SEO is a common phrase thrown around today in the digital marketing world. This may leave you asking yourself, ” Well, what actually is SEO?”

SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” It’s a process of how search engines bring your site traffic through your site’s ranking. This ranking is determined by the search engines’ perceived relevance of your site. This ranking is not paid like “paid” traffic, it is purely organic.

“It’s a process of how search engines bring your site traffic through your site’s ranking.”

The key to SEO is about understanding what people are looking for online and what the search engines are “crawling and indexing” for. They work as algorithms that comb through all the webpages trying to determine what relevance your webpage brings to the question or “search” input by the user who is utilizing the search engine.

SERP?

SERP – ” Search Engine Results Pages” are the actual pages displayed when a search engine user types a search in. In recent years the SERP have been filled with ads and Google Map suggestions. This isn’t purely just for the monetization of Google, but it’s an attempt to make it easier for users to find what they are searching for.

For example, if you searched “Tacos in Seattle” you will get a group of local places that serve tacos all in an easy to use format. This little group will have restaurant information such as websites, addresses, hours, phone numbers and even directions on how to get there. This streamlines the process for users to get what they want in the quickest possible fashion.

What’s this mean for me and my school?

Search engines drive more traffic to websites than Social media and email marketing. This makes sense because when you want Chinese food you don’t open up your email inbox and search for Chinese food. Or at least most people don’t… Organic results appear more credible for users when they’re searching than paid advertisements. If your website isn’t optimized for ranking on Google you are missing out on a huge group of parents and students who are searching for a school, or maybe just your school, and not finding it.

How can I make sure my site is optimized for SEO?

Contact an Ivory Hills Representative by email at ben@ivoryhills.us or at 406-671-3573 to learn more about how Ivory Hills can help your business rank on Google.