Chances are, you’ve heard some hype about search engine optimization (SEO) and you appreciate the importance of being visible online. You’ve familiarized yourself with internet marketing, and you’ve created a website to help bolster your personal brand as a mortgage broker. The question is, how well is this working for you?
Why is Search Engine Optimization so Important?
Essentially, a proper SEO process will make your website easier for both users and search engine robots to understand. This process will attempt to improve your search engine rating, in other words, help you appear at or near the top of a page of search engine results. Good SEO is about delivering relevant content to your consumer at the exact moment that they need it.
To see how you’re doing so far log on to a major search engine such as Google and type in your name. If you have a really common name refine your search by entering your city or another keyword such as ‘mortgage’. If you don’t find yourself appearing on the first page several times (or at all), then neither will anyone else who does a search for you.
Still Not Convinced SEO is Worth Investing In?
Consider the fact that searching is the number one driver of traffic to content sites. Do you remember the last time you made a major purchase without looking for information online? Statistics show that most consumers will in fact do a search, such as a Google search for information before even picking up the phone to call someone. And with increased searches on mobile smart phones and tablets, it has become that much more common for consumers to research you on the fly!
The simple truth is that building a remarkable website is not enough if you don’t have a web presence to back that up. And that is exactly what an effective SEO process can do for you!
How Do I Start?
Search Engine Optimization is an accumulation of different processes. In can be as simple as blogging or increasing your activity in social media (related to your business). Most often, however, SEO is referring to improving your page ranking through keywords, linking, and content.
The SEO process is not just about driving traffic to your website, it is about how you convert that traffic once they have arrived at your landing page. As a matter of a fact, your website’s conversion rate can be of higher consideration than the amount of visitors you have.
The SEO process is not something that happens overnight. Understanding the dynamics of search engines is complex and ever-changing. Search engine robots are becoming increasingly sophisticated, complete with complicated algorithms. Often the process of optimizing your website will require tedious trial and error and a long term investment.
Depending on your budget and your time limitations, there are things you can do to start optimizing your website yourself. Tutorial sites such as www.lynda.com provide online SEO training that you can take advantage of right away. Alternatively, there are countless companies that can help you with your SEO, and I am confident they can all be found by doing a search online!
For now, I urge you to have a look at this fantastic free e-book from HubSpot, that debunks 17 common myths surrounding SEO.
