Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization is no longer just a buzzword: It’s THE word.
Websites can only establish online success – profitability, high user traffic and conversions – If they can be found.
Search engine optimization helps companies and organizations by:
- Increasing your exposure;
- Making it easier for new and loyal customers to find you;
- Improving your online identity;
- Giving your target audience the relevant, timely information they need in an easy-to-navigate format;
- Boosting your conversion rates.
Search engine optimization is no longer just a buzzword: It’s THE word.
In fact, search engine optimization is now one of the primary goals of Dallas web design, web development, branding, content and online marketing. If your current Ohio graphic design agency hasn’t optimized your website for search engines, Reliant Image can help.
Having a website is essential, of course, but that alone isn’t enough to succeed amid increasingly fierce competition online. People need to be able to find you. That’s where search engine optimization comes in.
What Is Search Engine Optimization?
Referred to as “SEO” for short, search engine optimization is the way in which those who build, manage and populate websites can work to improve search engine rankings.
This matters because people go online to search for everything under the sun. Google, Bing and other search engines offer up links to sites that they deem relevant, authoritative and responsive.
How do they determine this? The process is becoming increasingly more sophisticated and the criteria is constantly shifting and evolving. But basically, search engines routinely crawl sites looking for certain signals that will reveal whether a site contains these qualities. Ones that do will be ranked near the top, accordingly. Those that flunk these tests are going to be discarded at the bottom of the heap.
If you want to be ranked as a site with these features, it starts with your web design and web development and continues with the content that exists on each page.
How Does Search Engine Optimization Help Me?
Websites can only establish online success – profitability, high user traffic and conversions – if they can be found.
Search engine optimization helps companies and organizations by:
- Increasing your exposure;
- Making it easier for new and loyal customers to find you;
- Improving your online identity;
- Giving your target audience the relevant, timely information they need in an easy-to-navigate format;
- Boosting your conversion rates.
In comparison to other forms of online marketing (pay-per click advertising, social media marketing and email marketing), search engine optimization yields a fairly good return on investment (ROI). That’s not to say there isn’t value in these other marketing forms. PPC can rev up your revenue and social media can be central to your public image. But search engine optimization is going to be the foundation of your online presence.
According to a 2015 Local Consumer Review Survey by BrightLocal.com, 92 percent of consumers now read online reviews – regardless of whether they actually buy the product online. That was up from 88 percent just one year earlier. You need people to be able to find your business, and without an organic SEO strategy in place, that’s going to be almost impossible. Instead, they’ll be finding your competitors.
How Can Reliant Image Help With My Search Engine Optimization?
The good news is even if your search engine optimization right now is not great, you have the power to improve it.
SEO and web design go hand-in-hand. A lot of websites look flashy, but they aren’t doing the company any favors with the SEO. Incorporating search engine optimization best practices of course involves building good content and amassing back links from other sites. A site that is SEO compliant is one that works to achieve:
- Simple, navigable layouts;
- Legible font;
- Minimal use of pop-up advertisements or other annoying distractions;
- Colors and features that are vibrant, interesting and appropriate;
- Fast intros and load times;
- Is responsive to users across digital platforms (i.e., smartphones, tablets, etc.).
Effective search engine optimization is not something you can achieve overnight. Nor is it a “set-it-and-forget-it” kind of deal.
We do not engage in so-called “black hat tricks.” Search engines are smart. If you try to cheat the system by stuffing your page with keywords or paying a bundle for those coveted back links, it’s going to backfire big-time. In fact, it could take your site years to recover from the ensuing penalties. Much better to work at developing organic search engine optimization, which is where we can help.
As our Dallas web designers can explain, search engine optimization is a complex and evolving phenomenon. We’ve been in this business a long time, and we understand the direction search engines are moving and how to build websites that meet these expectations. Ultimately, we want to meet your user expectations and help your online presence thrive.
To learn more about our Dallas search engine optimization services, call Reliant Image at 972.900.4619 or contact us online.