Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results in order to drive traffic to the site. While paid advertising campaigns can help a site gain more visitors, they also require a substantial budget. SEO is an organic method of digital marketing that can lead to a longer-lasting online presence than the instant gratification created by paid advertising. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy–effective SEO requires knowledge and strategy.
Ranking on Google
As the dominant search engine on the web, Google provides countless pages of results for any given search term. Page 1 of results is where you want your site to appear, because most people don’t click past it. How do you ensure that your site ranks highly in Google results?
At JSMT Media, we’ve broken down the SEO process into a few simple, essential steps.
Identify the Target Audience
First, we talk to our clients to find out what types of customers they want to drive to their site. We ask them questions like, “What type of phone call is your ideal call?” in order to better understand who they should be targeting and how they should target them.
Research the Market
Once we have identified the market that our clients are trying to reach, we begin researching that market. We conduct keyword research to find out what exact words and phrases are most frequently searched. Next, we perform competitor research and analysis to find out how our clients stack up against their competition on Google search engine results. Finally, we run marketplace analysis to pinpoint holes in the current market–what are people searching for, but finding no results for? What can our clients address that their competitors aren’t addressing?
Incorporate Research
After we’ve done thorough research, it’s time to put our knowledge into action. We create new pages and blog posts for our clients featuring relevant content that tackles the specific hot topics most important to the target audience. This includes creating landing pages: highly-specific, targeted pages that prompt visitors to contact and connect with our clients.
JSMT Media has discovered that the continuous production of new, keyword-driven content is crucial for successful SEO, as sites that fit this description rank higher in Google results.
White Hat and Black Hat Techniques
In any business, there are “best practices” that reputable companies observe. The same goes for search engine optimization. Search engines approve of certain SEO techniques and frown upon others. Black hat techniques tend to be misleading and will inevitably cause a website to face blocking, banning and reduced ranking once search engines catch on. White hat techniques create quality content for users and produce long-lasting results without deception. JSMT Media is dedicated to using white hat techniques in order to help our clients create a long-lasting online presence that not only gains them clicks, but also customers.
If you need expert help with search engine optimization, contact us.
