How Powerful SEO Opens Doors for Your Business

To understand how Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can boost your business, think from a customer’s perspective. 

Consider the following scenario:

You’re in the market for a remodeling service for your home and, like most people, one of the first things you do is a Google search. You might enter into the search bar “affordable home remodeling.” Or you might ask Siri or Alexa, “Who does home remodeling design near me?” or search “home renovation help” into your phone. Your search results will produce the most relevant content Google can find on the internet. These could include local remodeling websites, articles about home renovation, and advertisements for remodeling companies.

For most people, the first page or two of results is all they need to begin evaluating options. This is why businesses aim to rank the highest by using SEO best practices.

How Businesses Use SEO

Businesses use SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, to help Google deliver the best search results. The businesses with web pages deemed the most relevant find themselves among the top ten positions on search engine results pages (SERPs). As a result, they get more traffic to their website from their desired audience. To win at SEO, businesses need to understand how potential customers search for their products or services. They use that understanding to shape their content.

The #1 result in Google’s organic search results has an average CTR of 31.7%. 

– Brian Dean, Backlinko Founder

Good SEO is not a one-time project, rather an ongoing strategy with several components tailored to your business needs. The key is to know the ever-changing rules of the game. 

Here is an overview of what some of the best SEO practices look like and what they can do for your business.

User-focused content: Does your SEO reflect what your customers need?

In the past, Google would determine how to rank online content for a search query by scanning the content for specific language called keywords. To use the home remodeling example, if someone searched “affordable home remodeling contractor”, Google would list the businesses using keywords on their website. Google’s algorithm is constantly evolving, searching the internet for content that better matches the real intent of a user.

For business owners, this means incorporating the buyer’s journey into their content creation and overall SEO strategy. They develop holistic approaches to stay on top of their SEO, an integral feature informed by buyer personas, customer feedback, and marketing analytics.

High-quality content: Is your SEO content well-written and informative?

In today’s SEO landscape, it’s important for businesses to strengthen their content to reflect the needs and intent of potential customers. It’s just as important to provide relevant and valuable information. Websites that feature well-written, authoritative pages and long- and short-form content will come out on top of search rankings.

For example, instead of making content that targets a single keyword like “home remodeler,” businesses will do better to develop content that addresses an entire conversation around the topic of home remodelers to publish on all their digital marketing channels. The remodeler who has designated pages on their website to cover each service, regularly posts blogs with titles like “The Best Places to Install Skylights in Your Home,” and offers resources like a Siding FAQ will rank higher in search results.

This topic-based approach to SEO content also has the benefit of strengthening your position as an industry expert, another characteristic that Google assesses in its rankings.

Readily-visible content: Is your SEO content optimized for zero-click searches?

If you’ve done a Google search lately, you probably made use of the newer features of SERPs, like Featured Snippets and People Also Ask. While these features are helpful for voice searches or viewing your search result at a glance, they also lead to zero-click searches, which can be an SEO challenge for businesses.

Here is a typical zero-click search situation:

When a person searches “What does a home remodeling contractor do?” Google’s Featured Snippet will display what it considers to be the best definition. If the snippet has enough value and relevance, the user won’t have a reason to scroll or click the other search results. These snippets are also what Google provides in voice search results. 

If Google doesn’t use your content in the Featured Snippet, you miss an opportunity to raise brand awareness and drive a potential customer to your website. However, if your SEO is powerful enough to land you a spot in a Featured Snippet, your web traffic will experience a jump.

SEO strategies need to adapt with Google’s search features in mind.

Now and moving forward, the position of your business on SERPs is no longer as simple as being ranked number one. Your best bet at increasing relevant visitors to your website is by producing highly valuable content centered around relevant topics, not only keywords, for your audience. 

Contact WSI Connect for a free consultation, and we’ll help you create engaging content that improves the search ranking of your business. We’ll also develop a complete content strategy across multiple marketing channels, so you can free up time to focus on the rest of your business.