Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a vital aspect of any business's digital marketing strategy.
It's the process of enhancing your website's visibility on search engines, primarily Google, which can lead to increased organic (non-paid) web traffic. If you're new to SEO, it may seem daunting at first, but this beginner's guide will walk you through the steps to optimise your website.
1. Keyword Research
The first step in SEO is keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines. You want your website to rank for the keywords that are relevant to your business. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to discover which keywords are popular in your industry, but remember, competition for popular keywords can be fierce, so also consider long-tail keywords (phrases that are more specific and typically longer).
Keyword research is a vital component of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). It involves identifying popular words and phrases that people enter into search engines like Google. Here are some tips for business owners to understand more about keyword research:
Understand Your Audience: Before you start your keyword research, understand your target audience. What terms or phrases would they use when searching for your products or services? What problems are they trying to solve that your business can help with? Understanding your audience will help you select the right keywords.
Use Keyword Research Tools:
Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, and Ahrefs can help you find keywords relevant to your business. They provide information on how often a keyword is searched (search volume), how difficult it is to rank for that keyword (keyword difficulty), and what other sites rank for that keyword.
Long-Tail Keywords:
These are longer and more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more likely to use when they're closer to the point-of-purchase. They can be easier to rank for due to less competition and can often lead to higher conversion rates.
Analyse Your Competitors:
Look at which keywords your competitors are ranking for. This can give you ideas for keywords you might not have thought of. Tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs can provide this information.
Consider Search Intent: Not all searchers are looking to buy. Some are looking for information, some want to visit a specific website, and some are ready to purchase. Make sure your keywords match the intent of your users. For instance, someone searching for "best digital cameras" is likely still in the research phase, while someone searching for "buy Canon EOS 200D" is probably ready to buy.
Keyword Localisation: If your business serves a specific geographic area, consider localised keywords. For example, instead of "plumber," a plumbing business in Boston might use "Boston plumber."
Keep Updating Your Keyword List: SEO is an ongoing process, and so is keyword research. New keywords can come into use at any time, and search volumes can change. Regularly review and update your keywords to ensure they're still effective.
Remember, while keywords are important, they are just one part of SEO. It's also crucial to provide valuable, high-quality content that uses these keywords in a natural and reader-friendly way.
2. On-Page SEO
On-page SEO refers to the practice of optimising individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. It involves both the content that is directly on the page and the HTML source code. Here are some tips for business owners to understand more about On-Page SEO:
Title Tags:
Your title tags are a major factor in helping search engines understand what your page is about, and they're the first impression many people have of your page. Title tags should be descriptive, unique for each page, and within the character limit (generally, under 60 characters to avoid being cut off in search engine results).
Meta Descriptions:
Meta descriptions are brief summaries of web pages that appear under the title in a search engine's results page. They should include your main keywords and be written to encourage users to click on your link. Though they don't directly influence ranking, they can improve click-through rates.
URL Structure:
A clean and well-structured URL is important for on-page SEO. Ideally, your URL should be understandable to humans and search engines alike. It should reflect your site hierarchy and include keywords where possible.
Headings and Content:
Your content should be organised with headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to make it easier to read. The H1 tag should include your main keyword, and other headings can include variations of your keywords.
Keyword Usage: Include your primary keyword naturally in your content, especially in the first 100 words, but avoid "keyword stuffing." Also, consider using synonyms and related terms for a more holistic approach.
Internal and External Links: Link to other relevant pages on your website (internal links) and to authoritative sites (external links). This can help search engines understand the content of your page better and can increase the time users spend on your site.
Image Optimisation: Use relevant images that enhance your content. Make sure they're optimised for speed (compressed and not too large), and use descriptive file names and alt text (including your keywords where appropriate).
Mobile-Friendliness: More and more people are using their mobile devices to browse the web. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Google's Mobile-Friendly Test can help you check this.
Page Speed:
If your page takes too long to load, people are more likely to leave. Plus, page speed is a ranking factor for Google. Use Google's PageSpeed Insights to check your page speed and get suggestions for improvement.
Remember, the goal of on-page SEO is not just to rank better in search engines, but to provide a better experience for your users. If you keep both goals in mind, you'll likely see an improvement in your traffic and conversion rates.
3. Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to all the activities that you and others do away from your website to raise the ranking of a page with search engines. It's about improving your online and offline footprint through the use of content, relationships, and links to create an optimal experience for prospects and search engine bots. Here are some tips to understand more about Off-Page SEO:
Building High-Quality Backlinks: Backlinks, also known as inbound or incoming links, from authoritative, relevant, and well-respected websites are one of the most important factors in Off-Page SEO. They show that your website is a trusted and valuable resource, worthy of citation. Reach out to partners, clients, or industry blogs and offer to write guest posts or share your valuable content with a link back to your site.
Social Media Engagement: A strong presence on social media can increase the visibility of your content, which can lead to more people linking to your content. This can indirectly improve your SEO. Be active and engage with your audience on social networks.
Influencer Outreach:
Collaborating with influencers in your industry can also help you gain high-quality backlinks. You can ask influencers to mention your products or services in their posts, or you could write a guest post for their blog.
Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable content (like blog posts, infographics, or videos) can attract people to your site and encourage them to link to your content.
Reviews and Ratings:
Encourage your customers to leave reviews on Google, Yelp, or other relevant platforms. Positive reviews can lead to more clicks and can positively impact your search engine rankings.
Forums and Discussion Boards: Participating in industry-specific forums or discussion boards and offering help or advice can improve your brand's reputation and encourage people to visit your website.
Local Listings: If your business has a local component, be sure to optimise your presence on Google My Business and other local directories. This can improve your visibility in local search results.
Remember, Off-Page SEO is about building relationships and trust with your audience and search engines. It takes time and consistent effort, but the benefits in terms of improved search rankings and increased traffic can be substantial.
4. User Experience
Search engines reward websites that provide a good user experience. This includes having a fast load speed, being mobile-friendly, and having an easy-to-navigate structure. Use Google's PageSpeed Insights to check your site's load speed and make necessary improvements.Here are some tips for business owners to understand more about improving UX for SEO:
Website Speed:
Slow loading times can frustrate users and lead to high bounce rates, which can negatively impact your SEO. Use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to check your site's speed and get recommendations for improvement.
Mobile Optimisation: More and more people are browsing the web on mobile devices, and search engines prioritise mobile-friendly sites in their rankings. Ensure your website is responsive, meaning it automatically adjusts to fit the screen size of the device it's being viewed on.
Clear Navigation: Your site should be easy to navigate. A clear, intuitive menu structure can help users find what they're looking for and can help search engines understand your content.
Readability: Make sure your content is easy to read and understand. Break up text into manageable chunks, use subheadings, bullet points, and images to make your content more digestible.
Quality Content: High-quality, relevant content is key. Users should find value in your content and it should meet their needs or answer their questions. This not only improves user experience but also signals to search engines that your site is a valuable resource.
Avoid Pop-ups and Intrusive Ads:
These can disrupt the user experience and could lead to higher bounce rates. If you do use them, ensure they're easy to close and don't obstruct the main content of your page.
Simple and Functional Design: A clean, attractive design can improve user experience. Additionally, ensure all elements of your site function as they should - broken links or error pages can harm both UX and SEO.
Interactive Elements: Use interactive elements like videos, slideshows, or infographics to keep users engaged and encourage them to spend more time on your site.
CTAs and Conversions: Ensure your call-to-action buttons are clearly visible and compelling. The easier you make it for users to take the desired action (like making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, etc.), the better the user experience.
Security: A secure website (HTTPS rather than HTTP) is essential for protecting your users' information and building trust. It's also a ranking factor for Google.
Remember, user experience is all about how your users perceive and interact with your website. A positive user experience can lead to more engagement, more conversions, and better rankings in search engine results.
5. Content Creation
Content creation is an integral part of SEO as it's the primary way of providing valuable information to your audience, attracting visitors to your site, and getting indexed by search engines. Here are some tips for business owners to understand more about content creation for SEO:
Keyword Research: Before you start creating content, it's important to understand what your audience is searching for. Use keyword research tools to identify the terms and phrases that are relevant to your business and have a good balance of search volume and competition.
Quality Over Quantity: While it's important to have a consistent content schedule, the quality of your content matters more than the quantity. High-quality, valuable content that meets your audience's needs is more likely to attract and retain visitors and get ranked by search engines.
Long-Form Content: Long-form content (usually over 1000 words) tends to rank better in search engine results. It allows you to provide more in-depth information and include more keywords.
Original Content: Avoid duplicate content, as it can harm your SEO. Make sure your content is original and offers unique value to your audience.
Use of Keywords: Incorporate your keywords naturally throughout your content, including in your title, headings, and meta description. But avoid keyword stuffing as this can lead to penalties.
Optimise Images: If your content includes images, optimise them for SEO. This includes using descriptive file names, reducing file size for faster page load speed, and including alt text with your keywords.
Internal and External Links: Link to other relevant content on your site (internal links) and to high-quality, authoritative sites (external links). This can help search engines understand your content and can improve your SEO.
Structured Content: Break up your content into sections with headings and subheadings for easier reading. This also allows you to include your keywords in the headings.
Call to Action: Include a clear call to action in your content to guide your readers on what to do next. This can help improve your conversion rates.
Update Old Content: SEO is not a one-time task. Update your old content regularly to ensure it remains relevant and accurate. This can also give your content a boost in search engine rankings.
Remember, the goal of SEO content creation is not just to rank on search engines, but also to provide valuable content that meets the needs of your audience. Keeping these two goals in mind will help guide your content creation strategy.
6. Technical SEO
Technical SEO involves optimising the backend of your website. This includes things like ensuring your site has an SSL certificate for security, creating a sitemap for search engines to understand your site structure, and optimising your site for mobile. Here are some tips for business owners to understand more about Technical SEO:
Website Speed: Page load speed is a ranking factor. Slow loading pages provide a poor user experience and can negatively impact your SEO. Tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights can help you identify issues that may be slowing your site down.
Mobile-Friendliness: More searches are made on mobile devices than on desktops, so it's important that your site is mobile-friendly. Google uses mobile-first indexing, which means it primarily uses the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking.
XML Sitemap: An XML sitemap helps search engines understand the structure of your site and find all the pages on your site that you want to be indexed. Be sure to create one and submit it through Google Search Console.
Robots.txt File: This file tells search engines which pages or sections of your site you don't want them to crawl. It's a way to prevent certain parts of your site from being indexed.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL): Google gives a slight ranking boost to websites that are HTTPS rather than HTTP. More importantly, not having a secure site can deter users and lead to lower engagement.
Structured Data: Structured data, also known as Schema markup, can help search engines better understand your content and enhance your appearance in search results with rich snippets, like reviews or business hours.
URL Structure: URLs should be SEO-friendly, meaning they are simple and readable, with keywords rather than random numbers and characters.
Avoid Duplicate Content: Duplicate content can confuse search engines and can lead to ranking issues. Use canonical tags to tell search engines which version of a page you want to be considered the primary version.
404 Errors: Broken links or pages that return a 404 error can harm your SEO and user experience. Regularly check for and fix broken links on your site.
Website Architecture: A well-structured, logical website architecture helps search engines crawl your site more efficiently and helps users find what they're looking for more easily.
Remember, technical SEO is the foundation of your SEO strategy. Without it, all other efforts may not yield the desired results. While some aspects of technical SEO may require assistance from a developer, understanding these basics can help you diagnose issues and communicate more effectively with your technical team.
7. Monitor Your Progress
Monitoring your progress is a crucial part of SEO strategy as it allows you to understand what's working, what's not, and where you can make improvements. Here are some tips for business owners to understand more about monitoring progress in SEO:
Set Up Google Analytics: Google Analytics is a free tool that can give you insight into how people are finding and interacting with your website. It can show you where your traffic is coming from, what pages are most popular, how long people are staying on your site, and more.
Set Up Google Search Console: Google Search Console can provide information about how Google is indexing and ranking your site. It can alert you to any errors or issues that might be affecting your SEO.
Track Keyword Rankings: Keep an eye on how your site is ranking for your target keywords. There are many SEO tools available, both free and paid, that can help you track your rankings over time.
Monitor Backlinks: Backlinks are a key part of SEO, so it's important to monitor who is linking to your site. Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush can help you track your backlinks.
Check Site Speed: Site speed is a ranking factor, so use tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to check how quickly your site loads and get suggestions for improvement.
Monitor User Engagement: Metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and pages per session can give you insight into how users are interacting with your site. If users are leaving quickly or not visiting multiple pages, you may need to improve your content or user experience.
Set SEO Goals and KPIs: What do you want to achieve with SEO? More traffic? Higher rankings? More conversions? Set clear goals and identify key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure your progress towards those goals.
Analyse Competitors: Look at what your top-ranking competitors are doing. What keywords are they targeting? What kind of content are they creating? This can give you ideas for your own SEO strategy.
Regular SEO Audits: Regular audits can help you identify any issues or opportunities. This might include checking for broken links, analysing your site structure, reviewing your content, and more.
Be Patient: SEO is a long-term strategy. It can take several months to see significant results, so don't be discouraged if you don't see immediate improvements. Keep monitoring your progress, making improvements, and staying up to date with SEO best practices.
Remember, SEO is not a one-time task, but a continuous process. Search engine algorithms change frequently, and so should your strategy. Stay updated with the latest trends in SEO and regularly review and tweak your strategy as necessary.
With consistent effort and a focus on providing value to your visitors, you can improve your website's SEO and increase your organic traffic over time.