The 4 Most Difficult Parts of SEO Broken Down
Search Engine Optimization, known as SEO, is a crucial aspect of building a successful online following. Because there are thousands of businesses competing online in search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, it is absolutely essential for online businesses to build their websites with SEO in mind. SEO is the foundation for an online marketing strategy, and for your business’s ultimate success. It is also a marketing option that even small businesses can scale and take advantage of. And SEO has one of the best ROIs in terms of marketing. It is vital that you understand the inner workings of the SEO process so that you can help to leverage its power to grow your business.
Whether you are including timely holiday SEO tips into your website, simply trying to improve your search engine results, or understand the process entirely, here is a break down of what SEO truly means so you can strategize for success:
1. Trusted Information
When it comes to understanding the basics of SEO, one of the most difficult parts is finding high-quality sources of information. While there are plenty of online sources, it can be difficult to determine which ones are relevant to your field and up to date with the current SEO trends. Since SEO is constantly changing, finding the proper sources for organic link building is not always easy.
However, one of the best sources includes Google itself, as they are the dominant force of SEO. Their Webmaster Guidelines are a wealth of information for SEO newbies. Try studying online resources like those of Moz.com or SEObook.com. They both also have active communities where you can get questions answered and learn even more.
2. Comprehensive Study
Because SEO has a diverse subject field, understanding the inner workings of the field will take a comprehensive study. From meta descriptions, to title tags, content, keywords, etc., SEO is a complex field. One of the most challenging aspects of SEO is its complexity. In order for SEO to work on your website cohesively, it is less about focusing on one single strategy; instead, it is about integrating all facets of SEO into one comprehensive, unified plan.
There are many bloggers in the SEO world that give away fantastic strategies and tips. Many consultants have tried and failed with SEO and are willing to share their experiences. Take advantage of this and test these ideas out by asking around trusted forums to get the consensus as to whether or not the strategy is on the up-and-up. This openness and honesty around strategies is really quite unique to the SEO community.
3. Getting the Business On Board
Since SEO is a relatively new strategy, for those who were not born in the digital age, or who are not technically savvy, convincing them that SEO is a practical and necessary tool can be exceedingly difficult. As it is a challenging concept, explaining its benefit to the company’s overall success will take time and patience. Many believe their marketing strategy to be working fine without the aid of SEO. But, with the changing technological times, SEO is absolutely pertinent to growing business success.
When talking to a potential SEO client or your manager, try to break SEO down as simply as possible, making sure to bring data to support your claims. Maybe start by noting that SEO has one of the best returns on your investment, and then work to note how SEO can specifically help the business.
4. Integrating SEO
Lastly, the final and most difficult part to SEO is learning how to be original. While it can be easy to copy someone else’s successful SEO strategy, one of the best ways to integrate SEO into your site is with a unique and creative strategy that is tailored to your niche. It is about designing original content effectively, and using an inventive approach designed for your target audience.
And SEO is something that you need to continue to pay attention and dedicate resources to. No, you won't have to dedicate as much to it as you do in the first 6-12 months, but you should plan on having SEO work integrated into your work ongoing at some level in order to maintain your organic visibility and to leverage new opportunities that arise. There's always room to grow your keyword visibility. Getting other websites to link to yours by distributing quality content also needs to be integrated into your work flow. Some people just hire a guest blogging consultant to handle this for them, as another option.
Because SEO is growing into one of the most popular components of marketing, the success of your online marketing campaign rests upon your understanding of the field. Working to convince your clients or company to invest in SEO can be a tough challenge. However, implementing SEO into your marketing plan in 2015 and beyond is absolutely vital in order to keep up with your competitors. For every strategy that you implement, imagine your competitors implementing two more!
