As a business owner, you’ve probably heard the term SEO, short for search engine optimization. But what is SEO and how does it work? Why should you care about it when it comes to your website and online presence? I sat down with SEO expert Sean Work, of Judicious Inc. to get some answers. Read on to learn about the importance of SEO for business owners, common SEO mistakes, and one thing you can do right now to improve the SEO of your website.
EG: What is SEO and why should business owners care about it?
SW: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is just a part of marketing. It’s about getting seen in the way you want to be seen in search results. This means making sure your website is indexable and accessible to search engines (which are really just robots). Also making sure your brand, your messaging, and the value of your product or service is clearly communicated and that you show up the way you want to show up. I like to think of it as billboards on the highway. Potential customers are driving along - you want your billboards to get noticed and you want to make sure they say the right thing. SEO helps you do that.
EG: What are some common mistakes you see businesses make when it comes to SEO and online brand presence?
SW: So, there’s a couple common mistakes I see. The first one is that the homepage title tag just says “home”, which tells me that the website hasn’t been optimized for SEO. Another common one is that the website isn’t secure.
Then there’s the written content. People simply don’t have enough written content, or they have content, but haven’t done any keyword research to optimize their content with the right keywords. They are just guessing what keywords people are searching for, instead of doing the research and finding the facts. A great free SEO keyword research tool for business owners is Ubersuggest.
EG: What is one thing that a business owner could do right now to improve the SEO of their website?
SW: One simple thing is to create individual service or product pages on your website. Many people just have one “Services” page on their website where they have all their different products or services listed together. Creating individual pages for each product or service with written content is great for SEO.
EG: What do you love most about what you do?
SW: It’s a win-win. My clients keep me sharp. The more I do, the better I become at my craft.
Sean Work is the owner and founder of Judicious Inc, a company that's king of super thorough SEO services. They offer keyword analysis, SEO audits, local SEO optimization, and more. Sean Work is an industry veteran and a valuable resource for businesses on all things online. He began his career in 1999 in e-commerce, way before it was cool. He’s based in Orange County, California, and works with clients all over the United States virtually.
This interview is part of a new series Business Services Spotlight where I interview a different B2B owner on their craft each month. Know someone I should interview next? Drop me a line!