SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a crucial factor in a company’s reachability. However, it is very easy to fall short whilst trying to reach that goal, SEO especially requires a lot of research, skill and brain-power to accomplish correctly and it is a necessity to get that blueprint down to a tee.
Search engine optimisation is, fundamentally, the process of improving one’s website to increase its visibility on search engines like Google, Bing, etc. The better a website’s SEO, the higher the website is going to show up in the search results of these web browsers. The higher up the search results your website is, the more quantity of traffic is going to show up on your website, and more traffic means more road ra-, more traffic on your website means more potential money for your company! So as you can see, the importance of SEO cannot be overstated. You may be asking, “How do I get my website well optimised?” Well fear not, we have some tips for you.
Keywords – Do you like research? — What’s that? No? Well, unfortunately you’re going to have to get used to it if you want to become an SEO master. Keywords are the building blocks of any good SEO strategy and will ultimately be the difference between a well optimised site and a poor one. Keywords, in a nutshell, are the words searchers type into their web browser when they’re looking for something in particular. For example, if someone was looking for some tyres for their car, they may search “Tyre place near me” or “Tyre place in (insert location here.)” That means if you’re a company that sells tyres, guess what? Those words should be logged in your website.
That is an extremely simple breakdown of keywords and of course it is more complex than that, but that’s the general gist. These would also be an example of primary keywords, there is such a thing as secondary keywords. These are words that are not necessarily your main focus and are more of a granular level; they will support your primary keywords and categorise themselves as subtopics.
So in conclusion, research the keywords you would need for your website content and implement them on your website pages. There are several keyword planners that you can use to your advantage, we find this one particularly helpful – https://www.wordstream.com/keywords
Page Title and Meta-descriptions – This is one people often forget about, and we don’t blame them; it can be very easy to once you’ve gone through the stress of building a website, creating a blog etc. the last thing on your mind is optimising more content. Nevertheless, it is a vital part of SEO framework and it is usually the first thing a searcher would see when about to click on your page. You need to lure them in! If the page title and meta-description doesn’t tickle the audiences’ fancy, they may just skip right on past your page.
So, what do you need to do to have an effective page title and meta-description? Well, firstly, try to keep the page title between 30 – 60 characters and make sure to include your primary keyword(s). Make sure that the title is engaging yet informative. When it comes to the meta-description, ensure that it is below 160 characters. These tips are probably the easiest to accomplish out of the bunch, so try to remember when you’re about to make your page live.
Unique content – You have probably heard of the phrase “Content is King” well, in the case of SEO, unique content is King. Google and other search engines like to find unique content and promote it, so the more unique your content, the more likely it is to have a good chance of being high on the list. If you make content that answers a user’s questions, Google (and others) will remember that for future pages and see you as the ideal page to visit within that topic.
The Snippets – The way you know you have made it when it comes to SEO marketing is seeing your content on the snippets of search engines. Snippets. Sometimes known as SERP is the little description/content box that pops up when you type a question into Google etc. Handy little things that make it extremely easy for a user to find the solution to a problem with minimal effort. If your content is featured here, it means your text is extremely well optimised and ultimately, answers the question the user has.
So, how do you get on the snippet section? Well, it is a challenge, but an attainable one. Firstly, you need to choose the content you want featured in a snippet, then target keywords that would be relevant to that content. Then make sure your content is edited correctly, ask and answer the question in the content that you want appearing in the snippet. Of course, you need to make sure your copy is fantastic, as all copy should be (we have a blog about that too right here.) Click the link to find out how your copy can be optimised for SEO!
URL’s – This one is a simple one, but again is something that is easily missed. A URL structure is actually crucial when it comes to SEO. Make sure you URL to your page is clean and simple. The search engine needs to understand what your page is about so it can promote it efficiently. Try to keep your URL’s below 60 characters as some search engines can’t even process ones longer than that. Include keywords (are you sick of them yet?) and of course just make the URL easy to read and translates what the page is going to consist of.
Backlinks – Another quite simple trick. Backlinks, also known as external links, are simply links to other websites that usually provide evidence of the point you’re making. Remember from your early days of education when you were told “Point, Evidence, Explain”? Well, it turns out it was quite useful. Make your point, provide links to back up your point, then explain it. You can often switch up the last two. Make sure the links of the websites are from reputable sources if you can, as search engines like to sniff these out.
Common Mistake ALERT – PPC- Ah yes, PPC, Pay Per Click, the upper class of the digital marketing optimisation game. In all seriousness, PPC is an extremely useful tool, but should never be used without keeping SEO in mind. Pay Per Click does exactly what it says on the tin, a company or person pays advertisers to promote their page at the top of the search results. In return, you will have to pay a fee every time your page is clicked on.
This does guarantee a certain amount of views, but if the content isn’t very good, people wont stick around. So you’ll end up paying advertisers money for pretty much nothing if you don’t keep the SEO tips & tricks in mind. However, when PPC is done correctly in correlation with SEO, the fee a company pays per click is almost irrelevant because of the amount of traffic being driven to your website.
Ultimately, SEO is a long process but is absolutely worth the headache. Also, when you get used to optimising content, it actually becomes second nature and you won’t even realise you’re doing it. There are many tools to assist you along the way, and you’re never alone when Gloss are around. If you have a question or need some more help with SEO, get in touch with us here by filling out the contact form on the right. Then just wait for one of our SEO experts to get back in touch with you as soon as they can.
