What is SEO? Everything you need to know

By Jessica Melton

Everyone is talking about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), from marketing professionals to business owners. Some companies spend a large proportion of their budget paying for specialist external teams of SEO consultants, whilst others keep the job of SEO in house. But what is SEO, and why should you be making it a focus for your website?

In this article, we will give you an overview of what SEO actually is and how it could benefit your business, as well as a few tips for getting started.

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What is SEO?

WIth 59% of shoppers reporting that they research online before making a purchase, getting your website to the front page of search results is essential if you want to be considered by customers. But how do you ensure that you get the top spot?

The answer is SEO. SEO involves optimising your web pages so that they can achieve high rankings in Google search results. It’s not just Google either – effective SEO will also help you to secure credibility on other search engines, such as Yahoo and Bing. If you have a website and want more traffic, SEO should be an integral part of your marketing strategy.

How SEO works

To understand how SEO works, you need to be savvy with Google’s algorithms. This is used to determine where each page should rank in the search results for a certain query, and takes many different factors into account, such as keywords, domain authority and links.

It’s important to know that algorithms do change periodically and new ones get introduced every year, so it’s not as simple as doing the work once, and never updating your site again. However, there are some key areas to focus on that will always be helpful when it comes to ranking.

Types of SEO

There are two main types of SEO that you need to be aware of: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. Both types have equal importance when it comes to determining search rankings, so you’ll need to ensure that you focus on both types if you want to secure those top spots.

On-page SEO refers to strategies attached to your actual website. This includes the quality of your content, the structure of your website and technical aspects such as your site speed and underlying code.

Off-page SEO refers to the external factors which affect the performance of your website on the search engines. This includes the number and quality of links to your website from other sites and how your content is shared across social media. Off-page SEO is known for being more difficult to control than on-page SEO, but it can make a significant difference.

How to boost your SEO

There are a few simple things that you can do to increase your search engine rankings organically.

1. Content is king

Posting regular content to your website in the form of a blog is one of the best ways to increase your organic site traffic. However, it’s important to ensure that the content you post is relevant and of high quality. This will provide your website visitors with a catalogue of useful information, whilst simultaneously boosting your search engine rankings.

2. Focus on keywords

Keywords are, well, key when it comes to SEO. Think about what your target customers might be typing into Google and the questions that they might be asking. These are the keywords that you need to be targeting.

3. Don’t forget the meta data

Anyone can write an article, but the key is in optimising it effectively. This means including a meta title and description, as well as optimising the URL. This data is how you tell Google exactly what your content is about so that it knows who to show it to.

4. Link it up

Not only does keeping a potential customer on your site increase the likelihood of a conversation, but it can also increase your search engine rankings, so internal links are essential. Linking to other pieces of relevant content or products will increase the amount of time that users spend on your site, boosting your rankings on Google and other search engines.

5. Consider hiring an SEO specialist

There’s no denying that SEO can be complex, but it’s one of the most important marketing techniques in today’s increasingly digital world. That’s why it’s important to get it right. If you aren’t confident in utilising SEO techniques on your own website, or if you need help getting set up, it’s worth enlisting the help of an SEO specialist to give you a helping hand. If hiring a full time specialist doesn’t feel right for your needs, then there are plenty of freelancers available, with the average cost ranging from between $500-$1400 per project.

To sum up

SEO isn’t just a buzzword – it’s one of the most important marketing techniques of the 21st century. If you want your website to be successful, you’ll need to ensure that it’s set up for SEO success.