I talk to a lot of people on a regular basis who have no idea what SEO is. Even if they already have a website, “SEO” sounds like one of those suspicious computer buzzwords that salespeople throw around just to confuse the average person.

I find myself explaining the purpose and value of SEO services pretty frequently. If you count yourself as one of those people, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it means working to comply with the recommendations set forth by Google and other search engines. The purpose is to receive a high search engine ranking and have your site appear on the first page of search results, hopefully at the top, but there is never a guarantee about that.

Here are some of the questions I hear about SEO on the regular basis:

4. Why do I need SEO for my website? Why do you need water for your garden, fuel for your car, or toothpaste for your toothbrush? The answer is because without SEO, your website will not be flourishing, going anywhere, or accomplishing what you had in mind. Investing in SEO means that more traffic will find your website, and not just any traffic – the people searching for your services ALREADY NEED YOU. That means this traffic is far more valuable than random visitors on your website, as these people are more likely to convert into customers.

3. Why should I care about ranking highly in search engine results? Think about it. When you are searching for something online, how often do you click through to the second page of results? Most people would rather change their search phrase and try again. In addition, Google prides themselves on delivering high-quality, relevant results, so if your company website can make it to the first page of search results, people will automatically associate your company with that type of reputation as well.

2. Can you get my website on the first page of Google by tomorrow? Can you plant seeds in your garden and harvest a full crop the next day? No, of course not! Optimizing your website for the search engines means that you’ve included all the right details to give the search engines an idea of what your website is about. There’s no way to force the search engines to notice you immediately; you just have to be patient. You can pay for ads for your company that will show up on the first page, but those have a minimal effect on relevant traffic when compared to having your website included naturally within the results.

1. How often do you recommend working on SEO? Here at inConcert, we embrace a pro-active attitude towards web work, and recommend adding new content to your website or freshening up the existing content at least once a month. It’s not hard to fit a few hours of work into your schedule when it’s only once a month, especially for something that is going to grow your business. If you still don’t have the time, check out the service plans we have available to see if we can help you and your company thrive!