SEO: What is it, and how does it work?

Search Engine Optimization is the process of connecting your company to the people who are looking for a business exactly like yours.

That’s like someone asking their friend this question:
“Do you know of a good widget store in town?”

And the friend replying:
“Yes, ‘Brand X Widgets.’ Here’s their phone number and address, the hours they are open, a brochure all about them, and referrals from three other people.”

Yet that’s exactly how SEO can bring customers to you!

Customers are looking for you — can they find you?

With more than 40 billion searches a month, the question is not “Are customers looking for our products or services?” The question is, “How will they find me?” Because you can bet that those customers will find what they are looking for. If they don’t find you, your competitors are getting the business.

How do we do it?

There are basically 4 steps to this process:

1) Research
We find out what people are actually typing in when they’re looking for a business like yours. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But that fact is, it is never what you think it is. Our job is to determine what the most relevant, profitable search terms are for your business.

2) Setup
This means adjusting your site so that there are no barriers or obstacles to search engines. Most of this happens “under the hood,” but sometimes it involves creating content on your site if it’s needed for your search terms. We also verify that any necessary social media presence is created or maximized. This can be anything from Google Places to Facebook. If you’re tracking is already in place, we analyze it; if not, we set it up.

3) Inbound link building
Probably one of the most misunderstood — and at the same time, most important — factors in SEO. We build a web (no pun intended) of relevant content around the Internet that links to your site. This is the most time-intensive part of the process.

4) Analysis
Every month, you’ll receive a detailed report about exactly what we’ve done, and how it’s affecting your traffic. Working with you, we make the final connection of how that’s resulted in business for you. After all, that’s what really counts!