Clear Books would not have the thousands of business customers that we do if we had not put in the groundwork with Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).

Sure, your website can be useful to existing customers. However, as a marketing platform to potential new customers it is completely pointless unless you understand and implement SEO.

The Internet is a leveller that allows small businesses to compete with big businesses. Good SEO = good rankings in Google’s search results = increased relevant web traffic = more customers.

What is SEO?
SEO is all about clickable links being votes. If you link to my website you are voting for my website. If you link to Clear Books you are voting for Clear Books. So this link is a vote for Clear Books.

The content on my website, the content on your website and the text used in the link all help Google determine what a vote is about.

E.g. the text in this link accounting software tells Google that the vote is about accounting software.

Example
I’ve got a website called Clear Books and I want it to rank well in Google for the term “accounting software”.

Mr Sage has a website about accounting software and he links to Clear Books. Google counts that as a vote in favour of Clear Books being about accounting software.

Miss QuickBooks and Mrs MYOB also have websites about accounting software. They both link to Clear Books too.

Now Clear Books has 3 votes recommending it as accounting software from websites about accounting software.

More links = more votes = higher rankings in Google.

It’s that simple.

If you want more customers go and get more links to your website right now.

Posted by Tim Fouracre

Tim founded Clear Books in 2008. Like many small business owners he worked from home for 15 months to get his startup off the ground. Today Tim enjoys helping Clear Books, its customers and its growing team innovate and achieve. Tim did his GCE O Levels in Ghana.