Search Engine Optimzation (SEO) is a measurable process that is used to send signals to search engines like Google that your pages are worth showing in high ranking positions in Google’s index called the Search Engine Results Pages or SERPs.

Google’s success, and survival, is based on serving relevant non-spammy results for any keyword search. The minute that stops happening, Google will lose money and ultimately cease to exist.

As we build a website, we work with our clients to establish core phrases that we want to target for organic SEO.

Organic is anything you do not pay for. Your positioning in organic ranking is earned by being most relevant to a particular search via a search engine, like Google. (Factoid alert: Google is used 90%+ of all searches with Bing/Yahoo account for the majority of the rest.)

The alternative to organic SEO is pay per click (PPC) via paid placement in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

The most popular service for this is Google AdWords, now called Google Ads.

SEO and how we rank in the SERPs is determined by over 200 factors that Google (and Bing) take into account. The two most important things to consider in choosing the keyphrases (relevance is implied; it is much more difficult/nearly impossible to rank for auto sales if you are a law firm) we want to rank for are search volume and competition.

Search volume is the amount of searches for a specific keyword, typically measured on a per month basis. Competition is the amount of other websites trying to rank for a specific keyword. Keyphrases with low competition are typically easier to rank for.

There are two types of SEO: on-page and off-page.

On-page are things like URL structure, the page title, how images files are named, alt text, and the body of copy/text on the page. Off-page are backlinks, which are links pointing to our site, and social media sharing.

Search engines view keyphrases individually; think of it as a silo. “omaha real estate agents” and “real estate agents omaha” are viewed as separate, unrelated terms by Google and search engine spiders.

To be successful, every keyphrase we target is done mindfully, with intent. Each page has a specific keyphrase and ranking objective in mind.

Just to be clear, there is no one-time SEO fix to rank highly.

Boiled down, it depends on competition, how well a page is optimized, and backlinks. Typically it takes consistent, daily effort to rank for highly-competitive keyphrases and it can take 3-12+ months.

What we do with every site we build is optimize the pages on the site and provide a solid base for SEO success. This is included in the price of a website.

We compile a list of possible keyphrase targets, their monthly search volumes, and competition. From there we select typically between 5-8 keyword targets and build the page content around those.

During the website build, we also create and integrate Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track what people are doing on our site the success of our SEO efforts and how site visitors are getting there. Here is a blog we wrote explaining Google Analytics and why you need it.

We also create a Google My Business directory listing. This is absolutely critical for local SEO success. If one already exists, we optimize it. Here is a blog we wrote –> GMB – What Is Google My Business And Why Do I Need It?

From the solid base established by everything mentioned above during a website build, some clients get exactly what they need and are happy with the results.

But for other clients who are fighting for more page views and leads in the most competitive industries, we offer ongoing SEO packages which you can view here.

We set our clients up for success that is 100% measurable in real time. For ongoing SEO clients, can tell you where leads are coming from via completed forms, phone calls, and other tracking methods that we summarize in monthly reports.

Read more about our approach to SEO via our SEO services page.

Or fill out our contact form and ask us the most difficult SEO question you can think of.