68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
BrightEdge
SEO is a term that’s thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? In this post, we’ll break down the basics of SEO and explain how it can be used to improve your website.
SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimisation’.
It is the process of improving your website so that it ranks higher in search engines. SEO is a long-term strategy, not a quick fix. You can’t just do one thing (like add keywords or use metadata) and expect to see results overnight.
Instead, you need to create an ongoing content strategy that will provide real value to users over time and work towards improving user experience on your site by optimising what’s already there.
Competitive analysis and research
Competitive analysis and research is a critical component of any SEO campaign. The truth is that you need to know what your competitors are doing in order to improve on their efforts. If you don’t, then you’re at a disadvantage from the start.
To begin with, you want to find out what keywords they are targeting and how they’re performing in Google search results. This information will help guide your keyword research efforts later on down the line.
By identifying what words people are typing into Google when looking for products or services like yours, it’s much easier to come up with ideas for new content which will help drive traffic back into your website
Keyword target planning
- Keyword target planning is a process of finding out which keywords are most relevant to your business and by extension, the best keywords for your website.
- It’s important because it allows you to focus on the most important aspects of SEO, rather than getting distracted by other things.
- You can use keyword research tools like Google Adwords Keyword Planner and Moz Open Site Explorer to find out how many people are searching for certain terms on search engines like Google or Bing.
92.96% of global traffic comes from Google search, Google Images, and Google Maps.
SparkToro
Recommendations for keywords to target
Once you have a good grasp of the basics, it’s time to dive into keyword research. There are several tools that can help with this.
The first is Google AdWords Keyword Planner Tool. This tool allows you to search for keywords relevant to your business and industry, get suggestions for related keywords, and see the difficulty level of each keyword (low-medium-high).
Google also provides other tools such as Google Trends, Google Suggestions and Keyword Difficulty Checker that can all be used in conjunction with one another or individually depending on what type of information you’re looking for when conducting your SEO campaign.
Keyword suggestion tools provide a wealth of information including related keywords, daily search volume data as well as bid estimates from advertisers who are looking at bidding on those terms within Adwords campaigns themselves (although they don’t specify how high those bids are).
These kinds of tools provide insight into what people actually search for when using Google – which isn’t always what people expect!
On-site technical optimisation
- Crawlability: Crawlability refers to how easily search engines can access and index your site.)*
Your site should be fully crawlable by Google. If it’s not, you may be missing out on potential traffic from customers who are searching for keywords that are relevant to your niche.
For example, if you’re selling kitchen appliances online and have a great article about how to choose the best frying pan for searing meat, but Google can’t access that page because it doesn’t have enough links pointing back or is blocked by robots.txt (a file which tells bots where they shouldn’t go), then you’ve lost out on valuable inbound links that could help boost your site’s SEO performance over time.
- Accessibility: Accessibility refers to whether or not people with disabilities can use websites.
Create content that is engaging to users and search engines.
Ensure your content is engaging for users and search engines. Your website must be easy to navigate, and it should provide an experience that leaves visitors with a positive feeling. Additionally, the site should be visually appealing and easy to read.
The content on your website should be well-researched and well-written; it should also offer original ideas, rather than being copied from elsewhere (i.e., plagiarism). Regularly update your site’s content so that they stay relevant and useful to readers who are in search of new information about whatever topic you’re focused on.
Accept these facts about SEO, BEFORE YOU GO FURTHER
- SEO is not a quick fix, but it can be an overnight success.
- SEO is not a magic wand, but it can increase your conversion rate by 500%.
- SEO is not a get rich quick scheme, but it will make you money over time if done correctly.
- SEO takes time to build up, so don’t expect results immediately after starting your campaign.
Can you appreciate the workings of SEO and its long term plan?
Then, you’re ready to work hard.
We hope this blog post has helped you understand and appreciate the value of SEO. It is a powerful tool that can help your website and business thrive in today’s digital age.
If you want to learn more about how to optimise your website for search engines, we recommend reading our other blog posts on how to do so!