Search engine optimization (SEO) is key to running a modern business. The ability to attract website traffic organically can lead to huge growth for your business in the long run. The issue is that it requires a specific set of skills that many entrepreneurs lack.
This is where an SEO company can help you. Today we’ll discuss what an SEO company can do for you and why they’re worth it to stay competitive.
The Basics of an SEO Company
When stripped to its bare essentials, an SEO agency is a company that specializes in improving your companies’ visibility in search engines like Google. In short, they help optimize your website to help you attract more visitors and potential online customers from search engines.
“Organic traffic” is the traffic that comes from online searches. The word “organic” is going to be another key to understanding how these companies best operate. There are many types of ways people can visit your website, but organic traffic is often held up as the gold standard.
The reason for this is that organic traffic (sometimes called organic search traffic) comes from people using search engines. If someone uses a search engine like Google and then clicks a link to your website, that’s an organic visit.
The reason why organic traffic is so attractive to companies is that it has no set cost and often has the highest returns for your business. Meaning organic visits are (more or less) free, unlike through paid advertising.
The issue is that generating organic traffic often takes work and expertise that a business owner may lack. This is where an SEO company can be of assistance to your business.
Understanding Your Website’s Google Ranking
To better understand what an SEO company does, it should be noted that they tend to be Google-centric, and for good reason – 92 percent of web traffic is through Google’s search engine.
Therefore, most SEO companies focus on optimizing a company’s website based on Google’s search algorithm.
If you’ve ever searched for a term on Google, you might have wondered how the results were determined. After all, if you search “used cars for sale”, you’ll see many more results than can fit on one page.
What Determines What Business is Shown First on Google?
The precise answer to this question is complicated and ever-evolving. Basically, Google uses a complex mix of algorithms and live workers to determine which websites are most relevant to each search. After all, Google’s end goal is to provide the most accurate results and best user experience for their customers.
The reason it can be tough to give a more exact answer is Google obfuscates how the system works. They do this to prevent spammers and other bad actors from gaming the system with “black hat SEO” and unfairly gaining an upper hand.
Google frowns upon and often penalizes websites that integrate black hat SEO because they don’t want their users to have a poor user experience.
For Google, a poor user experience equates to less customers that use their search engine, which results in less ad revenue.
That said, good SEO companies specialize in improving website search visibility for Google and other search engines because they work with Google to make their website Google compliant.
Content is King for SEO + Digital Marketing Performance
In digital marketing, it’s often said that “content is king.” There may be debate about what is the most important element of SEO work, but content consistently sits pretty high on that list. Google loves websites that are thought leaders in their industry who produce engaging content.
If you’re wondering “What does an SEO company do?”, content creation is often a big element of their job. If you’ve ever wondered why so many websites have blogs, it’s because it can be an excellent SEO tool that expands your website’s authority in your industry.
The way in which an SEO company helps with content creation varies. Some specialize in writing content for their clients. Others may help guide clients in producing their own content, based on the specifics Google is often looking for.
At NX we provide both services based on your individual needs. Often clients have their own internal writers they want to use. Awesome! we work with them to build their content calendar and SEO optimize the article so not only Google ranks their article faster, but so prospecting customers will read, engage, share and convert with the business.
If a company sells products or services, it may seem odd at first that they would need attractive articles. After all, written content isn’t what gives brings in the bucks. The trick is in what that content does for you.
Articles often become the first brand interaction for customers who are looking for answers on a topic.
Blog content, combined with a well-designed website, can be the start of what is often called a “sales funnel.” This funnel happens when customers visit your site to read your content and are convinced to visit the rest of your site.
Your goal is to design a website that attracts people who would like your products or services. Articles draw customers in, then they notice you sell what they want or need, and then they convert into a customer.
Why Use Professional SEO Help for Content Building?
One might wonder why they can’t make their own SEO-friendly content.
On some level, that’s a fair assessment. It is possible to write good SEO content in-house and some companies do exactly that. However, it is often more of a hassle than one might realize.
First, Google wants more than spammy, vapid content. The algorithms look for specific things on a given page to determine how it will rank them. Generic content often ranks badly.
Second, many companies don’t have the skills and tools needed to write in a syntax that talks to search engines to prioritize the right keywords that will drive business to your website.
Third, writing takes time, effort, and skill not every company has the bandwidth for. SEO-friendly writing is a job skill and a good article can take an hour (or more) to write.
Fourth, social shares, and backlinks are key factors for ranking an article. Many companies don’t understand how to properly syndicate their articles to gain these key ranking qualifiers, which brings us to our next point.
Content isn’t Everything
Many people make the mistake of thinking content creation is all an SEO company does. Whether one thinks it is the most important element of optimization or not, it is not the only element.
One important element of SEO is quality backlinks, which are Google-optimized links to your website from other websites.
Getting backlinks to your site is often a process of negotiating with other websites in your niche. It may be challenging identify good companies to approach if you don’t know how to do it.
However, an SEO company can help you facilitate getting backlinks to your site on other company’s content.
Take Advantage of SEO Expertise ThatYou Lack
The best SEO company for your business is the one that can offer genuine expertise and experience you may otherwise lack. Hiring an outside SEO company to help attract organic, free traffic may seem strange but it can pay big dividends if they do it well.
Time is money! That’s the real nature of any digital marketing company. It is often more cost-effective to pay for help now and grow faster, rather than try to do some form of marketing yourself and get poor results.
If you’re still wondering if it’s worth it, you can ask the company about projects they’ve worked on in the past. You could even contact the companies they’ve helped in the past to get an unbiased look at how the company did.
As well as SEO, many companies are skilled in other areas of marketing and client conversion.
For example, our company Neural Experience specializes in white-hat SEO work. We work with Google to make sure your website is Google compliant and produces the best user experience for your customer. This is also where our other services like software development, branding, UX/UI, IT, and more come in.
We know how important SEO is, which is why it’s factored into all of our services!
Do SEO Companies Really Work?
The question many companies have after learning all the above is “Do SEO companies really work?”
The long answer has some nuance, but the short answer is “Yes.”
Google (and every other search engine) has algorithms that determine what websites show up when someone makes a search. The better you understand what they’re looking for, the better you can design your site to rank well. That’s what a good SEO does best!
That said, SEO is only one tool of many to create a successful business. It is a powerful marketing tool that can be highly cost-effective, but you still need to convert visitors to customers once they’re on your website. This is where our NX analysis comes in.
Additionally, some SEO companies are better than others. That’s the nature of business. If you’re worried a company may not be as good as they claim, do some research and ask questions about their history.
Most companies can’t afford to ignore SEO. Websites are nearly a requirement these days and don’t do much for your business if nobody visits them. Moreover, it is hard for someone to find your website organically without putting some work in.
At the same time, it’s also important to remember to combine SEO with other marketing and sales strategies to diversify your marketing mix. The good news is many SEO companies also specialize in digital marketing (ours included).
Want to Learn More About Our SEO Services?
Our SEO is trusted as a white-hat service that communicates directly with Google to rank your website for the right search queries that drive business to your website. We rank companies of all kinds, local, regional, and national brands.
Our competitive difference in SEO is having a deeper understanding in algorithm neural networks. We apply this knowledge to Google’s search algorithm to make your website Google compliant.
The first step is getting an SEO marketing plan, where we evaluate what your specific domain needs to rank in your specific industry. You can apply for an SEO plan by contacting us here.
If you’d like to learn more on how our company combines modern marketing techniques with even more modern science, contact us! We’d love to discuss what sets us apart from the competition (and how we can help you do the same)!
