What do the statistics say?
Up to 78% of web users do online research before purchasing a product or service.
80% of web users only review the first page of Google search results.
75% of all search clicks regardless of search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo) are made on the top 5 ranking websites from result list.
Yup, the numbers are real. Furthermore, the percentages do not stand still but grow all the time.
Why is this so? People don't want to do research and comparisons. They don't have time and hate scrolling through the pages of search results. They need a product or service immediately.
Every time someone searches for a product or service, keywords have to be typed into a search engine, and results are displayed regarding those keywords. When selling online, you want your website to appear in search results so that users can review your offer and make a purchase. The key to a successful sale is having a good website ranking, if possible, between the top 3 positions. Now, think about how much would you sell if your website would be listed on the 4th page of Google search results. It is very likely your website will not come even to a customer’s thought process.
The secret of good ranking websites is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) service. This is the process of improving a website by making it appear important to search engines. Consequently, it gains an advantage over other competing websites. This can be achieved by following steps:
- Extensive keyword analysis to determine those with lots of monthly searches.
- Selecting suitable keywords (also considering costumer's budget).
- Optimising page on-site (by improvement of landing pages).
- Connecting the website to various webtools for monitoring analytics, goals etc.
- Performing page off-site (by gathering high-quality links).
In fact, the process is much more complex, and a good achievement is not possible without skills related to SEO fields, or you may cause more loss than gain. When all is done right, the website ranking positions begin to move up towards the top. Sometimes a small change takes time to have an effect, while other times it goes rapidly.
What was my role in the SEO field? I participated in the development of company’s custom CMS as well as regular monthly maintenance. I was also responsible for setting up web hosting, opening mailboxes, and providing technical support for every new customer. Furthermore, I developed a web app to monitor and inform our customers about their website’s ranking positions. Since SEO is strongly related to high-quality website content, I also tried my hand at copywriting.
