SEO stands for search engine optimization. When someone uses Google, Bing, or another search engine to find the most relevant information pertaining to a given keyword, being listed on the search engine results page (SERP) is referred to as having good Search Engine Optimization.
Why is SEO important for marketing?
Having good search engine optimization means you are listed on the first page of the major search engines for a given search query. When done right, you get organic search traffic that matches the user search intent.
Organic search traffic has many benefits, the most important being that you have users on your site for free, that come with the intent to find helpful and relevant information about the service, or product that you offer.
At the end of the day, high-quality content is what will set your site aside from the competition. It will guarantee a positive user experience and increases the likelihood of users reaching out for help. This means that you will gain more customers from free, organic traffic.
How can I learn SEO?
Favoring the search engine algorithms is an advanced skill, and some people make a living out of mastering it – such as ourselves 🙂 However, if you insist on doing it yourself, do the following:
Once a week, set some time aside to create a piece of content that answers an ever-recurring question that your target users have. By doing so, you’re likely to include relevant keywords in a natural way. Get creative and try including different types of content. In this article, for example, we have chosen to include a video that covers do-it-yourself instructions.
Our CEO Shankar Poncelet, a master of SEO strategy, had the privilege to give a presentation on how search algorithms can be satisfied by doing the work in-house.
By regularly outputting relevant content, chances are that your article is shared, or linked to. When external links point to your website, the search engine crawler will assume that your content is better than other options.
There are many factors that influence search engine rankings, but nothing beats incoming links from other sites with authoritative content. A good metaphor is a sports game. If a certain athlete receives a lot of passes from other players, we can assume that the athlete is among the best. The passes represent inbound links, and the other players represent authoritative content on external sites. By the way, this SEO Strategy is often referred to as Link Building.
How long does it take to get noticeable traffic from search engines?
It takes our team six to eight months to significantly increase organic traffic to your site, provided that we can post a well-written and research article at least twice a month.
Use analytics tools such as Google Analytics, otherwise, there is no way to measure search engine traffic on your site. This will also provide important key performance indicators such as bounce rates and conversion rates.
How can I optimize my article for my desired target keywords?
This is the part that you can’t do yourself. Professionals invest in pricey keyword research tools that show search trends, relevant keyword phrases, and what competitive keyword to avoid or target.
They also have tools that automatically track desired keyword rankings over time. Without such tools, it would be very hard for them to evaluate whether a given SEO Strategy moves the needle for chosen target keywords, or not.
Is there another ranking factor I need to be aware of?
The Google Search Console is a portal that you can use to update Google on your website. You can submit your sitemap and request your site to be crawled by the crawler so that it can be indexed. The Google Search Console also shows you click-through rates of target keywords. This means that you will see how often your site was shown (impression) for search terms, and how often a user decided to click on your link.
Make sure to list your business’s website link and all your social media sites. Google knows you are serious about your website if you never miss an opportunity to drive direct traffic to it.
By the way, Google owns its own version of social media, and it’s called Google My Business (GMB).Your GMB profile is responsible for what is shown even above the search engine results. GMB is especially important if you want to improve your Local SEO. Ask all your clients to leave you 5 review stars on your GMB profile!
Make sure that the mobile version of your site loads quickly and provides a positive user experience. Most users use smartphones to browse – cater to them!
Use internal links throughout your website to maximize your marketing efforts. This means that if you have already written about a given topic, make sure you link to the article providing additional information to potential customers.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but if you follow all the guidelines outlined in this article, we are confident that your SEO efforts will bear fruit.