What Is SEO?

If you are on this page, more than likely you are trying to figure out "What is SEO?"

My company philosophy is to make sure fellow business owners, like yourself, understand SEO before spending any time or money on SEO. We've been following this strategy in Kansas City for the last 19+ years.  I also taught Web design and SEO at Johnson County Community College for 18 years.

What to skip the nitty gritty details? Click this button for a free, no-obligation, SEO evaluation of your current Website.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Facts

  • SEO is Marketing.
  • SEO is your business trying to win a popularity contest in Google.
  • SEO is not technical computer nerd stuff.
  • SEO is 100% a human effort.
  • SEO has been around for 20 years.
  • SEO is not putting secret keywords in the back-end of a Website.
  • SEO is a long-term, never ending, slog it out "marketing" effort.
  • You cannot pay Google for higher SEO placement.
  • SEO, done right, can bring you tons of business.

SEO 100% boils down to time. Period!!!   

For GREAT SEO, you should be prepared for a human to spend at least 5 hours a month on your SEO efforts. Whether you do it yourself, or pay someone to do it for you, GREAT SEO, requires a lot of non-technical "human" time happening month after month after month.  It's a long-term, slog it out marathon!

Remember, SEO is nothing more than a popularity contest on Google, with you trying to make your business more popular than others in your industry.

Top 8 SEO Steps You Can Take in 2026

Follow these 7 steps to ensure long-term SEO success.

  1. Keyword research. Don't do anything until you figure out what you want to show up for in Google, and how many people are actually searching for those things. What's the point in doing SEO on something that no one is in Google looking for or doesn't match your future goals? The start of any SEO effort is to figure out what people are searching for, AND, to match those search phrases up with your specific business goals. You may feel you want to show up for certain key word phrases, but what if no-one is searching those specific phrase, or they're typing in Google something different than how you think they're typing it into Google? What if your keyword phrases don't align with your company goals? Finding the right mix of keyword phrases for your "specific business situation" is the critical first step to any SEO effort. KC Web Specialists does this with you as part of our SEO services.
  2. Website Content. Once you've figured out your SEO keyword phrases, it's time to load up your Website with content that supports those keyword phrases. I know I know, all that content makes your Website look too busy!  But Google is all about providing consumers with the most authoritative Website content related to the keywords being searched. If you don't have enough text content on your site, Google will find another site that is more of an authority on the topic being searched. You have to, with content, convince Google you are an "Authority" on a topic. KC Web Specialists does this with you as part of our SEO services.
  3. Unique Title Tags & Meta Descriptions. Google wants to see that every page of your Website is unique. Many people copy pages and don't pay attention to the Title Tags and Meta descriptions. Not only should each page be unique, but each page's Title Tag should contain the keyword phrases you want to show up for.  (NOTE - There is no "Secret" place where you can just load up your Website will a bunch of Keywords. That concept went away about 10 years ago.  Google 100% evaluates your "Authority" on the content that's on your Website. No hidden text. KC Web Specialists does this with you as part of our SEO services.
  4. Secured Website. Does your Website URL look like this https://www.mywebsite.com? Or, does it look like this http://www.mywebsite.com. It makes a huge difference to Google. https:// means an SSL certificate has been installed. This means consumers can feel a level of trust by visiting your Website. Google is all about providing trusted Websites in their SEO results. KC Web Specialists does this with you as part of our SEO services.
  5. Content Change. Is your company an Authority on the topic? One way to assist Google in considering your company as an authority on a topic is to put new content on the Internet all the time.  Google loves Websites that provide fresh new content to the consumer on a regular basis. So what are you doing on your Website, that is giving consumers fresh new content related to the keyword phrase you want to show up for? Blogging? New projects? Ongoing project gallery? KC Web Specialists does this with you as part of our SEO services.
  6. Internet Reach. Is your company bigger on the Internet than just your Website? Do a Google search for your company name. How many links that reference your company show up in the Google search? There should be dozens of places out on the Internet (besides your Website) that references your company. KC Web Specialists can guide you on this as part of our SEO services.
  7. Mobile Friendly - Is your Website responsive / mobile? Does it change shape automatically based on the size of the device opening it? Google demands that people should be able to "easily" use your Website on whatever type of device they want. Does your Website meet this requirement? KC Web Specialists does offer Website designer services.
  8. Site Health - On a regular basis you should be checking the overall health of your Website. Ask KC Web Specialists for a free Website evaluation. 

For 18+ years, KC Web Specialists has taken a proactive, trusted, proven approach in working with our clients and their Kansas City SEO needs.  Our clients are our partners in this Google popularity contest.   Our clients understand the VALUE of paying someone who knows what they're doing for SEO.

Give us a call today at (913) 489-7866, or request a free Kansas City SEO evaluation.

Our Reviews

Excellent
KC Web Specialists LLC4.9
Based on 129 reviews
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Andy L.
1 week ago
Chris and his team did a marvelous job transforming my company's website. I highly recommend him as someone who does excellent work, uses technology well, and is very professional. Thanks again Chris!
Response from the owner:Thanks Andy and Marie. It's been a pleasure helping you with your Website design needs. Look forward to being your continued local design team.
Suzette M.
2 weeks ago
Everyone on the team at KC Web Specialists is skilled, caring, responsive and responsible. They did an awesome job creating our website (gcath.org) and answered probably 1,000 questions we had. They helped us stick to a reasonable time line to get this done, and were very patient with us as we figured out the various elements and functions we needed and wanted for our site. It's a comfort knowing they are not fading into the background now, but will be available for training and support moving forward as we need them. Pick this team for your next website need.
Response from the owner:Thank you Suzette. Being the Web design and SEO answer folks is what makes us happy 🙂 Glad the timeline worked for you all and look forward to being your ongoing local Website development support team. Thanks again.
Angela G.
1 month ago
They are very easy to work with. Creative, professional and keep your project on track! They even helped us with changes to our site long after our project was completed. I would recommend Chris and his team to anyone wanting to build a website!
Response from the owner:Hi Angela, thank you so much for the kind review. We like to think of ourselves as your local Web design partners. We're there when you need us. Whether it's two days from now or two years, the sites we build are made to last and we appreciate that we can help if/when the need arises. Thanks again,
Sandy B.
3 months ago
KC Web Specialists have it together. Period. I am President of a Kansas non-profit and we recently had their team work with us to create a new website. Every step of the process was a positive experience. Everyone was timely, professional, and thoroughly skilled at what they do.

In addition, I'd like to call out two people--Chris Nastav, the owner, and Jeff Forrester, a staff member who offers support and troubleshooting. You can't find more exceptional service anywhere.
Response from the owner:Hi Sandy, you're the best. Thank you so much for your trust in KC Web Specialists, LLC. for your non-profit Website design project. You and your team were fabulous to work with. Happy to be your local partner. Thank you again for the kind words.
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Excellent
KC Web Specialists LLC4.9
Based on 129 reviews
See all reviews
review us on
Andy L.
1 week ago
Chris and his team did a marvelous job transforming my company's website. I highly recommend him as someone who does excellent work, uses technology well, and is very professional. Thanks again Chris!
Response from the owner:Thanks Andy and Marie. It's been a pleasure helping you with your Website design needs. Look forward to being your continued local design team.
Suzette M.
2 weeks ago
Everyone on the team at KC Web Specialists is skilled, caring, responsive and responsible. They did an awesome job creating our website (gcath.org) and answered probably 1,000 questions we had. They helped us stick to a reasonable time line to get this done, and were very patient with us as we figured out the various elements and functions we needed and wanted for our site. It's a comfort knowing they are not fading into the background now, but will be available for training and support moving forward as we need them. Pick this team for your next website need.
Response from the owner:Thank you Suzette. Being the Web design and SEO answer folks is what makes us happy 🙂 Glad the timeline worked for you all and look forward to being your ongoing local Website development support team. Thanks again.
Angela G.
1 month ago
They are very easy to work with. Creative, professional and keep your project on track! They even helped us with changes to our site long after our project was completed. I would recommend Chris and his team to anyone wanting to build a website!
Response from the owner:Hi Angela, thank you so much for the kind review. We like to think of ourselves as your local Web design partners. We're there when you need us. Whether it's two days from now or two years, the sites we build are made to last and we appreciate that we can help if/when the need arises. Thanks again,
Sandy B.
3 months ago
KC Web Specialists have it together. Period. I am President of a Kansas non-profit and we recently had their team work with us to create a new website. Every step of the process was a positive experience. Everyone was timely, professional, and thoroughly skilled at what they do.

In addition, I'd like to call out two people--Chris Nastav, the owner, and Jeff Forrester, a staff member who offers support and troubleshooting. You can't find more exceptional service anywhere.
Response from the owner:Hi Sandy, you're the best. Thank you so much for your trust in KC Web Specialists, LLC. for your non-profit Website design project. You and your team were fabulous to work with. Happy to be your local partner. Thank you again for the kind words.

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