Optimization and why you should consider SEO
We get asked a lot about SEO because our websites are optimized when they are delivered to our customers. “Why do I need SEO? Isn’t my website is optimized?” is a common question we receive. The team at DRC Web Design, an Ottawa-based web design agency, thought it would be best to discuss what is meant by these terms and how they differ.
An optimized website
Every website that we create for our clients is optimized form the get-go with the foundations that you need to have a fast website that is easy for your customers to find and navigate. This includes various techniques we use to ensure you have a great website for your business that will help you generate leads. Here are just a few things that are included on our checklist for a new website launch:
- Google Analytics and Google Search Console set up and running
- All site tags and meta-titles are optimized for the business’ keywords
- All links on pages go where they’re meant to, including redirects if necessary
- An SSL is installed to make the website secure
- A sitemap is correct and submitted to Google for indexing
- All pages are mobile-optimized
However, the foundations we implement for your website to be optimized out of the box are just that, foundations. There are over 200 factors that affect your website’s ranking and they aren’t all things that can just be checked off a list and left alone. Website optimisation is an ongoing process and it needs a lot of attention if you want your business to do well online.
This is where SEO or Search Engine Optimisation comes into play and this is where we have plenty of room to make changes to your website that will make it perform better among your competitors.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process of growing the organic (non-paid) visibility of your website in search engine results. It involves both technical and creative elements that are required to improve your website’s rankings, increase awareness and drive more traffic. There are many aspects to SEO, including the words on your page and how other websites link to your own. At its core, it is all about making your website’s structure easier to understand for search engines, but it is an ongoing process as rules change and your competition is ever-evolving to outpace you.
SEO isn’t only about making your website friendly for search engines though. It’s about creating a better experience for people too. If your website is easy to navigate and they can easily access the information they need while being directed where you want them to go, then your website will perform better.
If a website is created and then never edited or updated, search engines will think it is dormant and this affects the relevancy of your website. Search engines like Google want to provide their users with the best and most relevant results for their searches and by utilising SEO, you can make sure that your website is among the top results. This means increased exposure and more customers for your business.
Why do I need SEO?
Most of the traffic that comes to your website will be driven by a search engine, particularly Google. Of course, social media can generate visitors for your website but 80% of people will find your website through Google, Bing or Yahoo because that is where people search for products, services and information. No matter what your business does, it will be getting the most traffic from a search engine so you need to cater to them.
The reason search engines are so unique is that they provide a targeted audience that cannot be found in any other form. That audience is the people that are looking for the products, services or information that you are offering. This is also why they are so important to your business and if they can’t find your website or it is difficult to navigate, you will miss out on the opportunity to get more visitors and therefore customers to your website.
When people use search engines to look for products, services and content, they use what we call “search queries” and these are incredibly important for your business. Studies have found that traffic from search engines can mean the difference between a company succeeding or failing in the online world. If you can get targeted traffic to your website, it can provide your business with publicity, revenue and exposure that you will not see from any other form of marketing. It is generally considered that SEO has one of the best rates of return when compared to other types of marketing.
