SEO (Search Engine Optimization) has become synonymous with business, but some entrepreneurs do not understand its importance. It helps any business gain a competitive advantage in this day and age of the internet which is not only a useful marketing tool but also the means to increase profit margins significantly. However, to grasp its effects, there are some points that every entrepreneur must note.

1. SEO is an investment

While most people in business take SEO as an expense, it is an investment. It makes you visible online and helps you to create brand awareness the higher the search engine ranks your business. If you can deliver high-quality content, your company’s website will experience high traffic and end up being in the first page, among the top three spots. It may cost you money to set up an SEO but the yields you get in return far outweigh the expense.

2. Choose the right keywords

The words you choose make a considerable impact when using SEO. While you can use single keywords, using about four keywords specific to what you are referring to is also recommended. As many brands now seek to personalize their SEO experience using such phrases, sumomediaseo.com is helping entrepreneurs get the right keywords through their digital marketing agency.

3. Have good content

Quality of the material published on search engines is the fuel driving the chances of top rankings, especially with Google algorithm incorporating a penalty for low-quality content. It is thus imperative for an entrepreneur to ensure he publishes only high-end content and keywords to end up getting a higher ranking.

4. Use social media

Social media is the in-thing today, and people have their profiles on all platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With almost everyone now owning a smartphone, access to the social media platforms is easy, and an entrepreneur should use them to increase their online visibility. Also, there is a correlation between a webpage’s Google+1 likes and the search rankings for that particular page, according to SearchMetrics and Moz surveys. Sharing content on Google+ is likely to yield in the top ranking because Google uses it to discover new content. Therefore, any information shared on Google + is quickly indexed. It is therefore important for an entrepreneur to start a Google+ community by setting a Google Place page.

5. Speedy internet

There is nothing as annoying as a page that loads for hours. Therefore, every entrepreneur should ensure that his webpage loads quickly. Besides, Google likes delivering quality results to its users and speed is one measure of quality; hence a slow speed will have your web page among the lower ranking pages. A faster response time increases the chances of people sharing your content through social media. Therefore, you should ensure your website loads efficiently.

6. Using structured data

Search engines, Google included, use structured data to engage the display of search results. Since Google gets different data entities, using structured data will increase the chances of the search engine interpreting your content much faster. According to a Google Webmaster Blog, when Google understands your structured data more efficiently, it can present the content much more accurately to the user, and in an attractive manner. Structured data also helps in getting Google Now cards to make more people aware of the content of your business.

7. Fix technical issues

Technical issues that affect an SEO have been there, but an entrepreneur should get an SEO consultant to fix them. Such problems include poor content management systems that duplicate content and site-wide navigation that a search engine can not sense. The more you stay without fixing them, the more damage they will cause, and they will not only slow down your SEO performance, but they will also affect a new Penguin or Panda update.

8. Having paid links does not affect your SEO ranking

Some businesses have decided to adopt the pay-per-click (PPC) approach to advertising their business with the belief that it is an online marketing tool. While it may get people to click on the links and know more about your products, it is not useful in increasing your chances of ranking top of the SEO listings. SEO does not concern itself with paid advertisements. Instead, it cares about organic search results. While useless in the SEO listing, PPC is useful in helping you launch a website because it increases the traffic for visitors to your page.

In light of the above, any entrepreneur should consider investing in SEO and though the returns may not be immediate due to keyword competition, constant technical issues that need fixing among other factors, it will help you climb to the top of the ranks.