Where can you find a reliable dentist nearby? What’s the best Chinese food in your area? Is the rash on your neck a symptom of something serious? These queries, and more, prompt 93% of online experiences to begin with a search engine. Indeed, the $80 billion search engine optimization (SEO) industry powers significant digital commerce by generating visibility, facilitating conversions, and attracting website traffic. As with all aspects of digital marketing, SEO requires strategy and expertise to produce results—yet the investment can generate invaluable online conversions. For help conducting keyword research and identifying useful KPIs to land at the top of every search engine, contact KME.digital, a reliable local SEO service.
A trailblazing SEO agency, KME.digital helps Burke, VA, organizations big and small gain traffic and conversions. Our paid advertising, content marketing, UX design, and other services allow us to pair industry expertise with unique digital strategy insights. Get started with KME’s SEO services by calling (703) 585-3321.
Below, we describe SEO and discuss how it can work for your business:
What is SEO?
Whenever search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing offer results for users’ queries, they use algorithms to determine how those results are ranked. Naturally, businesses want to appear as high as possible in those listings to increase the odds of capturing customers. They do so through search engine optimization, a set of strategies that involve creating websites and content that search engine algorithms will rank well.
Standard SEO practices include identifying keywords and phrases that people frequently search for and integrating them into a website’s content. Yet given search engines’ central role in the digital marketplace, SEO strategy has grown far past keywords and become an essential marketing tool for small and large businesses.
SEO vs. Paid Advertising
Although SEO and paid advertising share a primary goal—attracting website traffic—they are separate marketing tools! SEO strategy involves curating content around highly ranked keywords. For example, if you wanted to rank highly for the keyword “tree trimming services,” you could create a blog about such options, incorporate that keyword, and link it back to a well-trafficked page on your website. Doing so indicates to the search engine that the keyword is critical, and the algorithm can match your content’s intent with users’ queries.
On the other hand, paid advertising involves placing ads on an advertising platform’s properties. For example, Google ads appear at the top of their search engine results pages and other Google properties. These ads will appear in prominent spots on websites for users to click on and investigate further. They generally produce quick, though temporary, results.
As a local SEO service for Northern Virginia businesses, KME.digital typically leverages SEO and PPC for our clients’ marketing campaigns.
Use the Buyer’s Journey to Rank Highly on Search Engines
Of course, potential customers will come across your content with different mindsets and intentions. Therefore, you must create content catering to every step in the buyer’s journey. The buyer’s journey involves three stages that explain how consumers interact with marketing materials:
- Awareness: First, a buyer becomes aware of an issue that needs solving. They might go to the internet to put a name to what they’re experiencing. Blogs with titles that begin with phrases like “How to know if…” or “X signs that…” often find their way high in search engine results for users looking to answer a question or fulfill a need. Increasingly, internet users are turning to social media for answers—which speaks to the need for a suitable social media strategy.
- Consideration: After some research, the buyer defines their issue and considers how to solve it. A consumer suffering from a toothache may look for solutions in blogs with titles such as “What to do when you have a toothache” or “The best toothache solutions.” You can capture that traffic by designing a piece leveraging a keyword related to toothaches. Small businesses can also benefit from incorporating locations—Virginia SEO services can help!
- Decision: After evaluating their options, buyers choose a provider to help with their issue. They may look through service pages, portfolios, “about us” pages, and more to determine whether a company can help. Therefore, you should incorporate high-ranking keywords into website content besides blogs so those other materials rank well too.
Analyzing Your SEO
Determining whether SEO efforts are bearing fruit will require professional insights like those the KME team offers. That said, we use the following KPIs to analyze businesses’ SEO:
- Organic traffic
- Backlinks
- Search engine visibility
- Search rankings
- Average session duration
- Bounce rate
- Branded traffic
When developing your company’s specific action plan, consider your budget and marketing goals first and foremost. From there, determine which tracking tools can best accommodate your needs.
Reliable Local SEO Services for Burke, VA, Businesses
Navigating the ins and outs of SEO can be a difficult feat for small businesses. At KME, we provide local SEO services and more for Burke, VA, businesses! Our marketing team has professional industry experience that ensures potential customers find you, make a purchase, register for your services, and initiate contact. Learn more about our search engine optimization process by calling (703) 585-3321.