What is SEO? and why it is so important

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the practice of attaining good rankings within the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN/Live for a chosen keyword/s using on-page and off-page methods.

This is done in order to aid search engine crawlers with finding relevant information from your site, and indexing that data within their databases so that that information is able to be presented to internet users when querying the search engines.

So why do I need SEO?

Whether you have a more conventional bricks and mortar business or an online business, SEO is critical in helping your business to become more profitable. Like any business, the more leads and customers you get, the more opportunities you will have to convert those customers into revenue.

Common sense says that the more customers you have visiting your website or through your shop door, the more money you will generate. With a bricks and mortar business, if your business is situated in a good part of town and near to a busy street or shopping centre, it's only natural that you will get a certain amount of customers walk through your door. The same can't be said for an internet business.

If you have an online business and don’t work hard in order to get top rankings and search engine placement, your website may as well not exist, as nobody will know that you exist. I always use the analogy of It's like arranging a party, with expensive champagne, great food and waiter service but then forgetting to send out the invitations to your guests”. Nobody will know that there is a party and that you have something fantastic on offer.

The same applies to your new online business website which has all the bells and whistles. You need visitors to that website in order to generate income. This is why it is so important that you give your website maximum visibility across the internet's major search engines.