For more than a decade, search engine optimization (SEO) has been a staple of marketing in the digital age. As in any new industry, there are many challenges that SEO still faces – uncertainty is one of the biggest. For this reason, many business owners are not sure if they should be doing SEO or what it even is. Let’s clear up the confusion!
What in the Sam heck is Search Engine Optimization?
Well, it’s search engine optimization! But that’s not much of an answer so try this: SEO is an internet marketing service designed to help major search engines understand your business so well, that anyone searching a keyword related to your business is more likely to find your website, your contact information, customer reviews and more – ultimately, hopefully, becoming customers themselves!
Sounds like magic. How does it work?
SEO involves first making sure that your website is indexed and crawlable by major search engines. This means Google, Bing, and others at least know your website exists and to start updating their own databases with information about your website and your business in general. Then we create all kinds of content: graphics, PowerPoints, articles, blogs, bookmarks, press releases, Tweets, status updates, and more, to publish on and off your site. This is done so search engines can get the clearest and most comprehensive picture of your website possible.
What is a “keyword” and how does it “rank”?
Keywords are words or phrases web searchers tap or type into a search box online. If you’re looking for a place to eat you might search “Mexican food near me”. If you’re curious about humanity’s future, you might search “distance to closest star”. For ranking your site, you might imagine what your potential customers might enter when looking for the products or services you offer, be it “wedding flowers OK” or “car as repair Norman OK”.
Rank is where your site shows up in search results for a given keyword. If a listing for your site shows up in the second place on the first page when someone searches “small business accountant Oklahoma”, you’re doing pretty good! Rank is very important for getting customers from the web. According to a study by Chitika, over 90% of web searchers click a link from the first page of search results.
What does Search Engine Optimizing cost?
It depends on factors like how competitive your keywords are in your target market, how fast you want to rank, and even how you pay for it. Hourly rates range from $100 to $300 per hour. A common model is a monthly retainer, which covers your bases for $750 to $1,500 per month, going as high as $5,000. Skybound Digital offers Pay-As-You-Rank pricing, allowing you to pick your worst ranking keywords and get SEO going with minimal starting risk. Only as the rank improves page by page does the rate per keyword rise to meet standard market pricing, where we are still competitive.
Couldn’t I just do it myself?
Absolutely! Just learn how to edit your site; bring it up to current search engine crawler standards; keep up to date on the latest search engine optimization techniques and search algorithm updates; maintain at least three social media profiles, posting, liking or sharing at least three times a week on each; regularly update a blog linked to your site with content relevant to your audience; create and post a litany of off-site content; create directory listings, classifieds, qualified backlinks, and citations. Or you could just do what you’re good at and we’ll handle it!
Wait. Search Engine Optimization changes?
As fast as the internet itself. For instance, we’ve been keeping close tabs on Google’s recent rollout of an update that emphasizes mobile usability. As so many users are now searching from smartphones and tablets, websites that once ranked really well have lost their tops spots if they didn’t offer a good user experience in mobile view. This has become especially important for every local marketing company in Oklahoma since local searches usually come from smartphones.
My business sells to local customers. Can you help me?
Local SEO is our specialty! We actually started with a focus on small, local Oklahoma businesses who typically couldn’t afford the steep monthly retainer for web marketing charged to larger companies. For optimizing your local business’ web presence, we help you choose exactly the right keywords your customers are already searching; we make sure your website is mobile-friendly and get you set up on various local search hubs like Yelp and Google My Business. Our goal is to get you in the “map pack”: the section at the top of the search results page that shows the top three local business listings and their locations.
If you’re looking for more local traffic and cost-effective marketing for your small business, chat or create your free account on skybounddigital.com.
