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Let’s face it, most people go to Google as their first stop for shopping for just about anything, and this especially applies to consumers looking to hire...

Ranking in Google Maps: How to Fix Your Local Listings

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It's one component of digital marketing that's designed to help websites get found by people in search engines, such as Google. Key components of SEO include, but aren't limited to, keywords, quality content that's relevant to common searches, meta tags, backlinks, and page performance.Keywords can include the primary search term someone is likely to use plus semantic phrases people would naturally use when talking about the topic at hand. Good SEO helps search engines, such as Google, know that a site has content that is relevant for the searcher's needs.

An SEO agency is a business that specializes in supporting strong SEO on and off websites for other brands. SEO agencies can handle a variety of tasks, including creating or hiring out content, conducting keyword research or site audits, building backlinks, enhancing site performance, or completing competitor research.

The cost of SEO depends on services and fee structure. SEO experts might charge up to $130 per hour, but clients can often save money by paying a monthly retainer. With a retainer, clients pay, on average, $500 to $5,000 or more per month to engage an agency, depending on the scope of the SEO project and the skill and experience of the SEO agency team. It’s also important to note that clients get the benefit of core services and may buy other services a la carte.

What businesses need in an SEO agency depends on their unique requirements. But some common traits to look for include:<ul><li>Knowledge of search engine optimization and online marketing in general</li><li>Processes that ensure the agency keeps up with SEO trends, including changes to Google algorithms</li><li>Options for a wide range of services, including content creation, backlink creation, keyword analysis, and page performance auditing</li><li>A transparent fee structure that's easy to understand</li><li>The type of customer service that works for the business; options might include a dedicated rep, a team that can be reached via chat or email, or automated self-serve options</li></ul>

Historically, companies would build backlinks in questionable ways. They might spam public forums with links, for example. Reputable SEO companies don't use these types of "black hat" options today, in part because Google penalizes sites that do. Some legitimate and effective ways SEO agencies build backlinks can include:<ul><li>Creating compelling, relevant content people will link to</li><li>Managing citations on directories, review sites, and social media</li><li>Setting up guest-blogging opportunities with businesses that have similar audiences</li></ul>

Local SEO marketing refers to SEO efforts directed specifically at searches with local intent. If someone wants to find out about the type of birds in the arctic, Google is likely to serve up the site with the best possible information. Conversely, if someone wants to find out about dentists in Dallas, Google specifically looks for sites that look like they're about local dental services in the Dallas area. Components of local SEO include:<ul><li>Claiming appropriate business listings for citation strength</li><li>Ensuring schema is marked up on a site appropriately and matches other citations</li><li>Understanding the keywords local searchers use</li><li>Creating content specifically relevant to local users</li></ul>

SEO ranking refers to how high a page is listed on the search results. If someone searches "Coca Cola," for example, Coca-Cola.com is the first page in the listings. The Coca Cola website also has the next three top listings because it has such strong authority for this word. The fifth page down is the Wikipedia entry on the topic.

SEO friendly means that a site is optimized for search engines to crawl it, which is likely to lead to better page rank. Some examples of website features that are SEO friendly include:<ul><li>Scannable content with plenty of subheadings, bullets, images, and other media</li><li>Relevant content that includes appropriate keywords and semantic keywords</li><li>Architecture and menus that are easy to follow</li><li>Mobile-friendly or responsive design, since Google won't always rank pages that don't work on mobile</li><li>Fast page load speeds</li></ul>

Companies can engage in some DIY efforts to increase their rank in the search engine results. This is something many companies should consider because the majority of searcher clicks go to the top three listings. Some DIY SEO activities can include:<ul><li>Writing high-quality content that's relevant to the user</li><li>Updating content regularly so outdated content doesn't drag down relevance</li><li>Ensuring pages perform well, which includes sizing images correctly so they don't take up the entire screen</li></ul>Businesses may want to hire professionals if they want technical SEO audits, strong keyword research, and web development to boost page rank.

Yes, SEO is effective. The search engines are set up to reward sites that have strong optimization. And since a vast majority of people start with search engines when they want to find something, companies can't afford to ignore SEO, which can be very cost-effective, too. The effort put in today can reap rewards for a website for years.