Why SEO Matters

SEO (search engine optimization) is more important than ever before. Good SEO is the only way to ensure high rankings in search engines. There are so many elements involved in SEO, it can be overwhelming and confusing.

This is exactly why we are offering a free SEO audit. Our audit reports take about 15 seconds to generate and contain over 50+ SEO signals to determine how optimized your website is based on specific target keywords, keyword phrases, and/or competitor analysis. While the competitor analysis is optional, we feel it is important to know how you compare against the competition – you want to outrank them, right?

What keyword or keyword phrase should you choose?

Keywords and keyword phrases are specific words or groups of words used to search. These words are essentially what you type in the search box when you are searching for something.

Search engines list pages based on these terms (called a query) in the order of what results best fit what is being searched for (rankings). A good search engine won’t list a page that doesn’t relate to what someone is searching for. This is why keywords and keyword phrases are so important. If you want people to search and find you, the words that are used in those searches need to be on your website. Otherwise, you simply won’t show up in that list of search results.

An easy way to look at this may be to ask yourself: what would my customers search for to find me?

Key Elements to Search Engine Rankings

1. Speed – this is vital to user experience. If a page takes too long to load, users will leave (or bounce). A good search engine focuses on delivering the best results, which means ranking a faster page over a slower one.
2. URL & Domain – a search engine is focused on delivering a page that it can tell is a good match for the keyword being searched – if a URL contains an exact keyword (or phrase) someone is searching for, the search engine is more likely to rank this website higher. For example, if you are searching for an online store that focuses on products for your cat, you might search for cat food or cat toys. A website with the domain catsareus.com is more likely to rank higher than caus.com.
3. Title Tags – the same is true for the title of your website. Every website has a title tag (it’s a little bit of code that declares exactly what the title of your website is). If this includes an exact keyword (or phrase), and isn’t so long it won’t show well in a search result, a search engine is more likely to rank it higher.
4. Description Tag – similar to the title tag, this bit of code on your website is a bit of text specifically for search engines and tells search engines what the page is about (in 160 characters or less). This should absolutely contain your keyword (or phrase).
5. Images – websites with images that have alt tags will rank higher. Alt tags are a little bit of code that should be associated with each and every image on your website. This is important for search engines (because search engines compute text and don’t see images) and also important for website users that physically can’t see images (who use screen readers that read alt tags as sound).
6. Headings– this little bit of code designates what bits of content are headings on your website. Headings have a ranking system in order of importance, with H1 being the most important. Search engines look at heading tags and whether they include keywords (or phrases). Note: having duplicate headings is a bad thing. You don’t want to be caught spamming (or repeating words just to try to fool a search engine).
7. Copy – Search engines have incredibly sophisticated algorithms that analyze all the text content on your page. It is important that you have enough content, and it is keyword focused.
8. Code – websites with error-free code rank higher.
9. Social & Page Links – is a means to provide more unique content related to your business across the internet. Having more content on the web means more opportunity for your content to show up in search results. This is multiplied by additional links generated through social sharing and other websites sharing your content (aka backlinks).
10. Mobile – Most people who use the internet are doing so from a mobile device. Search engines know what type of device you are searching from. They will serve up websites that work best on whatever type of device that happens to be. If your website is optimized for mobile, the search engine will recognize this and will rank a mobile-friendly site higher than one that isn’t.

Need help with SEO?

Having good SEO on your website has favorable results for users of all search engines, and will improve your Google search engine rankings. Please use the link below to generate your free SEO audit. The end of the audit will provide you with a comprehensive task list to help guide you through areas of your website that need improvement.

Thrive Can Help

We specialize in SEO and are here to help you navigate the ever expanding complexities of this field. Providing keyword analysis, competitor research, in-depth SEO reporting, and website improvements are just a few of the ways we help improve websites and search engine rankings for our small business owners. We focus on keyword research, and on those words and phrases that relate specifically to your business, your competitors, and most importantly, your customers.

If you’d like our help, give us a call at 931-221-4991, or email to get started!

Click here for your free SEO Audit Report >