What Is SEO Marketing

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) marketing is the practice of companies optimizing their website for a specific keyword phrase(s) that people search for when using search engines. The search engines have algorithms that measure the relevance of the search term to what content and authority level a website has. Companies who know what their customers are typing into the search engines to find their product/service and are able to optimize their website with these specific search terms are able to use the search engines to generate qualified leads.

SEO Marketing Facts

42% of search users click the top-ranking link. 8% click the second-ranking link, and the click-through rate continues to drop thereof.
62% of search users click a link on the first page of search results
77% of search users choose organic over paid listing when searching, 67% choose organic search when purchasing.
When the searcher is purchasing, organic click-through generates 25% higher conversion rates than equivalent Pay-Per-Click (PP) click-through.

(Source: comScore / Pew Internet)

SEO Marketing Keyword Research

One of the most important aspects of SEO marketing is determining which keywords a company should target. There are free online tools like Google’s “AdWords Keyword Tool” that can help a user determine which keyword phrases are popular among search users. Take for instance a search for “plumbers Virginia”. The Google keyword tool shows how many “global” and “local” searches were done in the previous month. The tool also shows the “competition” level of that specific keyword search term. The lower the competition and the higher the search volume is, the better that keyword search phrase is.

But wait, it’s not that easy, “plumbers Virginia” may show a total of 22,000 searches last month with a “high” level of competition. That does not mean that if you are in the top spot, your website will get clicked on 22,000 times or even seen 22,000 times. A website that is well optimized for a specific keyword search term and showing at the top of a search engine result will have to compete with paid advertising The further down a website is on the organic search results page (including the following search pages), the less likely a search user will find and/or click on their website.

SEO Marketing Website Optimization

We can go in-depth about how to properly optimize your website but at a high-level, your website should meet these minimum requirements:

Allow your website to be indexed by the search engines
Make each webpage on your website relevant to what you do
Use SEO keywords within your webpage to help describe your product/service
Update your website on a consistent basis with fresh & relevant information
Obtain back-links to your website from relevant authority websites
Reduce the errors on your website
Search engines love content so add as much content as you can
Make your website “user-friendly”
Use an intuitive and descriptive URL structure
Much, much more…

What Is SEO Marketing – Your Future Online Lead Source

SEO Marketing does not have to be a science within itself. Even though we only scratched the surface with the variables that comprise SEO marketing, the one takeaway is that SEO marketing is not going away. The companies that grasp this early on will reap the benefits down the road. SEO marketing should be your future online lead source. Companies use SEO marketing to augment their sales force as a lead generation tool. If done properly, SEO marketing can send you qualified leads at a fraction of a cost of traditional means. If you have any questions about “What Is SEO Marketing” then please feel free to contact us to schedule a free consultation. Happy Marketing!