Search Engine Optimization

These days, consumers rely on search engines to help them find anything and everything they need, from reviews of products to restaurant recommendations. This means that no matter what your business is, there is a good chance that your target audience is using search engines, such as Google, to search for the products and services you are offering. If you want them to attract your website, you will need search engine optimization (SEO). Anyone with even a bit of knowledge about digital marketing is aware of what SEO is. It is important to understand what SEO is in order to take advantage of it.

Search engines want to provide the best service to their users. This means they aim to deliver high quality results on search engine pages and ensure that they are relevant to what has been searched. In order to accomplish this, search engines will crawl or scan different websites for bettering understanding what they are about. This allows them to provide more relevant results to people who are searching for certain keywords or topics.

Likewise, search engines also scan a website for determining how easy it is to read and navigate and user-friendly websites are rewarded higher rankings on result pages. The adjustments and changes made to a website to ensure it gets crawled by search engines fall under the umbrella of SEO. There are two main types of SEO that can be performed, which are:

On-Page SEO: This refers to elements that can be found on your website and are completely under your control. You can improve these factors over time by following best SEO practices. Obviously, content is of the utmost importance i.e. you need to have useful and quality content to offer to readers. But, there are other elements as well, such as the title tag, Meta description, sub-headings, internal links and also image name and ALT tags. The purpose of these elements is to make your website easier to navigate and use. The user experience can have a big impact on your SEO efforts.

Off-Page SEO: These factors are not directly under the business’s control, but can have an impact on their rankings. Backlinks play a very vital role here because they help in building relationships and developing trust. Social signals are also part of off-page SEO and quality shares can get you the attention you need.

With search engine optimization, every business can maximize its visibility and reach new heights in the market. New businesses can establish themselves as a brand with the help of SEO whereas existing business can expand their target audience and increase brand value.

One of the most important questions is how do you handle your SEO? There are multiple options that businesses can explore in this regard. The first option is to consider going down the DIY route. You can put in some time to learn it yourself and then implement it, hoping for the best. The problem is that business owners already have a lot on their plate and may not be able to do a good enough job. Moreover, if you break any of the rules, your website will be penalized and this can lead to disastrous consequences for the business. Hiring a full-time employee for SEO is another option to explore, but not all businesses have the budget to go for one. There are numerous SEO agencies out there as well or another option is to consider hiring a freelancer SEO expert.

Amongst these different options, the best one that works for businesses is to go for a freelance SEO expert. It is important to understand that SEO is not something that anyone can learn overnight; it is a specialized skillset that professionals have been studying for years. This experience can play an important role in the success of your SEO strategy. Furthermore, SEO trends are constantly changing and evolving as search engines routinely make changes to their algorithm. It is simply not possible for a startup owner or business manager to keep up with it, while managing other duties.

As far as hiring a big SEO agency is concerned, it may come off as a good option because it will provide you with access to a lot of resources and various experts will be available. The problem with big agencies is that they are working with multiple clients at a time. Therefore, they may not be able to provide the time and attention your business requires. In addition, some of these agencies often use a one-size-fits-all approach that may not be what you have in mind. Also, they can be quite expensive and this could be a major setback.

So, should you go for an in-house expert or a freelancer? An SEO freelancer is a much better option than an in-house expert because they can offer you a great deal of flexibility in terms of cost. You will have to pay less to get the same level of expertise and skills that you need. In fact, you can get access to a higher skillset because you don’t need to provide them with training opportunities in order to keep them market savvy. A freelancer will keep themselves up with market trends on their own whereas you may have to provide your employee with the required training.

Apart from that, freelancers also work for several clients and so they can use their diversity and expertise to help you create a better SEO marketing strategy. They will be more objective and will be able to provide you the dedication and commitment you need. This is not something big SEO agencies can offer. You will be able to enjoy a well-rounded SEO strategy for your business that can give great results.