Search engine optimization—or SEO—is the science of manipulating websites and their individual pages to make it more likely that they will rank higher for a given keyword or set of keywords on a search engine (most notably, Google). Many of the practices are derived from interpreting direct statements from Google, while others come from research, data comparisons, and testing. SEO is competitive by nature, and there are some factors that cannot be controlled. This means that no company can make a plausible guarantee that a site will rank #1 or stay in that position forever. But there are many factors that can be managed to give your website the best chance possible. We have the experience to know what works, and a history of success to back it up. Here are some of the basics:
A Fast, Responsive Website
We develop our websites according to principles that Google loves.
- They’re very fast: Site speed has proven to be one of the most important SEO factors in the last couple of years. This provides a great user experience, which Google wants to give to their users.
- They’re responsive: This makes them mobile-friendly and also provides a great user experience.
- We utilize a clear coding structure and hierarchy: This lends context to all of your content and helps Google to understand what you’re trying to tell your user and rank you more appropriately.
Having a great website is the basic foundation of SEO. In rare cases where there is little competition, simply following these principles could be enough.
Optimized Content
Website content, which is comprised mostly of the verbiage and imagery on the site, is critical to your site’s ability to rank. Without clear content that explains your products or services clearly, Google won’t know what your pages are about. We can help to either write great content for you or to coach you in doing it yourself. More importantly, once the content is written, we will optimize it for you, considering things like the page title, keyword density, linked content, content hierarchy, and related imagery. We’ll also manage technical SEO factors, like meta titles and descriptions.
Local SEO
If you run a local business, there are some specific SEO considerations that apply to you. Local businesses are eligible for a particular type of search result that caters to the local audience. You’ll appear on Google Maps and in local pack search results on Google. Here are some of the specific things we do to make your local business stand out online:
Google My Business (GMB)
Google My Business—usually referred to in the SEO community simply as GMB—is a platform for local business that powers both your business’s Google Maps listing, and it’s Google+ profile. Besides appearing in Google Maps, this also means that your listing will can in local pack results when someone searches for your business type in your area. Since large websites with huge budgets often have an advantage in organic result, these local results give your local business a leg-up.
Citation Management
Google likes to give the best information possible to its users. So the algorithm favors information that it’s sure about. To make Google trust your business information, we create citations. A citation is any instance of your business name address and phone number (NAP) around the web. Business information is frequently fraught with inaccuracies because of information changes, such as a move to a new location, or because the information has been scraped and reformatted from website to website, resulting in a digital version of the telephone game. Although it is practically impossible to find and perfect every single citation once inaccurate ones exist, having a strong group of accurate citations can be enough to drown out the deficiencies. This is something we call a “signal-to-noise ratio.” In order to get a strong signal-to-noise ratio, we focus on around fifty of the top citation sources (mostly business directories) and make sure that Google is able to find enough correct instances of your NAP data to trust it and feel comfortable ranking your business above the competition.
Backlinks
A backlink is simply any link from another website to yours. Backlinks work like votes of confidence in your website. Having several backlinks, particularly from relevant, industry-related sites, raises your site’s authority. There are several methods for building links to your site, and your needs will depend on the level of competition you’re facing, among other factors. Many citations also include backlinks, so a great citation campaign also doubles as a basic backlinking campaign.
Reporting
We want to help you understand exactly how your website’s performance is affected by our efforts. Every month, we’ll send a report with your rankings and traffic for the month, compared to the previous period. We’ll also take the time to interpret that data and explain what has caused the changes that month, and what kinds of changes are happening in the SEO world.
