Why Do You SEO?
When you think about your SEO efforts, what comes to your mind? Ways to get your site to rank higher? How can you get more traffic to your website? How your site ranks compared to your main competitors?
What’s the common thread in all of those concerns? Your website.
What should be the reason you SEO? Your business.
What’s the Difference?
Ok, I realize that’s a bit of a silly question—you know the difference between your website and your business. But, how well do you keep that difference in your mind when focusing on your SEO? Simply trying to elevate the performance of your website is not sufficient. It will not give you the long-term results you really need.
Your website is just one face of your business to the world. There are many others. Consider your blog, your social media sites, your customer service, any physical locations you may have. All of these things are part of your business. They should all be in your mind when you approach your search engine optimization.
Why?
While it might make sense why your social sites or your blog should be in your mind when you plan your SEO activities, it may not make sense why customer service or brick-and-mortar locations should be. Let me explain.
A consistent experience is what your customers—and Google, by the way—are looking for. True, Google does not have a direct window into the quality of your customer interactions or what your store looks like but your customers do. And your customers are not shy about sharing their thoughts and experiences with others. On social media. Via reviews. And into those, Google does have a direct window. Bingo. All of a sudden, focusing on your whole business is exactly what you need to do for your SEO.
Take the Holistic Approach
The next time you find yourself talking about how to boost your site ranking or get more traffic to your site through SEO, stop. Make sure that any such conversation also connects the dots to how the rest of your business is performing. This will help you to emit the right social signals from all pertinent points.
