Tag Archives: small business

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SEO Knowledge Gaps in a Digital World

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Coronavirus has affected the world unlike anything before, and it’s no surprise that surveys say 82% of small businesses are concerned about the impact of the pandemic. Government restrictions have forced businesses to close their doors or completely change their business models. Much like Darwinism, employers must adapt or face the decision of giving up on their dream.

Although 2020 is known for its technology and online influence, there is still a knowledge gap between millennial and generation X business owners. Obviously, the younger generations have the advantage of being more at ease with search engine optimization and promoting themselves on social media. However, nearly a quarter of business owners today are still either vaguely or not at all familiar with SEO at all.

While some businesses are simply trying to wait out the pandemic, others are choosing instead to evolve and thrive. Business owners are realizing that the internet is their friend and can help them and their business survive the COVID-driven economic crash surrounding them.

Business Owners and SEO

 In a digitally lead world, having an online presence is crucial to success. If your business executes your SEO poorly, you risk becoming like one of those TV shows that airs on an obscure channel in the middle of the night. Even if you have a great show, it will be hard for it to gain a following because you are too hard to find. Similarly, you can have a wonderful business, but if Google does not show your website in their search results, then potential customers will struggle to find out about you.

A survey revealed that nearly a quarter of business owners were only either vaguely or not at all familiar with search engine optimization. Only 25.6% of business owners classed themselves as “very familiar”, with the highest percentage of them falling into the category of “mostly familiar”, at 29.4%.

 Most people report that they don’t scroll past the second page of Google. With 83% of search traffic coming from organic searches and only 17% coming from paid searches, it is apparent that your website must compete for a spot on the first two pages of Google. If your business has a website, an SEO strategy must be implemented to compete in the current online market. 

Knowledge of SEO

As a business owner, you probably have a basic understanding that Google helps drive traffic to your website. However, 1 in 4 business owners and 2 in 5 non-business owners are not familiar with SEO.

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The positive take away from this is that there is a wealth of opportunity for business owners like you to learn more about SEO, how it can impact your business, and the steps needed to acquire a competitive edge over your main competitors.

Business owners appear to have a marginally better understanding of SEO than non-business owners. But ultimately, the survey reveals that there is plenty of room for both parties to learn more about search engines and SEO. After all, a whopping 4.54 billion people actively use the internet.

SEO Quiz Results 

A recent study of 1000 participants was done to find where the knowledge gap in SEO was most prominent. The survey included an eight-question quiz. Business owners received an average score of 48.7% correct answers, with non-business owners averaging 38.7%. With multiple-choice questions, all survey respondents failed the basic SEO quiz. The questions included:

  • Which best describes organic search?
  • What is alt text?
  • What are backlinks?
  • What is anchor text?
  • Site Speed is an important factor in Google search rankings. True or False?
  • Nofollow links do not impact Google search rankings. True or False?

28.7% of people answered that organic search results were searches directly with a search engine, rather than the correct answer; unpaid search results. Only 33% of participants knew what alt-text was, and 28.6% of them admitted that they didn’t know what backlinks were. Given that organic search and backlinks are considered two of the most critical concepts in SEO, it’s surprising to discover that only about half of the population understands them.

42.9% answered “what is anchor text” correctly, and 55.8% of people knew that site speed is an important factor in Google search rankings. More than half of the respondents chose “I don’t know” for whether or not nofollow links impacted Google search rankings.

infographic of statsBoth business owners and the public were much more familiar with the concept of keywords than they were with other aspects of SEO, like backlinking. This suggests that while people may realize how Google operates on the top level – by typing in keywords and receiving the results that hopefully best match their query – they may not fully understand how Google decides what to rank in those top positions. 

The Meaning 

It’s easy to take for granted how simple it is for you to find the answer to your question in minutes. But understanding how it works, what paid results are, and how authority and trust are built is a harder concept to grasp.

Diving deeper into the importance of SEO is exceptionally more important for business owners. It’s your key to unlocking exposure and staying in the game!

Get in contact with your trusted experts at SeoTuners! We provide a number of search engine optimization services to businesses looking to optimize their website such as branding, e-commerce, Google Local, organic SEO, and Link Building  If you’re interested in improving your website’s search traffic, get in touch with us today. SeoTuners can offer an affordable solution for your business to increase exposure and SERP rankings with organic SEO strategies like keywords. We are confident that we have a solution for all your business marketing needs.

 

 

 

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How SEO and Search Trends are Impacted by COVID-19

COVID-19 will undoubtedly have long-term impacts on the economy and global market as a whole, with its effects possibly spanning far into the future. Unfortunately, some businesses may never recover from the detriment it has caused. When hopefully, in the coming months, businesses begin to reopen and we attempt to return to a normalized state, one has to wonder what that state will look like in the aftermath of COVID.

Continue reading →

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Building a Business with SEO

We live in a digital age, where technology is depended on by the majority of consumers. When searching for a local business or restaurant that is close by, usually your first instinct is to google it. This is a similar thought for most people who own a smart phone or computer these days. A whopping 90% of consumers have used the internet to find a local businesses within the last year, with 33% looking every day.

People are adapting to the advances in search technology, meaning your business need to as well. If you want a crystal-clear example of purchase intent: “near me” mobile searches that contain a variant of “can I buy” or “to buy” have grown over 500% over the last two years. These include things like “where can I buy stamps near me,” “places to buy shoes near me,” or “where to buy used clothing near me.”

“Near me” is no longer just about finding a specific place. It’s now about finding a specific thing, in a specific area, during a specific period of time. This chart gives a visual depiction of the expanse of “near me” searches in the last two years:

google stats

 

These advances propose similar questions to search engine optimization: SEO will improve a website’s overall searchability and visibility, but what other real value does it offer your business? Why is SEO so important?

Organic Searches are Essential

It’s no secret in the digital world that if you’re not on Page 1 of the search engine, you’re likely not killing the organic search game.

Organic searches are most often the primary source of website traffic, as well as a critical factor within the buyer funnel, which usually ends in a sale. However, many consumers do not search through loads of pages on Google before finding a website or service that suits them. Investing in the process of a higher ranking on Google is an essential step for any business owner.

While Google is the most visited website in the world, they also own YouTube which is the second largest search engine. Google is a large entity that owns over 90% of the search market, leaving competitors in the dust.

Making sure your website is visible on Google is essential to driving organic traffic and ultimately attracting business and closing sales. Quality SEO and a high-quality website can take your brand there.

Customer Trust Grows With SEO

The goal of your SEO team is to establish a strong foundation, have a beautiful website that is easy to navigate, and make sure your page is easily discoverable in searches. The truth is that the higher your business appears in a search engine; the more likely users will believe your business is trustworthy. Building trust and an online authority is not easy and surely doesn’t happen overnight.

Many factors go into establishing a strong authority on Google. Having strong authority is accrued over time and is an element of:

• Quality Backlinks
• Positive User Behavior
• Optimized On-Page Elements and Content
• Machine-Learning Signals

Establishing authority for your brand takes patience, effort, and commitment, but is worth it. Customers trust a brand that has a strong online presence and is recommended by other web pages.

Google has something called the Trust Factor, which is a combination of many factors that calculate how trustful a site is. The more trustful a site is, the more likely its articles will be ranked higher on Google. A website is considered to be less trustful if it has harmful and/or has low-quality content.

The Buying Cycle is Affected

SEO affects the buying cycle of a customer online or in-store. Customers have the resources and knowledge to conduct research before choosing a product or service.

Using SEO tactics to get your deals, products, and services out there can be a game-changer. It is important to show the consumer the importance and dependability of what you have to offer them. In order to show the consumer what you need, your product or service requires visibility.

You must be visible in the places where people go to search for a connection to be made. Local SEO enhances visibility for potential customers and helps them find the businesses that have the answers. If your website or business is not visible to the consumer, odds are they will not be contacting you or buying your product.

Bypass the Competition

SEO can help your business or website soar above the competition. Especially if your competition is not implementing SEO at all.

For example, take two businesses that are in the same industry which sell similar products, at nearly identical prices. One of them has an optimized website while the other has a non-optimized website. Considering everything is else is equal, which company do you think will attract more customers to their website from local searches? Which company will likely grow faster and become more successful?

Search engines and SEO are very powerful. If your competitors are doing SEO marketing, simply you must ask yourself why you haven’t invested in such a strategy yet as well. Odds are a consumer will go with a company that they can easily find and has reputable reviews and backlinks.

SEO is Relatively Cheap

SEO does cost money. However, all the best things usually do, right?

In the grand scheme of things, SEO is relatively cheap, and the payoff will most likely be considerable in terms of a brand’s benefit and bottom line.

It is not a marketing cost; SEO is a true business investment. Good SEO implementation will hold its ground for years to come. And, like most things will only get better with the more attention and investment it receives.

If you have questions or concerns about any of Google’s algorithm updates or are interested in improving your website’s search traffic, get in touch with us today. SeoTuners can offer an affordable solution for your business to increase exposure and SERP rankings with organic SEO strategies like keywords. We’re confident we have a solution for all your marketing needs.