1 00:00:00,500 --> 00:00:02,550 [Treehouse] [? music playing ?] 2 00:00:02,550 --> 00:00:06,540 [Business Bay: Island 2, Stage 4: Search Engine Optimization] [with Dan Gorgone] 3 00:00:06,540 --> 00:00:09,620 If you want your online business to succeed 4 00:00:09,620 --> 00:00:12,650 it needs to be found by your potential customers 5 00:00:12,650 --> 00:00:16,070 and, whether they are typing in a search term on a laptop 6 00:00:16,070 --> 00:00:18,540 or asking their phone to find it for them, 7 00:00:18,540 --> 00:00:21,610 Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, 8 00:00:21,610 --> 00:00:25,750 can mean the difference between them finding you or finding a competitor. 9 00:00:26,950 --> 00:00:29,600 SEO is the practice of making your website appear 10 00:00:29,600 --> 00:00:32,980 as valuable as possible to search engines 11 00:00:32,980 --> 00:00:37,770 so there's a better chance of people finding you when they search for specific terms. 12 00:00:37,770 --> 00:00:40,770 Now, users have certain goals in mind when they go online 13 00:00:40,770 --> 00:00:46,140 and the people you are looking for will have goals related to your products or services. 14 00:00:46,140 --> 00:00:48,440 By looking at your own website, 15 00:00:48,440 --> 00:00:51,700 competitors' sites, and conducting keyword research 16 00:00:51,700 --> 00:00:55,120 you can anticipate which search terms people might use. 17 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:59,220 After you determine which keywords make the most sense for your business, 18 00:00:59,220 --> 00:01:02,600 the idea is to use them in all the right places on your website. 19 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:08,470 Whether you're selling T-shirts, cupcakes, a crystal ball app, or anything else 20 00:01:08,470 --> 00:01:12,230 your keywords should appear within the title of your site, 21 00:01:12,230 --> 00:01:15,720 your navigation, and especially your content. 22 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:19,160 Great content is the significant driving force 23 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:21,870 behind the value search engines place on a website. 24 00:01:21,870 --> 00:01:25,820 If you can produce excellent, keyword-rich content on a regular basis 25 00:01:25,820 --> 00:01:28,240 about your business, products, and services, 26 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,400 you'll be ahead of the game and the competition. 27 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,250 SEO is more than just adding some code 28 00:01:35,250 --> 00:01:37,790 or building some pages and then waiting for it to work. 29 00:01:37,790 --> 00:01:41,520 It's an ongoing process that evolves along with your business. 30 00:01:41,520 --> 00:01:46,230 You'll need to regularly monitor your efforts to ensure that they work 31 00:01:46,230 --> 00:01:49,290 and, thanks to advances in technology and growing demand, 32 00:01:49,290 --> 00:01:52,230 the nature of search is also evolving. 33 00:01:52,230 --> 00:01:54,410 The world has become more mobile 34 00:01:54,410 --> 00:01:57,260 and people are doing searches based on location. 35 00:01:57,260 --> 00:01:59,660 They are also using voice commands, 36 00:01:59,660 --> 00:02:04,100 and more results can be found that relate to video content and social media. 37 00:02:04,100 --> 00:02:07,860 It's important to keep an eye on how the industry changes 38 00:02:07,860 --> 00:02:12,860 as the future of your business may depend upon how you change with it.