Remember when you were a kid and you went to the store with mom or dad. There was a big sign over the door announcing “Hale’s Hardware” or “Belmont Cleaners” or “Grier’s Grocery.” As you walked in, the shop owner greeted you from behind a high, polished wooden counter. Maybe he chatted with your parent while he walked around his shop, helping your parent find what he came for. They’d exchange a few more pleasantries while purchases were rung up and bagged and you were waved off to the next errand with a cheerful good-bye. Shop owners who were able to create that special personal connection with their customers thrived. People enjoyed shopping in their stores and kept going back.
Even in today’s world of impersonal big-box stores, business owners understand the value of creating a personal connection with their customers. That’s why Wal-Mart employs seniors to welcome you to the store and hand you a cart. It’s the reason someone calls out “hi” when you walk into a Staples or Best Buy. It’s why Target employees walk the aisles asking if they can help you find what you’re looking for. And it’s the reason savvy business owners today have websites.
Websites are like the polished shop counter of the brick and mortar stores of your youth. They’re what greet potential customers as they exit the Internet highway and come in the “door” to your business. The tone of your website content, the ease with which customers can move around your website, the depth of the product information provided, pictures, video feeds, Q&A features, chat rooms, forums – all of these website elements work together to build that highly-prized personal contact with your customers that keeps them coming back.
What many business owners fail to realize is that no matter how fabulous their website, no matter how gleamingly polished their “counter,” customers will never find them without a nice, big, bright “sign” over the door. When you create a website, it comes with an ordinary, little sign, your URL. But there are thousands of URLs out there littering the Internet highway, competing for customers’ attention. It’s search engine optimization that surrounds your sign with bright lights and makes it stand out above your competition. It’s search engine optimization that catches the attention of consumers and leads them to your door.
Next Tuesday: How SEO increases website traffic
