Is It Expensive to Perform Successful Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? Is it true that Google’s top ten results are out of reach for ‘regular’ medium-sized websites?
It is dependent!
Let’s get started — your rankings are waiting for you!
Step # 1: Keyword Research
The landing page — this is the page that should appear in Google searches. The selection of appropriate “keywords” – selected key terms that form the basis of the content orientation – marks the start of the landing page construction. We want to be found if these terms are searched on Google.
The structure for the material shown on a company website is usually roughly defined by the service(s) offered. Nonetheless, we should consider the following: Which main and secondary keywords related to the issue serve as the foundation for our content? Which keyword groups are appropriate for which subpage?
Important requirements should be met by the terms in question:
- Minimum number of monthly searches (at least not zero)
- narrower content orientation (not too general)
- Reference to specific questions and problems
- Additional local information (for services with a regional focus)
Thanks to autocomplete and related search tools, Google and Bing present the very first term ideas. There are numerous web tools available that enable for more in-depth study. When it comes to specific keyword data, the superb Google Ads Keyword Planner is getting increasingly stingy, but there are free alternatives such as Mangools KWfinder, the “ Keyword Guru,” or the KW tool from WordStream.
Step # 2: SERP research
SERP? This string of characters stands for “Search Engine Result Page,” or the results page of a search engine. For search engine optimizers, SERP analysis has become vital. This is related to one of the most important parts of today’s SEO: search intent.
Rankings are determined by how well the search goal is fulfilled. Exploring the top-placed pages of the associated SERPs can quickly reveal what intentions a search engine believes behind specific search requests. Our landing page should be based on the top ten results itself.
A landing page’s content can be tailored to the search intent in a variety of ways:
- Content-type: Are you more interested in texts or graphics? Do videos matter? Do users expect a PDF, a download, specific or holistic (“holistic”) information?
- Is the customer journey still about gathering information or is it already about making (purchase) decisions? Is there anything in the search results that suggests a specific goal?
- Is the writing style emphatically factual, as addressed to the reader? Is a sloppy spelling acceptable?
- Is it more vital to keep the page compact or does a “huge tome” have a chance?
- Is it important to be physically close to the person who is looking for information?
Because the titles and descriptions displayed on the SERP (the preview parts of the websites in the search results list) are meant as a direct response to the user’s purpose, you can often tell where the searcher is headed just by skimming the SERP.
As a result, our recommendation is to just test a few items and practise predicting the search intent — we are confident that within a short time, you will find this to be really simple.
Step # 3: target group research
When it comes to your target audience, you should constantly be curious (s). The more data you collect – and the better your content matches that data – the better. On the Internet, there are essential target group traits and key data that did not exist in the previous “offline world.”
A web-based target group study would also look into things like
- Favorite devices (smartphone / tablet / desktop PC).
- Data on the place of residence and whereabouts (local/regional/national/international target group).
- typical times of web activity (times of day/days of the week/seasons)
How do you obtain such data? Of course, your existing clients are the most obvious source; gently asking them to fill out a brief questionnaire is always a choice.
Yes, the internet is also beneficial. If you already have a website, Google Analytics’ audience reports can offer you with a wealth of information about your visitors. Several statistics can also be found on portals such as statista.com; while they report more broadly or are only loosely broken down by industry, they nonetheless give useful information.
Step # 4: content creation
You’ve completed your topic research, SERP, and target group analysis. The next step is to turn the information gathered in this manner into appropriate content. This entails highly digestible and SEO-friendly internet material.
Well! Tacheles! So, what is appropriate content? When developing landing pages, what should you pay attention to and what should you avoid? Our advice are divided into two categories: optimization ‘in front of’ and optimization ‘behind the scenes.’
1. Content optimization in front of the scenes – convince your visitors!
- Texts: simple and natural language/short words and paragraphs / reasonable length.
Identification of solutions/involvement of the recipient (“you,” “you”) / practical examples - Structure: self-explanatory navigation, logical structure, and everything crucial is apparent right away.
- Pictures and videos: some stock footage, people illustrations, and a professional appearance.
- Modern, serious, and tidy layout/white space and colour accents / legible typefaces
- Mobile: Responsive design / touch-friendly operation / enjoyable speed experience
- SERP metadata: The title contains the main keyword/description, which both informs and piques interest.
2. Content optimization behind the scenes – convince the bots!
- URL structure: real name URL / path contains main keyword / main canonical URL.
- Headline structure: H1 contains the main keyword / H2 to H5 contain secondary keywords.
- Meta markups: Robots “index, follow” / viewport “width = device-width, initial-scale = 1.0”
- “Rich Snippets”: additional markups (depending on the page type) from the schema.org library.
- Social media metadata: Open graph for display in Facebook / “Cards” for Twitter.
- Image and video integration: resource-saving formats / ALT attributes for images.
- Programming: asynchronous JS and CSS / reduction of code / (404-) error prevention.
- Technology: SSL encryption (HTTPS) + HTTP2 / caching and GZIP compression / CDNs.
Are you unfamiliar with all of the terms? More information on the technical aspects can be found in the other search engine optimization guides. It’s critical to have a strong technological basis since it makes it much easier for search engine crawlers to identify and read your (new) subpages.
What we want to stress at this point is that every page is ultimately designed for human users! Finally, no one should be aware of the content’s original structure. From an SEO standpoint, a vibrant writing style and well-founded factual information are just as vital.
Although not every activity can be completed in-house, SMEs should be able to afford to outsource specific tasks.
Step # 5: Content Promotion
It’s fantastic that you provide first-class products or exclusive services. It’s fantastic that your websites are built around SEO trends, search intent, and user requirements. But how can you get your name out there on the internet? And what about search engine rankings that are relevant?
The ‘simple’ answer is that you must promote your material! Make a concerted effort to promote your landing pages. For this aim, a variety of channels, media, and technologies are available, each of which is unique and useful based on the industry, offer, and target demographic.
You can, for example, use social media to actively strengthen and share material.
- In the Search Console, let Google know about your (new) LPs.
- Obtain backlinks from other websites.
- By sending out a newsletter, you can inform leads and customers about fresh material and encourage them to read it.
- For social sharing, site visitors and delighted customers animate.
- Engage in social media dialogue marketing to do this.
- Invest in Google Ads and Bing Ads for fast visibility and traffic.
- It should be promoted on social media (precise targeting would be possible on Facebook).
Furthermore, you can improve your overall brand reputation over time by doing things like:
- Build partnerships with industry-relevant influencers.
- Refine your Google My Business entry (high local SEO relevance).
- Encourage satisfied customers and employees to give positive reviews.
- Increasingly combine online marketing with offline advertising.
Step # 6: visitor monitoring
Last but not least, effective SEO is a continuous process of control and improvement. You can tell if you’re meeting your visitors’ needs by watching how they behave on your site. As a result, as a website owner, you should always monitor a number of user-related key performance indicators (KPIs). First and foremost, it costs you time.
The following user monitoring areas are a good place to start:
- SERP-related data: search queries / impressions / click-through rate / bounce rate.
- Acquisitions: new visitors / returning visitors.
- Visitor sources: direct traffic / channels (search vs. ads vs. social media).
- User behavior: click-through behavior / visit duration.
- Demographic data: age / gender / language / origin.
- Technology: Share of mobile devices / operating systems.
- Diagnoses at page level: typical entry vs. exit pages / click behavior on pages.
Step # 7: Conversion Optimization
To keep the LP visitor’s interest, visual techniques are deployed. His attention should be drawn to critical aspects such as contact information, sales arguments, and buttons. Conversion rate optimization is the process of experimenting with the layout and improving the LP performance through focused improvements (CRO). Colors and graphics; button positions; text modules and input fields; fonts and font sizes; “Trust signals” such as certificates, accolades, ratings, and testimonials are all used to enhance the number of deals (conversions) with LPs. The rest is up to eye-catching headlines and creative writing.
You may improve your chances of success by upgrading the user advice, clarity, functionality, and content of your LPs on a regular basis.
This is how you get closer to achieving the ultimate conversion guarantee: Users describe their experience on your landing page as pleasant, useful, simple, and trustworthy. As a source of learning!
Finally, you want to reach out to genuine people and persuade them to accept your offer. These individuals are not interested in SEO or systematics, but rather in genuine content that provides them with the (added) value they want.
Need help with getting your business found online? Stridec is a top SEO agency in Singapore that can help you achieve your objectives with a structured and effective SEO programme that will get your more customers and sales. Contact us for a discussion now.