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Why Search Engines Matter A Company Primer


 

Search engine optimization strategies

Search engine optimization is a practice that benefits companies large and small. It particularly helps small businesses, who may lack the stature, name brand recognition, customer base, and drawing power of companies that have been around for tens if not hundreds of years.

Search engine optimization is a concept that came to rise with the advent of search engines. The Googles, the Bings, the Yahoos, are all major search engines, and together with their appearance first on the opening of Internet browsers, they demanded attention from Internet users, eventually commandeering the adulation of many.

Search engines operate on the central principle that users determine which data of the massive data system within the Internet to select. They are essentially (seemingly) without any kind of profit motive. Although they offer ads for paying customers, their ability to deliver “organic” search results has made them the preferred method of finding information.

Together, all search engines hold sway over the experiences of users. A full 93% of Internet users begin their online experience with a search engine. It becomes a method to search for local companies, online distribution houses, copy-writing agencies and so much more. This is significant, as search engine are used by hundreds of millions of users.

They become the one stop shop for any number of companies.

Search engines are governed by programmed algorithms. The algorithms rely on “spiders” to find data about the websites, extract that data, and use it to “index” a website. The higher the index of the company, the higher it should appear on the “organic” search results on the search engine. Because this algorithm varies, it can influence a company’s profits by a mere tweaking.

Many of the quandaries that companies large and small face is the ability to influence an algorithm to place the website higher on the search results of the search engine. While some opt for placing ads, which are featured at the top and bottom of the search results, they are unlikely to be as successful as “organic” search results.

In fact, 70%-80% of search engine users ignore the paid ads and focus on the “organic” search results.

Search results that are not paid for are considered “organic.” It’s a term also denoted by the terms of “earned” or “natural” results. Influencing a company’s organic search engine results by raising the company’s position on search engines, should conceptually lead to more customers. This is because: 75% of users never scroll past the first page of results.

Users rely on the search engines to find the best possible answer to their search, thereby assuming that companies at the lower positions of the search engine have perceived lower value for what they are searching for.

An industry that has arisen as the importance of search engines has become better known is the industry of search engine optimization. Search engine optimization is the process by which companies (or companies companies hire) influence their “natural,” “organic,” or “earned” search engine results.

Here’s a quick glance at how effective marketers and others think SEO is:

  • SEO is rated as the most effective lead generation tactic, with 34% of marketers calling it “very effective.”

Part of search engine optimization is a process called “content creation.” Content creation means the creation of articles, videos, or HTML to have the “spiders” hit more keywords on the website, thereby elevating the rank of the websites on the search engine result.

Marketers consider content creation to be of increasing importance in today’s landscape.

  • 92% of marketers say that content creation is either somewhat or very effective for search engine optimization.
  • Over 75% of marketers who have a strategic SEO campaign in place use content creation as part of that campaign.
  • Half of all marketers cite SEO as “very effective.”

An SEO company (SEO standing for “search engine optimization”) remains a positive draw for many businesses and organizations. A business may become invaluable when it comes to SEO services, which include HTML, anchor texts, content creation, and more. Building up a business is important when gaining customer leads, as more content creation builds up credibility.

Companies may value an SEO company to campaign on their behalf, through all the processes defined. An SEO company that focuses on customers has the greatest chance of being the SEO company that retains customers.