Necessary Vocabulary
SEO – Search Engine Optimization is the process of optimizing anything digital (mostly websites) for search engines to (normally) appear higher up in search results than competitors.
Pogosticking – The process of clicking on a search result, realizing it does not answer the query, going back to the search results, and finding a new search result to better answer your query.
Do, Know, How Queries – Transactional. Informational, and Navigational queries respectively. *
SEO is and will continue to be Significant. Here’s Why.
The Search
This is the process of people refining their queries to find more accurate appearing search results. This is also when the user first picks a link to experiment with. Usually, the first choice is within the first 3 non-paid search results.
First Impression
This part of the process is exactly what you think it is – a visitor’s first impression. What do they see? Did it load fast enough to retain their interest? Are there typos? This is the evaluatory period in which they determine if they are going to stay on your page and have the query answered or not.
The Decision
Did this site have the answers the prospect was looking for? Did it answer their query, or are they forced to go back to the search results and pick a more apt listing? This is the part of the process that many people fail to realize is similar to a trust fall with someone you met minutes ago. If they leave at this point, it’s because you were not able to gain their trust and convince them to stay. You can’t be upset at someone for not trusting someone briefly after learning about them. Do not take the prospects that stay for granted.
Conversion
Good job. They looked up a query. Found you. Evaluated you. Decided to stick around. Now they’re ready to convert. Whether it be signing up for an email list, or buying a good or service. A conversion is a conversion. If they made it this far, you’ve either done a helluva good job keeping them happy on your site or offer something mandated by the government (yes, I’m talking to you and all the headaches you’ve caused FAFSA).
Although this flowchart does go much in depth about SEO, it still sums up its significance. Search Engines will continue to exist, as people will still have queries. Although search engines alter their algorithm from time to time, one thing has stayed constant from the start. The goal of a search engine is to put the best content possible in front of the user. Of course, there are blackhat methods of ranking, but time after time the search engines have shown their disapproval for falsifying quality of content and have handed out a multitude of penalties to people who do resort to those tactics.
All-in-all, SEO is the key to turning strangers into converters, without spending huge sums of money on ads.