If you’re a small business owner, SEO might be the last thing on your mind. But if you want your business to thrive, you can’t ignore SEO. What is SEO and how does it help?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s what gets your business’ website at the top of the results page when people input certain words or phrases into a search engine such as Google. Web.com offers local SEO services that can help ensure your website appears in that coveted position. The closer your business is to the top of the page, the more likely it is people will visit your website and the more likely it is those visitors will become customers.

SEO Defined : Keywords and Spiders

How do search engines find your page and determine rankings? Search engines send out software known as “spiders” which “crawl” the world wide web looking through content for keywords and phrases. This data is used to determine your website’s relevance in relation to the keywords and phrases people search for.

It’s relatively simple to include pertinent keywords and phrases in the content on your website. However, your site’s content isn’t the only place spiders look. Spiders also look for keywords in your site’s metadata.

Metadata is the unseen information found within the HTML programming used to create your website. While you can place keywords within the metadata yourself, it’s much more convenient to have it done by an SEO professional.

Keeping It Fresh

The more often you update the content on your site, the more often spiders will search it. Frequently updating your website will help keep your site at the top of the search results. However, keep in mind that the algorithms search engines use change on a regular basis, so it’s a worthwhile investment to get the help of a professional who can keep your site at the top of the results page.