Learn the fundamentals of digital marketing to use the power of the internet to get in front of customers who are already actively searching for your product or service in Google or other search engines. In this informative post, learn the fundamentals of how search engines work, and what is a search query. Also, learn why your business should be listed on Google, and how search engine optimization (SEO) works. Explore the differences between paid and organic search results to generate traffic to your website. Finally, discover the google search console tool that is free to use. Are you looking for digital marketing help from an SEO consultant? Are you asking yourself, “What Are the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing?”. If so, this blog post is for you!
What is a search engine? And, how do search engines work?
If you’re looking for an introduction to how search engines work, and how it will impact your business, you’ve come to the right place. Learn how search engines find websites, and how they decide which pages to show on search results.
The first search engine dates back 31 years ago, to 1990. Most search engines, like Google and Bing, basically work in the same way. They all perform three tasks:
- First, they examine content they learn about and have permission to see (that’s called crawling).
- Second, they categorize each piece of content (that’s called indexing).
- And third, they decide which content is most useful to searchers (that’s called ranking).
Fundamentals of Digital Marketing: Backlinks
Bots are hopping from page to page based on interlinking. While the content on your site is important, equally important is how your websites communicate with other sites. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) consultants will always recommend backlinks to have more websites connected to yours. This is how Google can give your website a higher domain ranking and therefore rank higher in Google results.
What is a search query?
When a person wants to find something, they type in a word or phrase, which is called a search query. In a search query, you’ll find a combination of advertisements, websites, maps, reviews, pictures, and videos. To show the most relevant information relative to your search term, the search engine compares that query to its catalogue of web pages, pulling out the best matches to show the searcher. These are displayed on a search results page.
See how Doctor Appliance shows up in the #1 position of a Google search query for “stove repair Ottawa”. This is a prime example of using SEO to show up when people are actively searching for your services!
You want to show up when people search for phrases and words related to your business. They are looking for you right now! Use the power of search engines to grow your business by placing the right keywords on your website.
Why should your business be listed on Google?
Because the words entered into the search engine indicate the searcher is interested in your products and services, right now. Showing up in Google search results is a great way to target people who are already looking for you! If you have a locally based business, showing up in Google map listings is essential for attracting people searching for you locally. Search engines help business owners target customers who are already looking for specific businesses, in a specific geographical area.
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
A site without SEO will not appear in search results. That is because the website is not search engine friendly. SEO is a process for ensuring your website is search engine friendly. This is done through optimizing codes on your site to communicate with search engines. There is on-page SEO which includes the content on your site, and how it communicates to Google. Also, there is off-page SEO which refers to how your website is connected to the greater worldwide web.
On-Page SEO
On-page SEO focuses on helping Google better understand your website. This is accomplished with the proper coding of keywords that your business wishes to rank for. It’s important that while we are attempting to rank a website for a search engine, it’s equally important to create relevant content for humans. So, it’s important to avoid keyword stuffing, and instead to create posts that are relevant to what your ideal client is looking for in Google. Content should always be original and never copy and paste from elsewhere on the internet. Some business owners make the mistake of copy and pasting text into several of their websites. This will not be appreciated by Google. Instead, take the time to write out relevant, original and compelling content on each page of your website.
Off-Page SEO
A business can work hard at optimizing its website, but that all means nothing if the website does not communicate with other websites. In order to rank higher in search rankings, one website needs to be connected to other websites. This can be accomplished using a variety of strategies like guest posting, directory listings and more.
What is an organic search?
Organic search ranking is free! As mentioned above, SEO is the strategy to appear in organic search results. Keep in mind that SEO takes time before ranking organically, especially on the first page of Google. If a website is publishing content regularly, organic results could start to flourish within 3-6 months. Organic searches are ranked in terms of how relevant your website is to what the researcher is looking for. Your website can become more relevant by posting regularly and following a strategic SEO content marketing strategy.
Paid Google Advertising Explained – Search Engine Marketing
Buy Ad Space
Use Google Display Ads to buy advertising space on the google search network. Here you can add your ad to high traffic sites to generate more traffic to your websites. This can be an effective strategy for retargeting people who have searched for keywords regarding your business offering. With google display ads, you can also show your ad to people who have visited your competitors’ websites.
Bid for Keywords
When searching on google, you’ll notice that the top of search results are paid advertisements. These are not graphic ads, but rather written text advertising. In pay per click (PPC) campaigns, the strategy here is to bid for keywords by placing a certain dollar amount to each keyword that represents your business. This way you are competing with other advertisers, and your ad will appear when it’s most relevant to what the search query is about. These ads are similar to organic search results, but of course, are not free. A charge is assumed when the researcher clicks your ad.
Both forms of paid advertising are effective in helping the searcher find what they are looking for. Most SEO consultants will recommend using paid advertising until SEO organic results start to flourish.
What is Google Search Console?
Google search console (GSC) is a free google service! Who doesn’t love a free service? The GSC is one of the best tools in an SEO consultant’s back pocket. This is because the GSC provides feedback about how your website is doing in Google search results. You can monitor your performance by seeing which keywords your website is ranking for, which searches click on your site, and what sites link to yours. This is essential in understanding which pages and what content helps your website rank for which keywords and phrases.
SEO Consultant
Do you want to appear where your clients are searching for you? Use digital marketing to generate traffic to your website so you can convert traffic into clients. Work with an SEO consultant to grow your business online. An SEO consultant will be able to focus on your business’ digital marketing strategy so you can focus on your business needs. Are you looking for a free SEO consultation? Look no further than the SEO content writing services of an SEO consultant, Kathleen Parisien.
