tend to prefer things that they have seen or heard of before. So simply being seen in search results or (even better) getting your content displayed in a featured snippet can get your name in front of prospective customers and start building a positive impression.

SEO marketing has long-lasting benefits

Finally, one of the best things about SEO marketing is that the benefits extend far beyond your initial investment. Unlike a pay-per-click campaign, SEO marketing isn’t once-and-done. Well-ranking pages will continue to get organic traffic with no additional spend.

In fact, “evergreen” content, or content that is relevant long past its publication date, will often gain more traffic over time. Take our article on generating leads for your business, for example. It received much more traffic the 2^nd year after it was published. Keep in mind, however, that even with well-ranking content, you should continue to monitor and optimize it to deliver the best results.

So not only is SEO incredibly important for how your customers search and find information, it also brings a myriad of benefits that can help drive more traffic, leads, and revenue for your business. If you need help managing your search efforts, our digital marketing agency offers multiple plans for SEO services. Interested in learning more? Download our e-book!

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When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you don’t just want to rank highly on search results. You also want people to click through to your website. Good title tags and meta descriptions are incredibly important to SEO marketing and enticing searchers onto your website.

What are Title Tags and Meta Descriptions?

Title tags and meta descriptions are the headline and summary that appear on a search engine results page (SERP). They help tell both people and search engines what a specific web page is all about.

Like it sounds, the title tag is a piece of code that identifies the title of the web page. The meta description is a short summary of the page’s content that appears under the title in search results. Both elements show up in the header section of the HTML code for your website, which might look something like this:

Title tags also appear on the top of your web browser to help you identify which page you’re on. They’re especially handy if you like to browse with multiple tabs at once.

While technically only the title tags are part  Google’s ranking algorithm, both are important for SEO marketing. Good titles and descriptions improve the user experience and entice users to click through to your website from search engine results. This in turn shows the search engine that your content is relevant and interesting.

How to Write Good Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

Watch the length: not too short, not too long

Your titles and descriptions should be long enough to contain all your important information, but short enough to display fully without getting cut off. Like Goldilocks, you want them to be “just right.”

For title tags, that sweet spot is between 50-60 characters, according to Moz. Google will sometimes display more characters than that, but it depends. The exact limit is 600 pixels, but because some characters are wider than others (like an “M” vs. an “i”), you may fit as few as 40 or as many as 80.

Google has made a few changes to the length of meta descriptions recently. In December of 2017, they increased the limit from about 155 characters up to about 320 characters. In May 2018, they reduced the length back to 155 characters for desktop, and about 130 characters for mobile.

If you’re still using long meta descriptions, it’s not the end of the world, but we recommend optimizing for the first 110-130 characters.

Avoid duplicate titles & descriptions

Duplicate content is a big “no-no” for search engines, so the same rule applies here. Plus, by using unique titles and meta descriptions for each page, you reinforce to search engines that your content is unique and valuable.

Duplicates often occur when you forget to set your titles and descriptions, and the page simply uses a generic default. “Untitled,” and “Just another WordPress site” are not good titles to encourage users to click, so make sure you make them unique.

Include relevant keywords

You need to make it clear to both users and search engines what your page is about. To do that, make sure you include keywords that relate to the topic or subject matter of the page.

For example, when searching for “Propane Lancaster, PA,” this listing from Worley & Obetz includes multiple relevant keywords, like “propane gas company” “tank refills” and “delivery.” In this case, Google actually expanded the provided meta description to add details about geographical coverage areas.

Don’t keyword stuff

While you want to include relevant keywords, don’t go overboard. In the early days of SEO marketing, you could stuff as many keywords in your title tags and meta description as possible, and search engines would rank you for those terms. Now, search engines have learned to penalize this behavior, which feels forced and “spammy” to users.

In fact, Google is smart enough now to understand related terms and concepts, even if you don’t use the exact same keywords as the searcher. For example, you search for “HVAC repair,” Google knows that terms like “heating” and “air conditioning” are related. So write naturally to describe the main subject, and don’t obsess over fitting in every single keyword.

Put the most important words first in title tags

Studies have shown that people tend to focus on the first 2-3 words of a headline. It makes sense: we read left to right, and many people skim text, rather than reading it completely. Plus, long titles may get cut off and omit important words at the end. So your titles are more likely to make an impact if you include the most important words first.

In addition, keywords closer to the beginning of the title tag may also have more impact on search rankings, according to Moz.

Include your brand name in title tags

People often like to know where content is coming from, so it’s good to include your brand name in your title. Plus, it also gives you credit for your content and builds brand recognition just by showing up on SERP pages, even if users don’t click the link. Google will, in fact, sometimes add your brand name automatically if you don’t already have it, because they know it’s important.

Generally, you should add your brand name to the end of your title tag, typically separated by a | pipe. It should look something like this:

Primary Keywords – Secondary Keywords | Brand Name

The exception is your homepage, where your brand name should come first.

Entice users to click

Your page titles and meta descriptions are like a sales pitch for that web page. Think of them like an ad, and write compelling copy that gets people to click. That means speaking to users’ needs, identifying the benefits of what the page has to offer, and including compelling, active language.

Take this example from a local farm. It highlights the unique benefits of the company’s lactose-free milk product and includes a call-to-action to get an online coupon.

Write for people

Too often, businesses are so focused on optimization and trying to climb in the rankings that they forget their website needs to speak to real people, not just robots. Search engines are getting smarter every day, and they’re increasingly learning to love what people love. When it comes to SEO writing, write for people first. Optimize for search engines second.

Google May Not Use Your Title Tags & Meta Descriptions

Here’s an added complication: Google doesn’t always use the title tags and meta descriptions that you set. If  you aren’t following the best practices above, Google may come up with its own information to display in search results.

Even if you are writing good titles and descriptions, Google may still choose to change what displays to better fit the user’s search query. This is generally a good thing, but it can be frustrating when you can’t force them to use a your information.

To check your title tags and meta descriptions, we recommend using Google’s Webmaster Tools (look under Search Appearance –> HTML Improvements), or an SEO spider tool like Screaming Frog.

Website optimization is key in order for your website to rank well. Our SEO company knows all the technical ins and outs that speak to search engines, such as title tags and meta descriptions. We offer on-page SEO services that will ensure your website is search engine compatible and efficiently optimized for ranking purposes.

If you have any questions about optimizing your title tags, meta descriptions, or other content, let us know – we’d be happy to sit down with you for a free marketing review.

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SEO companies have gotten a bad reputation over the years. Unfortunately, not without just cause. Too many businesses have been burned by supposed SEO experts who guarantee unrealistic results, or use dishonest black hat tactics to try to cheat the system. Even in 2018, our inboxes are still assaulted with spam emails from companies on the other side of the world, claiming to have the secret to ranking #1 on Google.

So when you’re looking for SEO services, what are the major red flags, and how do you spot an SEO scam?

A Practical Example

Last week, a couple of our clients called asking about a suspicious invoice they received from another SEO company. Shortly thereafter, this arrived on our own fax machine:

Behold, an invoice from a company we had never heard of, for a service we didn’t need or want (especially since we’re an SEO company). Clearly, this is a scam – we see a ton of them every day (just ask our IT services division). But even if this wasn’t a fake invoice, it raises some serious issues about legitimate SEO services.

On the surface, this is actually a pretty convincing fake. Under the service summary, it talks about SEO strategies that follow search engine rules, and gaining safe, quality links. Sounds pretty white hat. Looking closer, there are a few things that made us raise our eyebrows, but especially if you’re not familiar with SEO, it can be hard to separate a bad company from a good one.

Here are a few things to look out for:

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google

This is not an opinion. It’s actually a direct quote from Google. While this particular company doesn’t try to guarantee rankings or claim they have a special relationship with Google, many disreputable SEOs do.

In reality, Google’s algorithm always looks for the best, most relevant results, and there’s no way to assure you’ll reach the top spot. Not only is the algorithm constantly changing, but search results vary based on who’s searching when, where, and how. A good SEO should be able to help you drive more quality organic traffic to your website, but it’s generally irresponsible for them to guarantee specific rankings or results.

Beware promises of thousands of links

A link is like a vote that endorses the value of your website. Imagine if a company promised a political candidate thousands of votes in an upcoming election. Sound shady? That’s essentially what many black hat SEO companies do.

Ideally, link building is an organic process where people discover your content and love it so much that they share it and link back to you. The best SEO companies can do a lot to optimize your content and build relationships with industry and media outlets that may help promote it. A company who is promising tons of backlinks is probably doing so with low-quality or even toxic links that may hurt your business.

The SEO scam above specifically talks about free directory links. This is true. There are thousands of business directories that list your business’s name and contact information, which are important, especially for local SEO. However, you don’t just want to get a link from these directories, you also need to ensure your business information is accurate and consistent. Furthermore, you still want a more diverse portfolio of links than just directories.

>> Related Article: Local SEO: What is Is and How it Works

Be cautious of vague or secret SEO strategies

SEO is complicated, no doubt. Between algorithms and keywords and content optimization, there’s a lot to know. But despite the complexity, best practices for SEO are well researched and well documented. They’re no secret.

Any SEO company that claims to have a secret process or can’t explain what they’re doing and why is suspect. Trust us, they haven’t singlehandedly cracked Google’s algorithm. A good SEO company should be able to outline a specific plan for your business, including things like keyword research, competitor research, website audits, content creation, and outreach or link building strategies.

Make sure they talk about content

Years ago, SEO may have been little more than keyword stuffing. Today, while keywords and technical SEO are still an important piece of the puzzle, search engines have gotten a lot more sophisticated. Search engines are trying to return the best and most relevant answer, which means they’re looking for the source with the best information. Content is how you provide that relevant answer.

For example, try Googling “best restaurants in Lancaster, PA.” The top organic results aren’t restaurants. They’re all articles or lists of popular restaurants in the area. Search engines know that content about the top restaurants is more useful to the searcher than simply listing the restaurant websites in the search results.

SEO and content are inextricably linked today. You can’t do SEO without quality content to optimize, and it’s a waste of time for you to create great content that no one can find. Whenever you’re looking at SEO services, make sure you’re having a conversation about content.

Good SEO services cost more than $95.87

If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is – and that remains true here. Scam SEO companies will always claim that they do better for less, but the simple truth is that good SEO services don’t come cheap.

According to a survey from Rand Fishkin of Moz, SEO agencies reported monthly billings ranging anywhere from $500-10,000/month per client. Small or medium size businesses would likely fall closer to $500-2500/month.

Regardless, the $95.87 on the fake invoice is suspiciously low. Likely, that would only pay for an hour or so of SEO work. Think there’s an SEO company out there that can do keyword research and write, publish, and promote optimized content that will improve your search traffic in an hour? Me neither.

When in doubt, ask!

If you’re working with or considering working with an SEO company, and you have any doubts about their services, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask the company to explain their service offerings, and get second opinions from other SEO experts. We’re always happy to answer questions and/or assist with your SEO service needs, plus you can post questions on active SEO chat forums like Moz Q&A.

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