What is SEO and why do I need it?

Let’s face it - there’s a lot of confusion surrounding how to run an online business. From the tech gurus who try to sell you a course from unhelpful AI articles, it can be difficult to find real information about how to increase your organic search. So let’s start at the basics: SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of increasing the likelihood of your website appearing near the top of the search results. In fact, SEO can actually be applied to a number of platforms, from Google to even TikTok, but it’s best to aim for a generalized optimization as opposed to a singular platform.

SEO basics

So, how does SEO work then? Let’s use Google for an example because we’ve all used it. When you google “restaurants near me,” Google pulls up a wide variety of restaurants based on proximity, but also their credibility. The first restaurants to appear organically are going to have extensive backlinks (links from other websites that go to the restaurant) that build credibility, local citations (think like Yellow Pages), and an optimized website that looks good and functions properly. If you even look at Google’s terms of service, they will tell you that they prefer businesses that are legitimate because Google doesn’t want to misguide its own customers.

So now that we know how SEO works, how do we do it? Well quite frankly SEO can be a very meticulous process. You have to consider the website design, the website content, descriptions, images, technical page errors, keyword research, and all those fun links we talked about earlier. Now, it is possible for business owners to do their own SEO. However, if they are not experienced, they can actually do more harm than good for their website. SEO can boost a website, but unsuccessful SEO can tank a website’s reputation and thus its likelihood to appear in the search results.

So what do I do about it, then?

If you are ready to take your website to the next level and increase your organic traffic, it’s a great idea to get an SEO professional to help you out. Right now I’m offering a deal for half off all of my SEO packages, including the Pro Tier. Send me an email and we can get started on helping your website get more organic traffic!