As we move into the second decade of the third millennium, it’s clearer than ever that keeping up with the times matters, even when it feels challenging. At the start of this millennium, marketing a business online was fairly straightforward: put up a website, then place links to it in as many places as possible. In the last few years, though, that has changed. Now, much of the focus is on SEO — Search Engine Optimization.
So, what is SEO? It can get a little complicated, but the basics are simple enough. Google and other search engines scan the websites they can find and rank them based on how relevant they are to the words and phrases people search for. That means if you want your site to appear in search results, you need to think about what potential customers are likely to type in when looking for a business like yours.
For example, if your business sells knitting supplies, you’ll want your site to show up when people search for phrases like “best knitting supplies”, “cheap knitting supplies” and “knitting supplies [your city here]”.
To do that, those terms need to appear naturally in your website text. The challenge is working them in while still keeping the content clear and readable. It isn’t always as easy as it sounds, but once you get the hang of it, SEO can make a real difference.
