Are you on your Best SEO Behavior?

SEO. Who knew these three letters could be so valuable to your business?

These three letters make up the acronym for Search Engine Optimization, the process of improving the ranking of a web site in internet search results, according to Wikipedia. When developing any marketing plan, SEO is considered an important component and should include a strong strategy behind it. At Rhythm we help our clients rank at the top of search engines by working together collaboratively to ensure we are all on our best SEO behavior. Here are some helpful tips, terms and stats to help get you started.

In order to show up (or rank) at the top of the first page on Google, Bing or Yahoo, the three top search engine sites, you need to take proper steps to optimize your website based on relevant keywords that your audience may search for you with. Start off with a keyword list where you identify words or phrases that a user may type into the search engines to try and find you. 40-60% of your overall site traffic should come from organic search.

Understanding the balance between branded vs non-branded keywords is important when analyzing your traffic. A good balance of branded vs non-branded keywords is healthy. At Rhythm, we are convinced that 20-40% of searches should come from branded keywords. The variance could be related to your brand name and if it’s too general. It could be related to your company’s brand awareness already set within the industry.

Focus on expanding long-tail search terms. Long-tail keywords are defined as keyword phrases that consist of between two and five words, usually used when searching for a rather specific item. For example, Rhythm Interactive’s target audience could be searching for a “full service interactive agency in orange county”. That would be a long-tail keyword relevant to our business. Approximately 60% of searches should come from long-tail keywords.

Continue to gain exposure for head terms. According to SEMPO, head terms are search terms that are short, popular and straightforward; e.g., "advertising agency" These short terms are called "head terms" based on a bell-curve distribution of keyword usage that displays the high numbers of most-used terms at the "head” end of the bell curve graph. Approximately 40% of searches should come from head terms.

Optimize what happens after people find you. Keep visitors on your site by adding relevant, compelling content and links to related site pages. Your bounce rate from organic traffic will help you analyze whether or not the content on your site is in fact relevant to that user.

SEO is an ongoing marketing effort that is critical to the success of your company. It comes down to one simple concept: if no one can find you on search engines, then they won’t know that you exist. Don’t lose valuable customers to your competitors because they simply out ranked you in search results. Develop an effective search engine optimization strategy and implement it. If you want an expert opinion on how to get started or lead you in the right direction, then reach out to Rhythm Interactive. We’ll help you rank at the top of search engines and get on your best SEO behavior.