The Importance of Search Engine Optimization on Your Website

Having a website on the internet is crucial for your business, especially in today’s digital marketplace. It acts as a virtual storefront that allows people to learn about your products and services before they even leave their homes. The trick is how to make your website more visible in online searches so people can find it. With effective Search Engine Optimization from Blue Fire Media, you can organically help search engine algorithms rank your Grand Rapids website in internet searches so the people looking for your products and services can easily find and access you. In today’s post, we will discuss the basics of how search engine optimization works and effective strategies for improving your site’s ranking in online searches.

Add Fresh, Relevant, Original Content

Content is king, and search engine algorithms recognize websites that include original content and update content periodically. This can be in the form of blogs that discuss your products, services, and business updates, but there are other ways to include new content. You can add testimonials from satisfied customers, update content to more accurately reflect changes to your business, and even provide business history and staff biographies to give visitors more detailed information about your company. It’s important to remember that the search engine algorithms can identify plagiarized content, so don’t use content from a different company, as your search engine ranking will suffer as a result.

Choose the Right Keywords

When you create content for your website, you have to think like your customers when choosing your keyword focus. You need to be specific enough to reflect your products and services while also using simple terminology that web visitors will type into search fields. The best strategy is to use long-tail keywords which cast a wider net. As an example, a Mexican restaurant may specialize in authentic Mexican food. This establishment will want to focus on the term “authentic Mexican restaurant.” This way not only will the site show up for people who type in “authentic Mexican restaurant” (which gets about 3,000 hits per month), but it will also show up for “Mexican restaurant” (which gets over 2 million hits per month). By focusing on the longer keyword, you are actually optimizing your site for both the longer and the shorter key phrase while also using terminology that people will actually type when searching for a Mexican restaurant.

Optimize Your Website

Besides optimizing your content, there are other ways that you can improve your SEO by optimizing your website and your Google Business Profile. For your website, here are a few things to consider:

• Optimize Photos – Larger photos can bog down a website, causing it to load slowly. By optimizing your photos and condensing the file size, your website will run faster, which search engine algorithms will recognize.
• Add Alt Text and Image Titles – All images on your website should have titles that show up when hovering a mouse over them, and Alt-Text that will be read aloud by screen readers used by people with visual impairments.
• Clean Up the Site – Do you have old pictures on the website that don’t function well? Maybe you have an unused page with Latin or “Coming Soon” text. By removing these pictures and addressing these unused pages, you are showing the algorithm that you are actively involved with maintaining your website.

Manage Your Business Profile

Your website may be in prime condition, but many people fail to work on their business profiles.  By managing your business profile you are showing the search engine algorithm that you are actively engaged with it, which gives you preferential priority in online searches. Here are some things to consider for your business profile:

• Update Pictures – You should consider adding pictures to your business profile and remove older ones that are no longer relevant.
• Add a Business Description – By including a detailed description of who you are and what you do, you increase the chances of people searching you out while also enhancing your placement in online searches.
• Interact with Reviews – Whether good or bad, you need to respond to the people who reviewed your business online. Thank customers who provided you with a positive review to show appreciation for your business. Even better, acknowledge the negative reviews and offer to make things right. Both of those are great ways in which to interact with customers while also improving your online presence in the eyes of the algorithm.

Blue Fire Media can help your Grand Rapids business with effective SEO services. Contact us and let us know how we can build and optimize a responsive website today.