It used to be that customers let their fingers do the walking in the yellow pages to find your business. They do the same thing today but their fingers are poised on a keyboard instead. And they’re using a search engines like Google to find what they need. Learn how small businesses are using search engine optimization (SEO) to be sure those fingers lead new customers to their door.

How Does It Work?

SEO is a marketing tool that increases your visibility on search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo. It optimizes the probability that your business will rank high on a search.

Here’s how it works. A potential customer looking to repair a broken air conditioner might type, “Who can fix my air conditioner?” into the search bar. The search engine combs the Internet and returns with answers. The websites that provide the best answer are listed first. In this case it might be businesses that repair air conditioners.

That’s where SEO comes in. It’s a set of practices that helps you provide good content on your website in a way that’s easy-to-follow. That will increase your chances that search engines will display information about your business.

What Factors Influence It?

Search engines have their own formula to determine in which order items appear. It’s based on a number of factors, but the key is to provide relevant information. Here are some of the things search engines look for so your website gets presented in searches:

• Killer Content – Your website should provide solid information that people want answers to. It’s more than the words you use. It might include a how-to video, pictures, and testimonials from customers.
• Key Words – These are the words or phrases that a potential customer might use in a search. If those same words appear on your website, the search engine can more easily match it up with the query. Of course, the key words need to be used in a relevant way.
• Links To and From – The more people are talking about something, the more it gets noticed. That’s the idea behind links. When credible websites link to pages in your website or you link to theirs, the search engine recognizes that content is being shared. That means there’s more information available to people who are searching.
• Ease of Use – How easy is it to use your website? It doesn’t help to have great information if it’s not organized in a way that you can easily scan to find what you need.

For More Information

Learn more about SEO with these free resources: Google SEO Starter Guide, The Beginner’s Guide to SEO.