For word nerds, some of us like working through Wordle; some like crosswords; I like working SEO content. I’ve always loved words and exploring the ways language functions—sometimes, it’s a tool and sometimes it’s a medium, and sometimes it’s “just” an emotion.

Before SEO, search engine optimization, came along I tried my hand at Scrabble; there was a little group that regularly met up at a local grocery store café. I think I saw a post about the group in the local newspaper, the Lubbock AJ—and to set the timeframe—the print version of it.

Having no idea what to expect, I rolled in and was warmly greeted by a mixed group of both men and women, older, silver haired. They had their Scrabble tile racks set up, Scrabble boards open, ready to play. They were so kind to me—helping me set my tile rack, running through the rules, asking me about myself, and then it was time to play.

Did you know there’s a timer in Scrabble? I didn’t, but I found out that day. I also found out this group was not playing around about Scrabble. I got my…let’s just say in so many words I learned a lot about Scrabble and the next time I showed up I was prepared for when friendly conversation stopped and Scrabble started. I loved that group.

Much like Scrabble, writing SEO content involves looking at the parameters in front of you, the board and tiles in play for Scrabble or the topic you want to promote and its related words and terms in SEO.

If you’re selling umbrellas for instance, you could put together a cloud of related words and terms that included, of course “umbrella/s”, but also “need an umbrella”, “umbrellas near me”, “umbrellas in Lubbock”, “wind resistant umbrella near me”, etc. For an umbrella store, this could be your set of keywords to focus your online content around.

Essentially, search engine optimization (SEO) as a function is making sure your digital content focuses and features the topics/items/services on your website/online location. For some small business owners, that online location could be a Facebook page or another social media page instead of a website.

So SEO in a nutshell? If someone is looking online to purchase an umbrella, what terms might they search for to find where they can buy an umbrella?

The Key Take-away: For small business owners, solid SEO content, (SEO) working as an adjective here, is the foundation for successful online advertising.

There are various types of online advertising, and you’ll often hear the acronym SEM, search engine marketing, used by marketers. A solid starting place when  considering whether SEM is a good investment for your business is to check that your online content is SEO.

There’s a lot of great tools out there. Google has a several available you can check out for different metrics; for a good overall SEO analysis on your website, I like this SEO Analyzer from AIOSEO. 

#SEO #WhatIsSEO #Scrabble