Say the term SEO and people cringe. For some, Search Engine Optimization connotes a mystical, thus surely outrageously expensive, set of ingredients. It brings frightening thoughts of having to pay someone to do SEO work, or palpitations of having to do it oneself.
Actually, since you have a branded Web site and a blog, you can see how SEO happens.
First, understand what SEO really is.
SEO is a process of elevating a piece of content (like a blog article) so it will appear in the results when a prospect queries the Web. The closer your content is in matching the prospect’s query, the higher the potential of the prospect seeing you in his search. That is why it is important to be mindful of building those “search terms” or keywords in your content. (It also helps to have your META and ALT tags filled in—your Web site creator, ASJ Partners, knows this.
Chances are you have heard stories of how someone “gimmicked” their way to a top search engine ranking. Well, that trickery pays off in expensive results because Google works diligently at foiling deceitful masterminds.
Second, what a search page tells you.
Let’s say your prospect queries “staffing firms Raleigh NC.” Google brings up results or SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). At the top, you might see 1-3 paid listings, usually highlighted in a yellow background followed by about 8 organic listings. To the right side of your SERP are ads related to your search query, but someone paid for those, so don’t worry about those now. You want to be looking at the organic listings.
Scrutinize one of the organic results. First you will see the title (which comes from your Web page’s <title> tag. It is followed by the description which comes from your <meta> tag. Concluding the listing is the URL (uniform or universal resource locator).
Since the title is first in the results, it should be the “catchy” part or your “hook.” The meta description is like your elevator pitch. The three components work in unison to convince a prospect to click on the URL.
In Part Two, we’ll discuss how to maximize the components of a SERP.
At ASJ Partners, we are the experts at SEO for the Staffing Industry.
Need help with SEO? Contact us or call 610-348-5805
