What is SEO and Why Its Important

Firstly we need to establish what SEO is. This stands for “Search Engine Optimisation”. This is essentially how you get traffic to your website through appearing in search rankings based on your website’s content.

Below is a graphic of Mozlow’s Hierarchy of needs but this graphic is tailored to the SEO needs.

(digitalmarketinginstitute.com)

The success of a business heavily depends on its online presence. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has emerged as a powerful tool in digital marketing, enabling businesses to increase their visibility, attract more customers, and ultimately drive growth. By optimising their websites and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), businesses can connect with their target audience more effectively.

Before we get further into SEO. There are two types of search you need to know about. These are paid searches (Which are the ones at the top of the search paid and appear as advertisements) and then there are the organic searches which you do not pay for. Results can take longer, but in the long run, organic searches, whereby people find your link naturally, can prove more fruitful. After all, most of the searches you see are organic.

Understanding the Three Pillars of SEO

SEO is built on three fundamental pillars: technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO. Each pillar plays a critical role in improving a website’s search engine rankings, so it is vital that we understand the specific role they are playing.

1. Technical SEO

Definition: Technical SEO, think of this as the foundation to your website’s capability when it comes to SEO. If you optimise the backend structure of a website, (This is the part of the website you don’t see) then when it comes to search engines crawling and indexing for data, they will pick things up from your website more effectively.

Key Aspects:

Site speed
Mobile-friendliness
XML sitemaps
SSL certificates
Structured data

Importance: Ensures that search engines can easily access, crawl, interpret, and index a website’s content, which is crucial for achieving higher rankings.

2. On-Page SEO

Definition: On-page SEO, the optimisation of the individual web pages, so this too can help improve search engine rankings. Things such as having a best hosting provider, reduced plug-ins and optimising your language.

Key Aspects:

Content quality
Keyword optimisation
Meta tags (title, description)
Header tags
Internal linking

Importance: Enhances the relevance and quality of the content on a website, making it more attractive to both search engines and users.

3. Off-Page SEO

Definition: Off-page SEO involves actions taken outside of a website to impact its rankings within SERPs.

Key Aspects:

Backlinks
Social signals
Online reputation management

Importance: Builds a website’s authority and credibility through external endorsements, which search engines view as indicators of quality and relevance. These are things such as link building and local citations, which means it is important to boost the website’s authority as much as possible.

How Search Engines Work

Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to deliver the most relevant results to users. The process involves three main stages:

1. Crawling: Search engine bots, known as spiders or crawlers, scan the web to discover new and updated content. They follow links from one page to another and add them to a database known as the index.

2. Indexing: Once a page is crawled, its content is analysed and stored in the search engine’s index. The index is a massive database of all the web pages that the search engine has deemed valuable enough to potentially show to searchers.

3. Ranking: When a user conducts a search, the search engine scours its index to find the most relevant and authoritative results. It then ranks these results based on numerous factors, including keyword relevance, site authority, and user experience.

How can SEO help me and how do I utilise it effectively?

An SEO strategy means actioning different strategies to use your SEO to your benefit. Below are some examples.

1. Set Clear Objectives: Define what you aim to achieve with your SEO efforts. Common objectives include increasing website traffic, improving conversion rates, and enhancing brand visibility.

2. Conduct Keyword Research: Identify the keywords and phrases your target audience uses when searching for products or services related to your business. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can be invaluable in this process.

3. Optimise Website Content: Ensure your content is high-quality, informative, and optimised for your target keywords. Use relevant keywords naturally within your content, meta tags, and headers.

4. Improve Technical SEO: Audit your website for technical issues that could hinder search engine crawling and indexing. Focus on site speed, mobile optimisation, and secure connections.

5. Build Quality Backlinks: Develop a backlink strategy to acquire links from reputable and relevant websites. This can involve guest blogging, influencer outreach, and creating shareable content.

6. Monitor and Analyse Performance: Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your SEO performance. Regularly analyse your data to understand what’s working and where there’s room for improvement.

Different ways SEO can have an impact

Local SEO for Small Businesses

Objective – Improve local search visibility and drive foot traffic to physical stores.

Strategy: Optimise Google My Business listings, create location-specific landing pages, and encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. Use local keywords and build citations in local directories.

E-commerce SEO

Objective – Increase online sales by 20% over six months.

Strategy: Optimise product descriptions, titles, and images for relevant keywords. Implement schema markup for product details, price, and availability. Focus on acquiring backlinks from niche blogs and industry influencers.

Thoughts...

If your business is online or has an online aspect (Which lets face it, it probably does) then using SEO to your advantage is essential. It’s also not the most complex thing in the world to get your head round. Ensuring that you have a good SEO strategy, monitoring its progress and learning on the job can help you to drive traffic to your website. Before you know it, your website will be booming.