If a business doesn’t have a website, then by today’s standards, they don’t exist. If people can’t easily access you, then you are missing out on a major part of your customer base. Having a well put together website is a critical step to owning a business – the other half is making sure people can find you. That’s where SEO comes in.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. We all use this every day, even if you don’t know it. Any time you search for something online, the search engine is optimized to give you the best results possible. When you put in keywords to the search bar, it spits out the highest results that match the given description. This is critically important for businesses who want to gain more customers.

How Does It Work?

Google is the master of search engines. They have a code-based algorithm that changes frequently throughout the year to continuously improve. Currently, the algorithm looks at the website content for the keywords that are in the search bar. Google wants people to continue using it as their preferred search engine because that’s how they make money. The more accurate their results are, the more you want to use them.

Some people try to trick the algorithm by stuffing keywords into the body of the website. It worked for a while, but now, Google can recognize if it makes sense in a sentence. If you have those keywords on your page over three times, it flags it as suspicious and it can actually hurt your Google rank, rather than boost it.

Why is it Important?

The way people shop today is by looking online first. Usually, they grab their smartphone, search for the things that they need, and look at reviews to see if it’s worth their money. The reality is that people don’t look past the first page of the search results. If you aren’t in the top four results, then you most likely aren’t seen.

How do I use it?

If you have a website, then you need to know how people are going to search for you. If you own a gym, then you’ll want to include words in your website content that directly reflect what people will search for. Include things like cardio, spin classes, yoga, and anything else that you offer. You want to be specific, but not too specific. If you said something like Canine Rehabilitative Yoga, you won’t have as many people search for that as something more general like “dog yoga”. The best way to get a good Google rank is to be genuine in how you speak about your products and services, and encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews.

Use tools and services to help you find the perfect keywords for you to boost your websites content. The more that people see your page, and spend time reading through your website, then the higher search engines will prefer your site. A website is important, but you need the other half, SEO, to make money and get your business seen.