If you’re a small business owner in Tucson, you’ve probably heard quite a lot about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Understanding SEO isn't just beneficial to your business, it's an essential part of standing out against your competition online, where visibility = viability. SEO is the most powerful tool your business has to be found by local, potential customers searching for your products and services.
But the world of SEO can be very daunting—filled with technical jargon and intricate strategies split into two main camps:
- On-Site (or On-Page) SEO
- Off-Site (or Off-Page) SEO
But what really is the difference between on-site and off-site, and why is this distinction so important to highlight? Fear not! At Anchor Wave, we're here to decode these complexities, ensuring you can harness SEO to its full potential (and use it to grow your business)!
Off-Site SEO: The Art of Influence from Afar
In the past, if someone needed a local business, they'd have to search the phone book for answers. But in the digital world, customers can easily find and compare businesses by just searching Google for relevant keywords. Now, it is easier than ever for businesses to be found and noticed by potential customers, and online reviews allow potential customers to instantly gauge a business’ reputation and reliability. However, with this increased visibility comes more competition and a higher bar of entry to play the game.
Off-site SEO is about making sure your digital footprint extends beyond just your website, making sure that many places around the web are pointing to your business’ site. Think of it as building bridges that connect your site to other reputable sources across the web. These connections validate your site's credibility and relevance to search engines, which will help your business show up more frequently and higher in search queries.
One crucial aspect of off-site SEO is managing your online listings and profiles across many different platforms. Making sure your information is accurate and up-to-date not only helps potential customers find you, but also signals to search engines that your business is active, legitimate and trustworthy. This is doubly important for local businesses looking to attract customers near them. By optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) and listing your business on directories like Yelp and Bing Places, you can increase your chances of appearing in local search results when people are looking for products or services you offer in their area. When you then expand on that to other directories and industry specific sites, you build an even stronger foundation for Google to understand what you do and how your business is the right business to share with potential searchers.
Although off-site SEO usually revolves around technical aspects like citation building (listings of your website on new sites), building out strong and well optimized social media platforms is an equally important way of building momentum off-site. Being a primary citation of your brand, social media platforms show up right below your own website, and help Google see your site and brand as a primary source in your industry.
Off-site SEO is about building online connections and establishing your website's credibility and authority beyond its own domain. It's a multifaceted approach to SEO that combines strategic link-building, online profile management, and social media engagement to enhance your website's visibility and relevance in the eyes of both users and search engines. But while it is an essential part of dominating your local area online, it is only half of the battle!
On-Site SEO: Optimizing Your Digital Storefront
When it comes to on-site SEO, it’s not just about creating a visually appealing website; it's about strategically optimizing every aspect of your website to resonate with both search engines and your target audience! This process is always ongoing, requiring constant refinement and adaptation to stay ahead in the ever-changing world of search engines and web browsers. Much like a physical storefront, your website needs to be inviting and easily accessible to attract potential customers, welcoming them with information, context, and brand voice.
Effective and strong keyword research is one of the most powerful ways of optimizing your website for search engines. By identifying and adding relevant keywords into your content, you not only improve your chances of ranking higher in search engine results, but also increase the odds of attracting organic traffic (who are people who found you by searching for keywords related to your business). On top of that, its also important to regularly update and refresh the content around your site. This signals to search engines that your website is active and relevant, while also providing value to your audience, keeping them engaged and coming back for more.
But that's just the stuff that viewers see, what about the stuff that only search engines see? Looking at the backend of things, meta tags play an essential role in on-site SEO, providing search engines with invaluable information about your website's content. These tags – including meta titles and descriptions – serve as the first point of contact between your website, search engines, and potential visitors! Crafting compelling and informative meta tags can significantly impact click-through rates and ultimately drive more traffic to your site.
On-site SEO is about fine-tuning every component of your website — from its structure and content to its backend meta tags and internal linking — to establish authority, relevance, and trustworthiness in the eyes of both search engines and users.
Anchor Wave: Your SEO Navigators
Building a digital presence and harnessing both off-site and on-site SEO takes time to master; time which you could be using to manage the daily operations of your business instead. Not only that, but search engines are always changing (and not always in the most obvious ways), so staying the most competitive and on-top of these changes can be time-consuming and headache-inducing! You might have to read SEO publications, or news articles about search engine updates, all while consistently updating your site’s content AND continuing off-site optimizations. It’s no wonder people are so intimidated by SEO; there’s so much to know and do, and it’s always changing!
Luckily for you, Anchor Wave is here to help!!
With over 21 years of experience, Anchor Wave understands digital marketing in Tucson better than anyone else. We have seen search engines and SEO techniques change and alter over the last two decades, and we’ve made it our mission to always push forward, ensuring all our SEO clients are kept competitive and optimized both on and off-site.
In fact, we believe so strongly in education and providing business owners with the information they need to make good business decisions – we provide our team’s time, proprietary tools, and information to generate what we call a “GeoGrid” report. This gives powerful insight into where your business stands in the world of SEO. Why not grab one for your business and find out where you stand in your “SEO backyard”? Click here to book your report and consult!
By choosing Anchor Wave, you aren’t merely picking a service provider; you’re forging a partnership dedicated to working together to amplify your digital footprint and help your business grow. We work closely with you to ensure we're consistently working toward your business’ goals' all while maintaining your values, voice, and style. Together, let's elevate your website and online presence to something truly exceptional. Are you ready to elevate your business’ online presence, and be found by Tucsonans in your industry? If so, you should reach out to us, and let's begin this transformative journey together!
Give us a call or schedule an appointment to meet with a web strategist!
