Are People Who Need You Finding You?

How your website is optimized for Google search (SEO) is crucial to being found when someone is searching for what you have to offer.

One evening some time ago, I was walking in my neighborhood, and a lady stopped me to ask for directions.

Lady: “Which is 11th?”

Me: “11th what? There’s 11th Street, 11th Place, and 11th Way.”

Lady: “I don’t know. Street or Place.”

Me: “There’s a difference. Do you have the exact address?”

Lady: “No. Can I get to 11th from here?”

Me: “Yes, you’re on 10th Street, turn left at the intersection and you’ll see all the 11s on your left.”

And she drove off. I saw her later on one of the 11s, pulled over probably calling someone because she was still lost.

This got me thinking…

There must be a lot of people are out there searching for things without a clue of where to find what they want or need.

Some Google SEO Facts

• Google has close to 90% of all global searches.
• Searchers look for local businesses daily
• The majority of searchers will pick businesses in the top 10-15 slots of local search results.

See, Google doesn’t want lost searchers. That’s why Google will offer other suggestions. It’s finishing our questions and attempting to know what we want even though we’re not sure. That’s AI — Artificial Intelligence. You’ll notice that AI Overviews now appear at the top of search result pages. That’s a whole new shift in how Google shows content to searchers.

Then you have voice search: “Hey, Siri” “Hey, Google” “Hey Alexa”.

Besides that, Google is constantly updating its algorithm in its attempt to know what we want even before we know we want it. Additionally, your UX and UI are important so potential customers find what they need or want quickly.

What SEO do you Need to Be Found?

If you Google your business name, more than likely your website will come up on the first Google search engine results page (SERP).

But what if someone who needs your product or service doesn’t know your name? What if your business name is not very memorable?

Obviously, that’s why you need to understand how SEO, keywords, and phrases work.

I once met with a lady who had a yoga studio in Tempe. The name of the studio was Middle Eastern. Fine, but if you didn’t happen to know the name or how to spell it correctly, there was no way you were going to find it.

If you were looking for a yoga studio in Tempe, and you lived in Tempe, you’d search for: “yoga studio Tempe” or “yoga studio near me”. Moreover, that’s where your Google Business Profile comes in for local brick-and-mortar locations.

Related Article: 3 Free Tools & Tips to Help You Come Up in Local Search

SEO Factors on a Website

• First, the domain name you choose is critical for SEO. It may not help if you abbreviate your business’s name. People may not know your acronym. Furthermore, it shouldn’t be very long so you can print it on a business card. If local, try to get one with your location.
• Second, is the title of your home page. Hint: it’s not “Home”. Read: Home is not the name of your company.
• Third is loading speed. This is part of the Google Core Web Vitals. Here’s what you need to know on that. You can test your website here.
• Fourth, update your content regularly — fresh and relevant — to match search terms you want to rank for — hence, come up on the top in SERPs. A blog will help you do this.

Related: Are you making these digital marketing mistakes?

Some SEO Questions you Need to ask Yourself…

1. Are my potential customers finding me?
2. If someone is looking for what I have to offer, is my site coming up?
3. Do I have analytics set up on my website and social networks?
4. Am I reviewing my analytics and insights monthly?
5. Am I publishing the right content at the right frequency?

If you’re not sure about any of these, then please schedule a free 15-minute phone consult and I’ll review your online marketing efforts and together we can help you market effectively.