Search Engine Optimization

The goal of search engine optimization, or SEO, is to list your website in the highest ranking organic search result when a keyword phrase you’re targeting is searched by a customer.

“Sounds good, but how exactly does search engine optimization work and why does it matter to my small business website?” you may be asking. Well, search engines use algorithms to determine what sites display in their search results and in what order. These search engine ranking algorithms place sites that contain the most relevant, trustworthy information related to the keyword phrase that is searched at the top of the search results page, where everyone looks first. So search engine optimization is really just a set of guidelines (which can get lengthy depending on who you talk to and how much money they want from you) that help your small business website climb to the top of the organic search result rankings.  But what really matters most for SEO, is to have a well organized and informative website, with unique and meaningful content that relates to the keywords customers use when searching for your products and services.

Oh, and search engine optimization matters to your small business because 90% of the traffic from organic search results come from the first page of results or typically the top ten rankings. Your small business website needs to be on that first results page.

Search Engine Optimization Approach

The Appsalon team actually prides itself on helping small businesses understand search engine optimization. You tell us how far you want to go with it and we’ll be happy to teach you everything we know and take care of anything you’d rather not bother with.

The Appsalon approach to search engine optimization for small businesses is as follows:

• Understand your Business and then the Website Message and Purpose. We need to know why you’re in business and how your website demonstrates to customers why they should do business with you.
• Keyword Research. From gaining an understanding of your business and having you confirm the purpose of your website, we then move on to keyword research to identify which keywords best describe your business and are also searched by customers buying the products and services you offer. We also take a look at your competitors and see what keywords they are using. From all this analysis we develop a content strategy around target keyword search phrases that will bring business to your door.
• Website Architecture. After the keyword analysis paralysis, we get a little technical and make sure your site structure meets generally accepted SEO best practices. These best practices are pretty much guidelines issued by the search engines that tell website developers how their site should be structured in order for their spiders to easily navigate, determine the purpose of and then properly index a website for their search results.
• Link Building. A part of our Internet Marketing Services is to locate directories related to your business where your site should be listed and also let other websites that compliment your business know they can link to you if they are interested. Search engines like inbound links to a site.
• Ongoing Search Engine Results Monitoring. Search engine optimization really never ends … and we’re not just saying that so you keep us around. SEO requires some ongoing attention because the search algorithms change, competitors come and go, customer search trends head in a different direction, and your business evolves. Making sure your site is ranking at the top throughout these changes is something we can do or help you with.