Search engine optimization (SEO) involves designing, writing, and coding a website in a way that helps to improve the volume and quality of traffic to your website from people using search engines.

Effective SEO techniques help you get more potential customers to your website.Websites that have higher rankings (i.e. presented higher in the search results) are identified by a larger number of people, who will then visit that site. Ensure that you define your market first before engaging in SEO techniques.

How search engines work

Search engines have four functions of tracking, indexing, relevance, calculating and rankings, and the results are used.

For your business (product or services) to rank on search engine, you use your website and each of the pages on your website to achieve your goal. Search engines index all the information on your website so that searches can work more efficiently.

Search engines make these databases run by periodically crawls the Internet. Search engines use secret algorithms (mathematical formulas) for the value they place on elements such as input and output connections, keyword density and placement of words within the structure of the site, determine the influence of your SEO ranking.

The latest trend in search engines and probably the future of search is far from the search approach for keywords based on personalized search.

If a person clicks on certain search results, search engines like Google, Bing and others take this information to gather important trends and customize search results based on specific interests.

How is SEO Relevant to Small Business?

To enhance your website presence, you need to consider marketing strategies such as SEO. Just setting up a website is not enough. Your website has to be marketed and promoted.

According to research, the majority of online consumers use a search engine to look for products, services or business information.

The majority of web traffic is driven by the following search engines: www.google.com (the most commonly used search engine); www.yahoo.com, www.MSN.com, and www.ask.com (Source: Rand Fishkin, Beginner’s Guide to SEO, 2006). Targeted visitors to your website are more likely to result in new customers and increased sales.

As a small business, your marketing budget is likely limited. However, there are some cost-effective SEO techniques that you should be aware of (e.g. editing your web pages to ensure you have good quality content and the right keywords).

These techniques will bring more people and the right kind of people (i.e. potential customers) to your website. Using effective SEO techniques can put your business on a more level playing field with larger companies.

By carefully considering your budget, timelines and your marketing need you can choose SEO techniques that will give you the most value for your money. SEO is a long-term process.

However, you can work towards improving your website’s ranking by taking small steps over a period of time. Get an easy to navigate website here.