It can be a lot of work, but SEO is more beneficial than you may realize.

So far in 2019, a whopping 93% of all online experiences begin with search engines.

You want your website to appear at the top of those searches. SEO can help.

Short for search engine optimization, SEO is any effort you make in attracting traffic from search engines. Let’s not confuse it with search engine marketing (or SEM) which is paid advertising. SEO will only cost you time.

A lot of time.

Some business owners find themselves overwhelmed with that time spend. For those individuals, SEO may not be the best course of action.

Site optimization can encourage more traffic. It’s what ever you do to make your site more relevant to your niche. By doing so, search engines like Google and Bing will reward you with higher rankings.

To start, you’ll need to ensure every image you use is web-optimized. Don’t overcrowd your site with super-high-quality, massive images. It will slow the page down.

Next, implement metadata. It’s the descriptions throughout your site. This includes alt text for images (describing what’s happening within the image), page descriptions (the summary that appears on search results), proper heading structure, and more.

Those are just two items to check off your list. There’s a lot more to consider when optimizing a site, and it takes a great deal of effort. The larger your site, the longer it will take to optimize.

If you’ve got a small team and a massive blog, a job like this will be tedious.

That can be a difficult question to answer – depending on the business. Let’s break it down.

Diving into the world of SEO for the very first time can seem daunting, but it’s worth the effort for the right business.

It’s a slow burn, but when used right, SEO can really launch your business forward in ways you never dreamed of.

Branding can shine with the help of SEO. Think in terms of your copy and your brand voice. You have to consider the content you’re providing and what people think of it.

Don’t keyword stuff or any other shady tactic to fool Google’s crawlers. It’s when you try to use far too many iterations of your chosen keyword in an effort to make your post, page, or whole site more relevant.

First of all, the crawlers won’t be fooled, and your site will be punished for it either by ranking down or removing your listing all together.

Second of all, don’t forget you want real people to read your copy. Make sure it’s legible and not written for a robot.

Your content and brand voice need to be sound and attention-getting. Why? Because it earns links. That means your overall SEO strategy must align with your brand image.

Voice and content can also help you determine what keywords you want to rank for. Building content around those keywords will earn you valuable traffic that’s interested in your content – and willing to purchase your products or services!

Your physical location may close for the day, but optimizing your overall website content can bring traffic, track prospects, and earn sales.

No sick days. No vacations. It sells your business to perfection all the time – or at least it should.

Optimizing your site with SEO makes it a ’round-the-clock employee determined to work it’s best for you at all times.

SEO is all about best practices. There’s a lot of things you can do all by yourself without any added cost. 

However, that can also depend on your definition of cost. Include time in the equation, and this project can become very expensive.

To make it work, you’ll have to devote at least one employee to it. That, or hire a freelancer. It may end up costing you either way.

Going more toward the route of SEO than SEM means you still may not be the first thing searchers find.

You can, however, be one of the top organic results. There’s power and value in that alone.

We can’t sugar coat this. There’s no true length of time you can measure, but many experts suggest giving SEO plans at least 6-months to determine if it’s having any impact on traffic.

Even then, you may not see the results you want.

Don’t fret. Take a deep breath, revamp your plan, do some keyword research, and try again.

Domain authority is accrued over time as a result of your SEO work. It is the ultimate goal after all – to be the premier source of information in your subject area.

In case you don’t know, domain authority assesses your website’s ability to rank in SERPS. Note that it is not taken into account in how search engines will rank you, but it will give you a general idea of where your website stands.

Keep in mind, just like everything else in the world of SEO, building authority takes time, effort, and commitment.

With such a powerful, free tool at your disposal, why wouldn’t you at least give it a shot? Just think – one year from now, you could be driving substantial traffic to your site.

It’s possible. But it takes work.

Remember, the overall goal with SEO should be to generate inbound leads and guiding readers through the funnel.

However, your SEO plan may need to include a web design overhaul. If that’s the case, we’ve got an article you should read. Learn the essentials that every small business should have.

Also, keep in mind that your personal brand needs the same level of attention. Developing your personal brand and controlling your online narrative is more important now than it’s ever been. CEO Pearl is a great way to accomplish that, without having to do any of the work. Let the professionals handle it for you!

For more digital marketing resources, don’t forget to check out other articles the DME Digital Blog has to offer.