Search Engine Optimization

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization focuses on optimizing your web pages to be highly visible in the search engines for the terms your audiences are looking for.

It has three main components:

Technical SEO. Technical SEO is basically laying the foundation for the site, ensuring that many of the technical aspects of the site are optimized: from core web vitals to mobile to security. Our technical audit details 200 touchpoints to analyze and ensure that they are working properly and are optimized to be easily spidered and indexed. Google likes site that are secure, mobile-friendly, and understandable.

On-page SEO. On-page SEO focuses on creating and optimizing your content for your audiences + the search engines. The key is to understand how your audiences are searching for your content and what is their intent in their searches. An on-page audit + keyword research shows us how users are searching and thinking to get to your content, what terms are your audiences using, where your competitors shine and fail, and how is your site doing in ranking for these keywords. The end result is we create content that helps you build your expertise, authority, and trust (EAT) in the minds of your audiences and in Google.

Off-site SEO. Off-site SEO really focuses on becoming known as the expert across sites important to your industry(ies). Building links from other subject matter experts to your site gives you credibility. The search engines take into account what sites are linking to you – are they trustworthy, what do users think about these sites, do they rank well in the search engines in themselves? Creating an outreach program is integral to keeping your site in front of your users and the search engines.

How does Risdall approach SEO?

Risdall’s approach is:

Risdall always starts at goals first. Understanding business and overall marketing goals helps us to determine where to focus our SEO efforts. From there we understand where you are and determine how we can get you to achieving your goals. SEO is not static but instead evolves with your company over time. Our process lets us evaluate at key intervals and reformulate strategies so we can be by your side as your business changes and grows.

Benefits of SEO

Why you need SEO.

Two reasons: visibility and traffic.

Visibility
SEO helps you to gain visibility in search engines. Building your off-site SEO increases your visibility and builds your reputation on websites that have high value for your prospects and customers.

At some point in your customer’s journey your customer will be searching for a solution based on needs. This could be a specific problem they are researching or trying to solve or it could be the solution. It could even be your solution. The goal of an SEO strategy is to identify those keyword terms and be found on the first page when a user searches for them. Being visible helps to grow your awareness in the minds of your prospects.

One of the keys to helping your site be visible in the search engines is visibility on sites where your prospects and customers are. You may be a guest blogger or have a link from an industry trade show or event. All of these increase your visibility to your target audience.

Traffic
Visibility is great. Remember you need to be seen at least seven times to be recognized or remembered (the old adage of the rule of 7).

Being found in the search engine can also help to drive traffic to your web pages for keywords across the funnel: from category-based keywords at the Awareness stage to specific products/services at the convert or ascend stages. Our intent-based SEO helps businesses to understand what your customer is searching for at each stage of the funnel, identify keyword phrases for the pages associated with those stages, and then optimizing your pages for those keyword terms.