What Does an SEO Company Actually Do?

You can position your website in a visible and coveted spot on a search engine results page when you partner with an experienced SEO company. This company should be providing reports, answering your questions, and getting a lot of work done – but do you know what an SEO company actually does ?

The entire process can be rather involved, but it basically comes down to a lot of research and creating an informative and well-structured site that provides value.

SEO is an investment, and it’s a strategy that takes time. You need to know what your SEO agency is doing to ensure that your customers can always find your site.

High-quality content and optimized backend elements of a site help increase the value of that site to the search engines and your potential users. When a search engine identifies a site that provides helpful information, it is more likely to feature it on the results page for a relevant search term.

Now that we’ve covered the basic definitions of what we’re trying to achieve, let’s get into what we do to make it happen.

Algorithms are a big part of SEO, but the thing is, not a lot is known about them. Search engines like Google keep the details under wraps and rarely provide insight into the inner workings. Experienced SEO companies research how search engines respond to different sites to better understand how the algorithms work.

The more we learn about algorithm behavior, the more effectively we can improve a site and make sure it gets included on a results page. It means staying up-to-date with industry standards and a lot of testing and revamping to make sure everything is running optimally.

Before an SEO company can outline a strategy to help your site rank, it needs to understand your current status and what is happening within your industry. Some of the questions an SEO will want to answer include:

After learning all about your site, we look at the competition. We need to know what your competitors are doing right and what they are forgetting to do, because that could open up opportunities for your site to shine. There are also certain expectations and standards within an industry, and it’s essential to ensure your site is employing the best practices.

After all the research has been done, your SEO agency will create a custom content strategy to help your site rank. This approach will address areas that need improvement to create a well-rounded, effective and welcoming website that appeals to users (and search engines). A strategy will likely be a multifaceted approach and could include:

Keywords are perhaps the most well-known aspect of SEO, and for a good reason – they matter. Keywords align with the search terms people are likely to use, and they clue in search engines to the gist of the content on a page.

An SEO company will explore all the possible keywords that are relevant to your products or services and determine how difficult they will be to rank for. It may be worth it to go after those difficult words if they prove to be the most lucrative.

Quality content pulls users into a site by providing helpful information about your products or services beneficial and relevant tips. Good content helps generate sales by turning users into customers and shows search engines that your site has something of real value to offer.

Your SEO firm should optimize your website content and provide a steady stream of new content that is relevant to your products.

Your site needs to deliver a good experience on any device, but most traffic is mobile. Your SEO company will make sure that your site can accommodate mobile users and ensure they have a positive experience.

Metadata is basically data about data. This information is provided on the backend of websites, and it helps search engines understand what is happening on a given site. Metadata helps search engines find the appropriate sites based on a search query, so your strategists will use this opportunity to make your set more attractive to users and search engines.

After the strategy is in place and your site has been optimized, it is time to hurry up and wait… sort of.

It can take months to see results from an SEO strategy, but that doesn’t mean your company isn’t doing anything during this time. The entire process is ongoing. Data will be compiled as search engines and users interact with your site, and there is still plenty of work to be done after that first wave of data comes in.

“Clickthrough rates” and “session duration” provide more insight into how users interact with your site, and this is an opportunity to fine-tune everything further to better connect with your audience.

There is always room to grow and improve, and there is always a competitor looking to overtake your spot. Adjusting and keeping up with your SEO strategy is essential.