Hello there, small business owner! I'm glad you're interested in learning about search engine optimization (SEO). It's a very important part of having an online presence, and can help your business get noticed by more people who are searching for the products or services you offer.
First, let me explain what SEO is. When you search for something on the internet, like "best pizza places near me," the search engine (like Google) uses a special program to look through all the websites on the internet and find the ones that are the most relevant to your search. SEO is the process of making your website more attractive to these search engines, so that they will rank your website higher in the search results when people search for things related to your business.
Now, you might be wondering why this matters. Well, think about the last time you searched for something on the internet. Did you click on the very first website that came up in the search results, or did you scroll down a bit and look at a few different options? Most people tend to click on the first few websites that come up in their search results, because they assume that those websites are the most relevant and trustworthy.
So, if your business's website is ranked lower in the search results, it's less likely that people will find it and click on it. That means you might be missing out on potential customers who are looking for the products or services you offer.
But if you use SEO to improve your website's ranking in the search results, you'll be more likely to get noticed by those potential customers. And the more people who visit your website, the more likely you are to make sales and grow your business.
There are many different ways to improve your website's SEO, and it can be a bit complicated. But here are a few basic things you can do to get started:
- 1Use keywords: When people search for things on the internet, they usually type in specific words or phrases. These are called keywords. Try to include these keywords on your website, especially in the titles and headings of your pages. But be careful not to overdo it – if you use too many keywords, it can actually hurt your SEO.
- 2Create high-quality content: Search engines like websites that have lots of useful and relevant information. So, make sure your website has plenty of well-written content that is related to your business. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, and more.
- 3Build backlinks: Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. When search engines see that other websites are linking to your website, it tells them that your website is trustworthy and relevant. Try to get other websites to link to your website by creating great content that people want to share.
- 4
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly: More and more people are using their smartphones and tablets to browse the internet, so it's important that your website looks good and works well on these devices. If your website is hard to read or navigate on a mobile device, people are more likely to leave and go to a different website.
These are just a few things you can do to improve your website's SEO. There are many other factors that can affect your ranking in the search results, so it's a good idea to do some more research or talk to a professional if you want to learn more.
What is a search result?
Let's say you're looking for information on the best restaurants in New York City. You might go to Google and type in "best restaurants in New York City" in the search box. When you hit enter, Google will return a list of results, called a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Here's an example of what that might look like:
1. Time Out New York - The Best Restaurants in NYC
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/the-best-restaurants-in-nyc
2. Eater NY - The 38 Essential Restaurants in New York City ...
https://ny.eater.com/maps/best-new-york-restaurants-38
3. The Infatuation - New York - The Best New Restaurants in NYC
https://www.theinfatuation.com/new-york
4. Zagat - The 50 Best Restaurants in New York City | Zagat
https://www.zagat.com/b/new-york-city/the-50-best-restaurants-in-nyc
5. Thrillist - The Best Restaurants in NYC Right Now - Thrillist
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/new-york/best-restaurants-nyc
In this example, you can see that Google has returned a list of five websites that it believes are the most relevant to your search query. Each result includes a title, a brief description, and a URL. The first result is from Time Out New York, and it includes a link to an article that lists the best restaurants in NYC. The second result is from Eater NY, and it includes a link to a map that shows the 38 essential restaurants in New York City. The third result is from The Infatuation, and it includes a link to a guide to the best new restaurants in NYC. The fourth result is from Zagat, and it includes a link to a list of the 50 best restaurants in New York City. The fifth result is from Thrillist, and it includes a link to an article that lists the best restaurants in NYC right now.
You can click on any of these links to visit the corresponding website and learn more about the best restaurants in New York City. And if you don't find what you're looking for on the first page of results, you can scroll down to see more results, or try refining your search query to get more specific results.
We have focused on Google because according to September 2021 data from StatCounter Global Stats Google is by far the most dominant search engine with a market share of over 92%. Bing and Yahoo are the next biggest players, but they have less than 5% market share combined. Baidu and Yandex are popular search engines in China and Russia, respectively, while DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that has gained popularity in recent years. The "Other" category includes smaller search engines that have a negligible market share.
It's worth noting that these market share statistics can vary by country and region. For example, in China, Baidu is the dominant search engine with a market share of over 70%. It's always a good idea to research the market share of search engines in your target market to optimize your SEO strategy accordingly.
In conclusion, SEO is very important if you want your small business to succeed online. By using SEO techniques to improve your website's ranking in the search results, you can attract more potential customers and grow your business. So, take some time to learn more about SEO and how you can use it to your advantage. Good luck!