It’s easy for businesses to dismiss search engine optimisation (SEO) as yet another digital marketing buzzword, if they don’t have a clear understanding of what it involves.
Even though the term SEO gets thrown about a lot, professional SEO is one of the most vital aspects of a digital marketing strategy.
What is SEO?
SEO is optimising content so that it achieves the highest possible rankings in search engine results.
Search engine algorithms use specific sets of data to determine how to rank this content. For example, Google’s algorithm uses over 200 ranking factors.
Professional SEO experts know what the most important ranking factors are. These factors change and it’s up to the SEO expert to stay up to date with them. As technologies evolve, the algorithms of major search engines also evolve and are updated.
The more criteria your content has, the more it’s likely to appear in relevant organic (unpaid) search results.
A few important SEO ranking factors
SEO has two main forms. The first one is meeting specific criteria within content published for your business. And the second is building relationships with external parties and sites.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO refers to optimising individual website pages for search engines.
A few on-page elements that are important for the SEO of a website include:
speed – how fast your page loads
title tags – each page needs a title tag which lets search engines know what it’s about
meta descriptions – these provide more detail so search engines can tell whether the page content is relevant to specific search terms
alt text tags and image titles – all images should have relevant alt text tags and titles so search engines can index them properly
headings – subheadings and headings should include relevant keywords
internal links – linking back to other related content within your site will boost search engine rankings.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO includes all SEO factors outside of your website that may affect its search engine rankings. It’s worth noting that these elements are not always within your control.
Two examples of off-page SEO factors are:
backlinks – links to your website from other sites help increase rankings, especially sites with a high domain authority
social performance – quality shares and likes on social media can help boost search engine rankings.
How can SEO benefit my business?
The online business world has become an incredibly competitive marketing platform. As more brands battle for attention, making your business stand out becomes more challenging.
This is what makes SEO so important. It makes your site and by extension your brand, easier to find.
While Google or Bing are important search engines that you need to consider, some social media platforms are also being considered search engines these days because they are able to handle a vast number of searches.
Saying this, YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google, and handles more than 3 billion searches per month.
Why the need for on-going SEO?
On-going, professional SEO is crucial for various reasons.
Regular updates to ranking factors
Google and other major search engines, regularly update their algorithms with new SEO ranking factors.
Not too long ago, it made little or no difference if your website was optimised for mobile. It didn’t really matter whether your site used the HTTP protocol instead of HTTPS, or if your content was regularly updated.
Today, these are all relevant and important SEO ranking factors.
What users search for is also changing. It is not only search engine algorithms that are evolving. Consumers’ interests are constantly changing, and this is reflected in new search trends. The ways users search for content also change over time.
With an increase in the use of voice-activated searches, for example, people tend to use more question phrases, longer-tailed keywords and more direct requests for highly specific information. This means there is a need for an updated approach to SEO.
Proper SEO takes time
Professional SEO experts could invest hundreds of hours in ongoing SEO for a single website.
Off-site SEO, in particular, can be very time-consuming. It takes time to cultivate relationships with site owners and external influencers and to exploit and identify opportunities for getting links.
It takes time to generate and plan properly optimised and high-quality, onsite content.
Keyword research is absolutely necessary as well as a clear understanding of a business’s goals and target markets. The ability to write professionally for the web is also critical and they would need to source attractive, suitable images.
How Triple J Design can help
Triple J Design offers professional SEO that will make a real difference to your business’s online marketing success.
Our dedicated team of experts will assess your marketing needs and create a custom digital strategy that suits your budget and your business.
We don’t deal in hype, take shortcuts, or charge more than we’re worth. Want to find out more about our services or to discuss your company’s SEO needs? Contact us today!
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