And why does my website need it?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of optimizing a website or web page so that it appears higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Simply put SEO is the behind-the-scenes stuff that helps a user find your website in search engine results and then keeps them on your site.

SEO can be used to increase the visibility of a website or web page. A website with good SEO will appear higher in internet search results and attract more visitors. 

SEO work includes making improvements to the content and structure of a website, improving the metadata, building links from other sites and improving the user experience.

Still unsure if your website needs SEO work, try this practical activity. 

If you are not sure how well your website is performing in internet searches I encourage you to find out.

First, open a private browser.

Click on File, then select ‘New Private/Incognito Window’ from the drop-down menu.

Then type in your business name or specific keywords linked to your business.

Do you appear on the first page of the results?

If you appear in the results does the text that displays read well?

Now try a well-known brand. Type in their business name and look at how their business appears in the search results.

How does their website display in the search results? 

The text that is displayed in the search result is the page’s metadata. If a page is missing this metadata or if the metadata isn’t very good, the text will be auto-filled by the search engine using content from the webpage. This means vital keywords might be missing, the sentences are unlikely to read well and the content is likely to be cut off. 

In short, poor metadata means your website will struggle to appear in search results and when it does appear the SERPs are unlikely to be enticing to new visitors. This means your website will miss out on opportunities to appear in the search results. 

But all is not lost… let’s have a chat and see how I can help your website work harder for you.