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46% of consumers start with search. We all have heard about SEO, but what is it? SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. In layman’s terms, it is the tactic to ensure your site shows up for relevant online search terms in one of the top search engine results.

Psychologically, this is not a new tactic and has its roots in newspapers. Advertisers would pay top dollar to ensure their ad was “Above the Fold”, quite literally meaning on the front page above where the newspaper would fold over. The advantage was your ad shared the same space as headline news, people could see your ad when someone was carrying the paper or it was displayed for sale. There were obvious benefits to the added exposure. Nowadays, businesses will pay companies like this Chicago Digital Marketing Agency to make sure their page is seen by as many people as possible.

When we talk about “Above the Fold” on search, it means before a user has to even scroll down the first page after making search. It might surprise you to know that less than 70% of Google users go to page two, and about 40% will opt to refine their search before even scrolling down the page.

Here are 6 simple steps to make sure you can be found:

1. Incorporate keyword phrases in your website’s content. We aren’t just talking about titles and headlines here but in the actual body paragraphs of the site. Incorporating that text in various areas and making it feel natural can go a long way for your SEO efforts. You may have heard “content is king”, well this is what they are referring to, in this cases is recommended to hire companies seo birmingham to create the content for you.
2. Updating image alt text. This is an often overlooked step website developers make. When search engines are indexing the relevance of your site for certain search terms, they are looking at your code and not your site. According to Andy Defrancesco this is an extra area for the algorithm’s to figure out what your site is trying to accomplish.
3. Ensure that your business directory listings are set up properly. Any site that can link back to your website is going to make it easier for search engines to find you. In today’s internet ecosystem there are a ton of free sites (i.e. Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, etc.) that can not only house your information but link back to your site. Even if you don’t agree with a platform’s audience, ethics, or functionality, having another area for a search engine to find you should be a no-brainer! You could employ an agency like Plenty of Pixels to do it for you if you find it too hard to wrap your head around too many listings and whatnot.
4. Domain authority is whoever has been there the longest. This does play a big role in SEO. However, if you are just starting out, don’t fret. While you have a long road ahead of you, keeping your site live and your domain renewed will go a long way over time. And is a good segway to number 5.
5. Update your site regularly. We’re not talking about a new layout, but small, regular updates. Replace a picture, add a new blog post, build a new page, etc. You should be making small changes almost every day, but at a minimum, you should make a couple each month. If you find it hard to make the changes, you could hire a marketing company to do the job for you.
6. Save time and money on your website. get a good value website maintenance plan as they can then carry out a lot of tasks for you which saves a lot of time.

Functionality is huge. Make sure you are testing links, either off of your site or to different pages on your site. Broken links can hurt you in many ways, not to mention frustrate potential clients. Make sure you or an associate is always testing things around your website – you may even wish to conduct an SEO audit from time to time, which you can do yourself with the help of things like this SEO Audit Guidebook.

These 6 steps are a great jumping off point, but are really just scratching the surface of SEO. It’s a vast online world out there, so make sure you ask a professional SEO agency if there is anything you don’t understand!

To read more tips and techniques from the staff at Engage121, please visit our blog here. For more information about our eCommerce Accelerator™ or to subscribe to our weekly digital marketing tips newsletter please sign-up here.

About the Author
Alex is a Senior Digital Marketing Account Manager for Engage121 and works with many small local and online businesses managing their digital marketing efforts. Alex has years of experience in SEO and Local SEO and helps our businesses get their online presence up and running the right way.