4 Ways SEO Can Help Chicago Businesses

SEO is vitally important for businesses competing in online markets these days. Search engine optimization is the tool that gets you found, makes you stand out online, and shows the world that your solution is better than your competition.

If your business has ignored SEO until now, the good news is that not much effort can reap huge rewards. Meanwhile, suppose your company has an old SEO strategy. In that case, your ability to stay relevant and reach customers depends on how quickly and how successfully you can update your SEO strategy.

Want to learn more about the Digital Authority Partners approach to SEO? Watch this video!

Let’s look at SEO in more detail and understand how SEO can help businesses in Chicago.

What Is SEO?

Search engine optimization is the process of improving the quality of your website’s content. So that search engines more easily find it and, in return, get more website traffic.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, hinges on using keywords and keyword phrases and figures those factors in with a host of other factors (many of which are not fully publicly disclosed). The algorithms used by search engines recognize a particular website for the quality of its content and elevate that website in search engine rankings.

Put more simply, when a web user goes to a search engine like Google and enters a term, the results at the top of the page are the ones that have won the SEO game. Anything outside of the top 30 returns is inconsequential. As a result, this is because most website users do not scroll past the first page of their search engine results page (also known as SERP) to find the answer or product they are looking for.

Focus on: What Are the Most Important SEO Ranking Factors?

Keywords and keyword phrases figure prominently into SEO rankings. Still, they are not the only things that search engines use to determine how high a page will rank in return results. These are SEO factors that can help your business. The main factors include:

• Optimized content: Besides having a website that is secure and accessible (see the entry below), this is probably the most critical feature. Search engine algorithms rely on keywords, words, and phrases searchers enter into search engines when they are looking for things.
  When your keywords match search keywords that describe what your site is about, you rise in the rankings. However, keep in mind that search engines like Google are looking for unique keywords. So, not simply the same keyword recited repeatedly (that tactic used to work but is now penalized).
• Technical SEO: Technical SEO is optimized content on your site beyond the body content. This content includes meta titles, meta descriptions, page titles, subheadings like H1 and H2, keyword phrases, and alt tags, which help people with visual impairment access your content.
• Domain age and URL: The older a page is, the better its ranking is. URLs that contain some keywords but not an exact keyword match also rank better.
• Page speed: Page speed has been a ranking feature for ages, and it makes sense – if someone clicks on a link only to see a spinning orb while the page loads, they will click away. Many free tools online, including Google, tell you if your page is loading fast enough.
• Mobile-friendliness: Though you probably build your website pages on a desktop, most people access them on mobile devices. Things to look at include having a responsive site that automatically fits the device. Additionally, use large fonts that can be easily read on a small screen, including menus, so that people can get around the page quickly. Also, ensure ads don’t cover content.
• User experience: Including on-page time, bounce target, and click-through rate.
• Links: Links help show your authority. Important links are inbound links, outbound links, and internal links.
• Social signals: Social signals measure how much your content is shareable on social media networks.
• Business information: Business information shows that you are an actual entity and includes name, address, phone number, local search terms, business listing on Google My Business and Facebook, and reviews on relevant review sites.
• A website that is secure and accessible: Search engine bots need to be able to get to the website, look at the content, and understand its purpose. You need a site map, a robots.txt file, and a properly created website.

How SEO Can Help Your Business

As you can see, SEO is a multi-front approach to getting your business found online. Why is SEO so important? Here are four reasons why:

1. Helps you reach more people: The wider you cast your net, the bigger your catch is likely to be. Better SEO means your site is found by more people, no matter the buyer’s journey stage.
2. Gives you a competitive advantage: More website traffic almost always means better market share. Your competitors are likely upping their SEO game, too. If they push you off the front page of Google, they will capture a better market share.
3. Improves user engagement rates: The better your page SEO is, the better engagement you will get from visitors – your site will load faster, work on more devices, be easier to navigate, and explain its content with better clarity and precision.
4. It helps you rank better in local searches: Searches like “car dealer near me” is vitally necessary to serve a local market. Better SEO means you get found by the customers who are closest to you.

Up Your SEO Game By Seeking Professional Help

You could have assigned a high school or college intern to handle your SEO in the good old days. Those days are long gone, however. Instead, SEO now requires a dedicated team of experts at content creation, keyword optimization, website design, and more.

Not up for hiring your in-house SEO team? There are great options nearby. If you are looking for a top-ranked Chicago SEO Agency, Digital Authority Partners stands ready to help Chicago businesses maintain and grow their market positions with many marketing tools. Including search engine optimization and pay-per-click management, marketing analytics, design, demand generation, lead generation, digital marketing, and more.

Schedule a free consultation today to see what Digital Authority Partners can do for your business.