What is SEO, and why should you be adopting it into your marketing strategy?

“How can my estate sale company rank higher in Google search results?”

If you've ever asked yourself this question, you're thinking about SEO. Before we start implementing SEO practices, we need to start with the fundamentals and make sure we have an understanding of what SEO really is. SEO is an acronym for “search engine optimization.” According to SEO experts Moz.com, "SEO is the practice of improving and promoting a web site in order to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines.”

Why is this important to your estate sale company? Imagine a prospective client who performs a Google search to find an estate sale company in his or her area. Your company is one of the top results. The client is able to quickly see your company name, your contact information, and your five star Google review, which makes it easy for that client to learn more about your business. Now, imagine a company that hasn't incorporated SEO into their marketing strategy. Depending on the size of the company's local area, and the level of competition in that area for search pages, the company's information may not be visible on the first page of Google search results. The company's lack of visibility may cause them to miss out on securing the potential client's attention, which could give the company's competition a chance to capture his or her business.

This scenario is becoming more and more relevant as technology becomes increasingly ingrained into everyday life. Potential clients will be turning to the internet more and more to search for and to compare your services to your competitors' services. If you ignore incorporating SEO into your marketing strategy, you may run the risk of giving your competitors an easy chance to gain a competitive advantage in the online marketing arena.

As of right now, SEO and its incorporation into estate sale companies' marketing techniques is a fairly new concept. In many markets, it's an open, untapped playing field with many opportunities. Being one of the first to implement search engine optimization strategies will help you gain an advantage over your competition within the realm of internet search results. The whole idea is to build your company into a dominating force that's hard for your competition to keep up with. Combining SEO practices with a great marketing strategy, and a great business model will help you along on your way to becoming an absolute authority in your market.

I hope this inspires you to start thinking about incorporating SEO practices into your marketing strategy. Over the next few months, I'll be breaking down SEO strategies into easy tips and tricks you can use to build your estate sale company's online presence. If you're itching to learn more, check out the Moz.com blog "The Beginners Guide To SEO." This is a great resource for getting started and growing in your understanding of SEO.

Please feel free to comment with your experiences, thoughts, questions, or concerns.