Search Engine Optimization. SEO. Google ranking. Organic search results. Head spinning yet? As a business owner, you may be saying to yourself, “I have vendors to meet with, budgets to balance and new hires to train. I don’t have time to be concerned with SEO! What is SEO, anyway?” Let us give you a brief rundown of SEO basics.

Definition

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website in a search engine’s “natural” or “organic” (not paid for) search results.

Brief History

Archie, the first search engine was created in 1990. In the mid 1990′s, Sergey Brin and Larry Page began working on a search engine by the name of BackRub. Fortunately, this search engine was later renamed Google. Originally, Yahoo was the most used search engine; however, Google took that top spot a mere 5-6 years after its launch.

Just as search engines were in development in the 1990′s, so were websites. Website developers started to realize that they could make money if they could drive visitors to their sites. Website owners noticed that as search engines became a more popular way for consumers to find what they needed, a new need developed – the need to show up in consumers’ search results. That’s how search engine optimization became an important part of your business’ growth.

Why SEO matters for your business

When your website contains relevant and detailed content that your consumers deem helpful, Google (as well as other search engines) ranks your web address as an authority on what your business does best, whether that’s baking the world’s tastiest chocolate chip cookie or providing fail-proof financial planning. When Google acknowledges the validity and authenticity of your website, your website shows up higher on the list in a Google search. The higher your spot on a Google search, the higher the likelihood of clicks and the more valuable your website and product or service becomes for you and potential advertisers on your site.

Head still spinning? That’s what we are here for! So while you are baking the world’s best chocolate chip cookie or taking your clients to a new level of financial security, allow Ziplocal to help you increase your business’ visibility on the web.