If you manage your own business, or market one, chances are you’ve heard that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a vital digital tool. But even if you have a solid understanding of it, SEO is constantly changing.
SEO Breakdown
Most commonly known as a method of driving traffic to a website, SEO provides improved browsing experiences for visitors. It also guarantees a site functions at its best. Knowing how to tap into the hidden power of SEO is essential to better understand how potential and current clients engage with your brand.
How does SEO work?
Determining the main steps to take in achieving successful SEO can be difficult if you are not focused on the correct outcomes. Following these steps by order of importance can help you achieve a better ranking:
- Crawl accessibility so engines can read your website;
- Interesting content that answers the searcher’s query;
- Keyword usage to optimise audiences and search engines;
- Personalised user experience: fast load times and pleasing design; and
- Organisation of title, URL, and description.
The benefits of SEO
Website visibility and page ranking
Website visibility and page ranking go hand-in-hand, as they are directly related to one another. Ranking higher on a search engine page will see an increased click rate, which means there are more viewers coming across to your site. Aiming for the first page of Google is a fantastic way to grow brand visibility.
Traffic and clicks
Did you know 75 per cent of audiences will click the first five sites on a search engine? Increased traffic levels must be a a key goal when improving SEO on your website and failing to take action to improve placement will see you rank poorly. Understanding your audience and providing the content, words and phrases they are looking for will boost your presence on search engines and increase the likelihood that users will stick around.
Personalised user experience
As we see a shift in how audiences view digital platforms, improving the usability of your site is necessary. Focusing on relevant content and optimising the responsiveness of a website helps create a positive and personalised audience experience.
Faster loading times
Updating your SEO techniques will also present search engines with easy-to-read content structures. This, in turn, raises your ranking and speeds up your loading time. Keep in mind that over 50 per cent of viewers will expect your site to load within two seconds. Any slower and you risk a higher bounce rate!
Website organisation
Have you ever come across a poorly organised website? The likelihood of customers sticking around on a messy site is very low. Clear title and heading structures will allow viewers easier navigation and ensure search engines pick up your key messaging correctly.
The Evolution of SEO
Keyword research is key
Old-school marketers with outdated knowledge will swear that keywords are the only SEO technique that matters. This inevitably sees their sites rank poorly with no engagement. Keywords are important but, getting tied down by their significance can hurt your outcome. When researching keywords, choose ones that have high search rates and low competition for a perfect balance every time. And with technology like Google Home and Siri now available, it’s important to factor key phrases into your plan, as people can now pose a question rather than search a term to find what they are looking for.
Build authority
This SEO improvement is a new evolution technique, as more viewers are seeing sites as either trusted, or dodgy connections. Authority means a site is designed and maintained with high quality, relevancy and a strong message. The more your site shows this feature, the higher the ranking and increased conversion rates you will experience.
Nail your off-page SEO
The hidden power of SEO sees external optimisation practices take form away from your site rather than on it. Backlinking is the major step to see search engines build valuable authority through quality backlinks from external sites to yours. This may include guest blogging, creating share-worthy content and mentioning other businesses throughout your pages.
Counteracting Search Engine Flaws
A valuable note: search engines can make mistakes! A highly performing site will take steps to counteract any flaws that may come their way. Ensuring proper link structure, minimal coding errors and functional pages determines how well the site will be crawled and indexed by a search engine. Even the best SEO efforts can come undone with faulty forms, audio files and improper language semantics.
Need a team of experts to handle your website's seo?
The Marketing GP excels at helping brands just like you build better relationships with their audience, as well as improving their experience.
SEO must align with the goals of your business, with its hidden power pushing you closer to a well executed marketing strategy.
If you’re not hitting the mark on this simple step, the partnership of an expert agency is vital. Our team leverages your content to drive more people to your site, giving you an edge over the competition.