Ask the Vetrepreneur: What to know about SEO

Q: What is SEO and SEM?
A: SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It is the process of implementing strategies and tactics to boost the visibility of your website in a search engine’s unpaid results. SEM stands for “search engine marketing.” It is a form of Internet marketing that promotes your website by increasing visibility in search engine research. In other words, it is the paid version of SEO.
So how do these affect your small business? A lot of people use search engines – such as Yahoo, Google and Bing – to search for information, especially before buying a product or service. This provides you as a business owner with the opportunity to swoop in and offer your services, build brand awareness and increase visibility.
If you want a more in-depth look at SEO and how to incorporate it into your marketing strategy, one of the best resources I can recommend is Caimin Jones’ “SEO Step-by-Step: The Beginner’s Guide to Getting Traffic from Google.”
Q: How can I can boost my SEO?
A: One of the best ways is to create original content, such as through a blog. Appealing, useful content can boost your rankings. Every online search has an intent: to understand, to compare, to find, to learn, to solve. Having pages with meaningful content that fits a need will improve your chances of high rankings.

Mark Rockefeller is an entrepreneur, attorney and veteran. He is the co-founder and CEO of StreetShares, an online marketplace where investors compete to provide shares of commercial loans to small businesses.
Follow Rockefeller on Twitter 
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Have a question? Send it to him at questions@streetshares.com.