Ever wondered why the same companies appear at the top of Search Engine results again and again without being sponsored? The answer is simple. For businesses that are just starting to build or redesign their website, however, Search Engine Optimisation can feel completely overwhelming.
Permanently ranking well in search engines demands an extensive SEO strategy focused on every aspect of your website and its marketing. However, with a little SEO knowledge under your belt, there are positive changes that you can make to improve your brand’s search engine ranking.
SEO is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website to search engine users, without paid placement. In order to do this, search engines will scan different websites looking for relevant keywords and phrases. Although SEO can get quite complex when it comes to all the different factors that impact ranking, ultimately, content is King!
Great website content encourages people to link to your pages and shows search engines that your pages are interesting, informative and authoritative. The more quality, relevant content pieces that you have on your site, the more likely that search engines will rank your pages higher on the search results page. The secret to creating content that is optimised for both the search engines and your site visitors, is to create a variety of different types of content pieces that are well-written and that are most relevant to your audience;
A simple guide to getting better search engine results:
- Do your keyword research;
- Write engaging, useful content;
- Keep doing it!
Keyword research is an important step in understanding what your customers are searching for, how many are searching for it and in what format they want that information. You may have a particular way of describing your business but how does your audience search for your product or service?…..answering this question is a crucial first step in the keyword research process. Of course, there are Keyword Research Tool websites to help you do this, but this can be yet another expense that your start-up doesn’t need, or you can do it yourself. You likely have a few keywords in mind that you would like to rank for. These will be things like your products or services and your website addresses. These are great seed keywords for your research so start here.
Next, research your competition. Search for your most important products or services and note the most prominent websites in the search results. Note what they are doing well, what content themes they have that you don’t and whether they have interesting features to better engage their prospects. Also study their reviews to learn what their customers think versus what you hear from your own.
Finally, write fantastic, useful content that uses words & phrases used by people who search for your products & services and keep it up to date. You don’t have to post content every day, that would be unrealistic, but you do need to publish your own content regularly. Remember, content doesn’t need to be text. Photographs, projects with short descriptions & video bulletins will all keep it fresh. Most of all, make sure you are publishing content that is tailored to the consumption habits of your target audience.
