Over the years, search engine optimization has been described in many different ways. But at its core, SEO is simply a way to help your website show up near the top of Google and Bing for relevant searches. While there are individuals and companies that engage in SEO practices specifically prohibited by Google, the type of search engine optimization Web Strategy Plus does for all of its clients is in full compliance with Google’s guidelines.

To get a better understanding of what exactly goes into search engine optimization, we want to highlight several of the key building blocks of this practice:

1. Strategy

Successful search engine optimization requires an investment of time and resources. That’s why it’s very important to start with a well-developed strategy. By thinking through issues like which keywords are going to bring in actual leads or customers, you can ensure that the investments you make in SEO will help move the needle for your investment.

2. On-Page Optimization

Since your business website is the foundation of all SEO efforts, it’s important to have it fully optimized. In addition to things like using the right keywords in your H1 tags, you also need to address any technical issues. Specifically, Google has placed a lot of emphasis on page speed and mobile friendliness in recent years. Having a site that’s slow or doesn’t load easily on devices with smaller screens will hamper all of your SEO efforts.

3. Content

Related to on-page optimization, regularly publishing quality content is essential for helping to rank for all the keywords that are relevant to your business. The type of content you publish will likely be a mixture of blog posts and landing pages. Utilizing SEO strategies like internal linking will help maximize the rankings of these pages.

4. Links

Google still relies on links from other websites to determine popularity. However, link building can easily go wrong when people do things like focusing on quantity instead of quality. And it’s also important to understand that the optimal approach to link building for a local business website will differ from a site that’s trying to rank for more generic terms.

5. Data

Ranking data is important for seeing how a website is advancing on target search engine results pages. But it’s also important to go beyond that and look at analytics data like average page views. Seeing this information will help confirm if the pages that are ranking highly are actually providing visitors with what they’re searching for.

There’s a lot that goes into developing and executing a successful SEO strategy. If you want to ensure that you have a knowledgeable professional on your side to help with all of this work, you can easily learn more about how Web Strategy Plus approaches search engine optimization.

If you want expert help creating the right Search engine optimization strategy, be sure to take a look at how Web Strategy Plus can help.

Michelle Hummel is CEO of Web Strategy Plus a full-service digital marketing agency focused on Franchise Marketing. She was recently nominated for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year! She’s a passionate Social Media Trainer with 15+ years of successful online business development, sales, and marketing experience. She also holds a valuable Internet Marketing Degree however with the ever-changing world of web marketing she strives to learn something new every day. 

She travels Nationwide visiting her 22 Social Media Enthusiasts Chapters she developed Nationwide delivering in-depth social media training. She also provides Social Media Certifications through founding Web Media University. A current contributing editor to The Franchise Dictionary Magazine and she has written 3 books in her series called, “The Social Media Magnet: Everything You Need to Know to Attract Customers with Social Media”, where she shares her best-kept secrets to success. She also specializes in helping Franchisors and Franchisees develop an integrated web marketing program to drive leads. She’s available for interviews via email, telephone, Skype video, news segments on location and more. Just let her know how she can help!