Search engines are the new Yellow Book. Today, people use search engines for everything! Whether it’s to search for a Thai restaurant; a cool park to visit; a painter; a pub near an unfamiliar NYC Street or even a movie, people are using search engines to find businesses.

So what are the benefits of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

SEO will:

• help search engine spiders find your website and index it according to the appropriate keywords that people are typing in search engines;
• drive more traffic to your website;
• strengthen your brand because of online visibility;
• increase your sales and return on investment (ROI);
• help you be on the first page of Google and other major search engines;
• make your company stand out from competitors;
• create credibility when you show up in search results.

What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process in which you implement certain methods and techniques to strengthen your page rank and relevancy on major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN/Bing). To explain further, let’s consider Google. Think of Google as a massive book – a huge index from A to Z. Googlebots – otherwise known as search engine spiders – crawl web pages in order to determine where in the huge book the web page should be indexed. Spiders pick up on certain code and content (keyword-rich content, bolded words, H1 Header Tags, Title Tags, Meta Tags, ALT Tags, internal/external links and more). Depending on what your webpage has for SEO, the Googlebots will index it accordingly. A web page with no SEO – or limited SEO – more than likely is indexed improperly or not as effectively. This makes it difficult for your company to show up on the first page of search engines when people are typing in keyword searches that are related to your business.

Each web page should be search engine optimized in order for SEO to be effective. This is possible with organic SEO, which Social Media 22 specializes in. Organic SEO consists of keyword-rich content, implementing methods and techniques within your website code that spiders can easily read, and also having internal and external links which helps with page rank and relevancy. Also, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a form of search engine marketing that is effective, but costly.

It’s important to understand that Search Engine Optimization does not happen overnight and any firm that promises quick results should be a red flag. SEO does work, but it takes time for the search engines to crawl your web pages and index them. Results can be seen in as little as 2 months or can take as long as 6 months. SEO is an ongoing process that Social Media 22 can help you maintain or train you on how to effectively continue SEO so that your website has the online visibility needed to bring your business to the next level.

The sooner you implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) the sooner you will get results! Social Media 22 has consistently helped family owned businesses show up in search engine results organically without having to invest in PPC ads, but has also worked with companies who currently use PPC ads and after implementing organic SEO, their PPC advertising costs have decreased.

Social Media 22 offers a free website review and will send you a custom Opportunities Report. Many small companies are missing out on increased business and sales because they are not showing up online. Make sure your company is not missing out! Dial 207.317.6099 to find out how Social Media 22 can provide you with an affordable option to make your company shine! Or click here to contact us.

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