You can’t pay search engines to rank you more highly in organic search results. As such, SEO or search engine optimisation is a very important piece of the overall marketing puzzle. This is because the online success of your business requires that you are easily found and seen by the right audience at the right time. It must also occur in the most effective and cost-efficient way.
Organic search results are very powerful for ensuring your business website is presented to internet users in a relevant manner. Trillions of internet searches are conducted every year, and a large proportion of these have a commercial intent. While paid ads play their role, organic search is often the main source of a business’s online traffic. It should be included in your marketing strategy alongside other marketing activities.
Higher visibility to search engines means you are more likely to attract the attention of potential customers for your business.
What is SEO?
SEO is a combination of numerous in-depth processes that improve and position a website so that its visibility increases for relevant searches online. It is fundamental to any comprehensive digital marketing strategy.
Search engines including Google, Bing, Safari, and others use bots that crawl pages on the internet. These bots travel between websites, where they gather information and index website pages.
The index is analysed by complex algorithms based on hundreds of signals or ranking factors, and this determines how pages will be ordered to appear in search results listings for a specific web enquiry (keyword search). Pages that are considered by the algorithm to both be most authoritative and relevant will be ranked higher.
Ranking factors include:
- Site structure and navigability
- Content volume and quality
- Website crawlability
- Website functionality and performance
- Keyword research
- Mobile optimisation
- Site authority
SEO optimises your website and its content to meet the needs of these ranking factors – providing a way for you to actively help your page rank higher in search engine results. You do need to understand that it is an ongoing effort, not a one-off action.
Onsite versus Offsite SEO
There are two main types of SEO. Only by investing in both onsite and offsite SEO will achieve the best possible results and enable your website to realise its highest potential for your brand.
Onsite SEO involves actions taken to improve the website itself. These make it easier for search engines to find it and ensure that it is appealing to the algorithm as well as human audiences. This is easier to achieve than offsite SEO. Onsite SEO includes:
- Optimising the website and landing pages for target keywords
- Using appropriate meta titles, descriptions, and H1 tags with only one H1 tag per page
- Having high-quality, relevant textual content on every landing page
- Including relevant internal links to other landing pages on the website
- Using high-quality image-based content with ALT and title tags
- Keeping the site dynamic and updating it regularly (e.g. via a blog)
- Optimising for mobile
- Optimising speed, navigation, and user experience
- Ensuring the site is easily crawlable
Offsite SEO involves non-promotional actions taken outside the website. This includes link-building, providing links to your website from elsewhere on the web. These should come naturally and from reputable sources.
Need Help?
Hiring an expert marketing company like a top OC marketing agency is an effective way to ensure your SEO needs are taken care of professionally. Make sure that your chosen provider has a dedicated SEO expert on staff and that they have in-depth industry expertise and a specialty in SEO– as technical SEO is not the purview of most marketers. It’s worth the investment when it is done right.
