Really Simply Guide to Search Engine Optimisation
SEO, the art of increasing the visibility of your website on search engines to drive more traffic, sales and enquiriesSearch engine optimisation is complex, yet many businesses still look at SEO as a do-once and forget activity. To truly succeed at search engine optimisation, on-going investment is essential to showcase your business to the world.
What is SEO
Almost every digital marketing topic touches on search engine optimisation activities in some way. SEO should not be seen as something that is simply bolted on afterwards in the sense “OK, we’ve done xyz, now go and optimise it for SEO”. This is the wrong approach and is unlikely to lead to any significant results.
Instead, what search engine optimisation is about is providing awesome content, resources and information to your customers and audience. This, along with a few technical considerations will work to show users that you are indeed a great website and business that people enjoy interacting with. Working towards this will mean that you will not only be pleasing users, but search engines too.
Search engine optimisation is a broad topic covering content marketing, website platforms, content management systems, analytics, tracking, social media, pay per click advertising, email marketing, video creation, promotion, branding and more. When SEO is truly integrated throughout your business, you will achieve awesome results.
Always remember, Google wants to drive traffic to the best and most relevant website on the internet about a specific topic when a potential customer is searching for your products and services online. Think, if you don’t fall into this category, why do you deserve any traffic at all?
Take a look through this interactive website from Google which outlines some of the finer details about how Google search works and how this fits in with search engine optimisation.
What SEO isn’t
Search engine optimisation isn’t simply just about adding a few keywords into the text on your website, anyone can do this. If it was that easy to be successful at SEO, then everyone would simply tweak a few words and have enormous results. No. SEO requires more effort to get great results. The more directed effort you put in, the better results you will have.
And no, Google+ doesn’t help with SEO. Read through our digital myth buster to learn the facts.
Keyword Research
Keyword Research is the process that allows you to identify clearly what your customers are and aren’t searching for online. You never have to guess what your customers are thinking, instead find out the facts and make informed decisions about where your business is heading. Simply use the Google Keyword Planner Tool which is available within Google AdWords.
Onsite SEO
Offsite SEO
Instead, to succeed in offsite SEO, it is important to provide valuable information, trends, reports, blog posts, resources and guides on your website that your customers naturally want to share with the world. When you get those things right, links will naturally come for your website. You can nudge this in the right direction by making the connections and promoting your awesome content to the right audience, but always remember, it has to start with the content on your website.
Summary
Search engine optimisation requires a large amount of sustained effort to succeed. If you are thinking about just tweaking a few things and dipping your toes in, then you are not going to get anywhere. Serious results takes serious effort. It’s time to stop tinkering with things and giving your digital marketing strategy a serious overhaul.