It's said that as much as 85% of clicks from a search engine results page (SERP) are made on organic (non-paid Google Ads) listings. As the name suggests, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps a business climb to the top search engine result rankings organically by providing high-quality content relevant people who're doing searches for your business and making it easy for search engines like Google to know that you're a credible brand. If Google does not know your brand, they won't promote your business!

As with all facets of your marketing plan, SEO requires research, strategic targeting, and ongoing tweaks. An experienced Media partner can help you refine your digital presence efforts so that you can win with Surround SEO.

Some SEO Efforts Work—And Some Don't

Algorithm adjustments made by search engines like Google are the reason some SEO efforts work and some don't. Since the inception of search engines, and since Google's dominance of that market, SEO has become viewed less of an advertisement solution and seen more as utility. Without a current website and consistent digital presence, your business will not win search!

Quality Issues that Hurt Organic SEO

A surprising number of common website issues can harm your SEO efforts, If you're looking for SEO solutions, check your website for these issues:

• Page indexing issues. Your website needs pages indexed by search engines, but if you have too few, it will indicate to the search engine that the robustness of your content may be lacking. Too many indexed pages can also indicate a quality issue.
• Broken pages. If you have multiple pages with 404 errors, it is a red flag for search engines. If you have multiple 404s, these pages should be redirected to working pages so that your site doesn't appear to be unmanaged.
• Slow pages. If your pages load slowly, search engines will penalize you with lower SERPs.
• Duplicate content. Having multiple pages on your site that have the same information can damage your organic SEO in much the same way as keyword stuffing can. Further, each page with similar content will compete with each other for high SERPs, so you could damage your own standing.
• • Thin content. Web content should be created for the way web users read. Succinct and easy to read are two important criteria, but that doesn't mean that your content should be thin. Multiple pages with short blogs, a page with a single defined word, and other content that looks short and underdeveloped with harm your organic SEO efforts.

Surround SEO with Salem Surround

Salem Surround offers expert Search Engine Optimization other marketing strategies for businesses of all sizes. Our Media Strategists utilize omnichannel, audience-based solutions to Surround our customer's audience with the right message at the right time on the right device.

Let us help you Surround your target audience! Contact one of our Media Strategists or request a free digital presence evaluation to learn how well your business scores.