Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of optimizing your website and its content to increase its visibility and ranking on search engines like Google. For local businesses in Bakersfield, SEO can be a powerful tool to attract new customers and improve your online presence. In this guide, we’ll cover the basics of SEO and how you can use it to improve your business.
Keyword Research
The first step in any SEO strategy is keyword research. This involves identifying the keywords and phrases that your target audience is using to search for products or services like yours. By understanding what your audience is searching for, you can create content that is relevant and valuable to them.
Tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMrush can help you find relevant keywords and phrases for your business. Once you have a list of keywords, you can start incorporating them into your website content, including your headlines, body copy, and meta descriptions.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization refers to the elements on your website that you can control and optimize for search engines. This includes your website’s content, URL structure, meta tags, images, and more.
Some key on-page optimization factors to consider include:
Title tags: These are the clickable headlines that appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) and should include your target keywords.
Meta descriptions: These are the short snippets of text that appear below your title tag on SERPs and should provide a brief summary of your page’s content.
Header tags: These are the hierarchical headings used to structure your content and should include your target keywords.
Image optimization: This involves optimizing your image file names, alt tags, and captions to improve their visibility on search engines.
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page optimization refers to the elements outside of your website that can impact your search engine rankings. This includes things like backlinks, social media shares, and online reviews.
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They are an important ranking factor for search engines, as they indicate that other websites consider your content valuable and relevant.
Social media shares and online reviews can also impact your search engine rankings, as they signal to search engines that your content is being shared and discussed by real people.