What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. In a nutshell it means actions you take on your site to make it appear higher in search results. For example, if your business sells pens, then you will obviously want your website to be found when a person searches for “pens for sale.” The steps and actions you take to make your website appear as high as possible in the search results for “pens for sale” is search engine optimization, or SEO for short.

Why is SEO important?

Who doesn’t want their business to be found first for an important keyword? Who doesn’t want their business to appear higher in search results than their competitors? Who doesn’t want to have the best possible chance of someone visiting their website instead of someone else’s?
SEO is an integral aspect of having a website. We’re all familiar with the phrase “If you build it he will come” from the movie Field of Dreams, but that doesn’t play out in the real world. You can’t simply create a website and expect people to pour in by the masses. You must spend the time and resources to get the word out there about your website before people will begin to visit.
Think about it in terms of a brick and mortar store. If you open a store in an area that no one could accidentally stumble upon you, would you stay open for months hoping someone wanders in and purchases, or would you reach out to people and tell them where to find you? SEO is the same idea in a digital format. You want people to find you, and SEO is one piece of the puzzle to help them do that.