If you’re a writer, designer, photographer, consultant, or offer any kind of service online, then you understand the importance of driving traffic to your website. But when it comes to increasing your exposure and building awareness for your brand, where do you start?
The key is to establish a strong online presence across the places where people turn to for solutions: search engines. With some knowledge and the correct tools, you can master the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) and raise your brand awareness with potential customers.
Let’s take a closer look at what SEO entails, why it’s important for raising awareness, and the resources you can use to ensure that your website appears as close as possible to the coveted first page of search engine results.
SEO increases your online presence
Search engine optimization is the process of making your website content appealing to search engines like Google and Bing. The ultimate goal is for your site to appear in search results whenever someone looks up relevant terms.
If you search for “Diners in San Jose,” you’ll be presented with a very long list of results. What makes one result rank higher or lower than another? A number of factors:
- Website security: Google will rank your website higher if there are security protocols in place. If your site is secure, its address will begin with “https://” and a lock icon will appear next to it. If a lock icon does not appear, then you need to obtain an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate from your web host or an organization like Let’s Encrypt.
- Updated content: According to Search Engine Journal, websites that feature recent content rank higher than outdated ones. This means that consistently refreshing your site with new content like blog posts or videos can help you rank higher.
- Fast load times: As Google reports, page speed is a factor when it comes to mobile search rankings. If you’re uncertain about your load times or how they can be improved, use a tool like Pingdom to test your site speed. Pingdom will also identify elements that might be slowing your site down.
- Pertinent information: If you’re running a local business, Google advises that you include details like your address, phone number, and operating hours if you want to improve your local search rankings.
All of these methods work in tandem to help your site rank higher in search results.
SEO is a free marketing tool
Why is ranking favorably on relevant searches important? Think about the ways that you might market a business.
Sure, you can rely on ads or sponsored posts to drive traffic to your site, but this becomes expensive over time. In contrast, optimizing your website and content for search engines is mostly free, and places your site listing in front of customers whenever they search for services like yours.
Although a paid ad campaign might take less time to initially configure, Jetpack ensures that applying SEO techniques is a streamlined, easy-to-implement process.
Strengthen your SEO with Jetpack
With SEO tools, you are equipped with everything needed to optimize a website and increase your online presence. Every Jetpack plan comes with an Image Content Delivery Network (CDN) and more than 100 WordPress themes, the majority of which are mobile-friendly. These features help to boost your SEO, as they empower you to deliver content to a wider audience, faster.
Premium plans provide all that and more. In addition to the tools above, Premium users can bolster their marketing toolkits with SEO previews and Google Analytics integrations.
Let your website do the marketing
At its core, optimizing websites for search engines helps potential followers, customers, and readers find your site. By familiarizing yourself with the basics of SEO and adding these tools to your pages, a website can become your greatest lead generator.
Are you optimizing your site for search engines? How has it impacted your business? Share your experiences with other site owners in the comments below.
Jetpack 