You’ve probably heard of search engine optimization, or SEO, no matter what industry you work in. While it’s easy to dismiss SEO as a trendy buzzword used by marketers to make themselves appear smart, it’s actually a practice that can help your company achieve real results. SEO is the process of attracting website traffic from search engine results that are free, organic, editorial, or natural. The advantages of having a well-defined SEO strategy that places your company near the top of search engine results cannot be overstated. After all, nowadays, the answer to any unanswered question is “I’ll Google it.” With that in mind, here are some suggestions for developing a beginner’s SEO strategy.
WHAT IS SEO?
Knowing your target audience is arguably more important than understanding the search engines themselves when it comes to search engine optimization. Keep in mind that people use search engines like Google, Bing, and others to find answers to their questions. The goal for your company is to figure out what questions are being asked and then provide answers in the form of useful content.
Content that answers questions, solves problems, and is linkable, whether in the form of a blog, podcast, webinar, or video, is an essential component of any SEO strategy. This is where your understanding of your target market comes in handy. You can use search engine optimization to deliver answers organically through search engine results if you have a thorough understanding of what those people are looking for online and the type of content they are most likely to consume.
ELEMENTS OF SEO
While the aforementioned content is certainly important in determining your position in search engine results, it is only one of many components that make up your overall SEO strategy. Other important practices that play a role include metadata, page speed, and URL naming conventions. Content is optimized to drive your SEO strategy with customized metadata, a URL with the optimal character length and focused keywords, as well as fast-loading webpages. Keep in mind, however, that keywords are only useful if they are relevant and included in the content of a page.
The good news is that you have complete control over on-page search engine optimization. The bad news is that there is still work to be done in order for your website to achieve the highest possible ranking. Even if you don’t have the same level of control as on-page SEO, there are still things you can do to improve your off-page SEO, starting with linkbacks. When your company is mentioned on another website with a link to your website, search engines consider it a recommendation for your site, which boosts your ranking. The greater the authority or following of the site that included your link, the greater the impact on your ranking.
WHY IS SEO IMPORTANT?
With so many on-page and off-page factors to consider, and the internet becoming increasingly crowded by the day, getting started with search engine optimization can be a daunting task for beginners. After all, why is an SEO strategy even necessary when there are so many different paid search techniques to choose from? Paid search has a lot of value, especially in terms of reaching a specific audience quickly. Only 2.6 percent of searches result in a paid ad being clicked.
In addition, organic search engine optimization has a longer lifespan than paid search. Maintaining a paid result at the top of a page necessitates ongoing funding from your business, which can be more expensive than it’s worth if it’s not generating new business. A blog that answers common questions and includes relevant keywords, on the other hand, can stay at the top of search engine results for years, driving traffic to your website without having to spend any additional money.
Developing an SEO strategy that delivers results, like any other strategy, requires clearly defined goals and objectives ahead of time. The most important thing to remember about this strategy is that more traffic and a higher ranking are not ideal goals for your company. Having a high search engine results ranking and a large number of visitors to your website is useless to your business unless they click through and become new customers or clients.
To provide some key performance indicators when measuring the return on your SEO strategy, first determine the overall goals for your business. Let’s say your company is attempting to increase the number of email subscribers through search engine optimization. Was it more successful to get 500 monthly visitors but only five new email subscribers than to get 200 monthly visitors but 20 new email subscribers? Obviously not. An ideal SEO strategy is one that assists you in achieving your business objectives rather than the other way around.
Keep in mind that SEO is a lifelong process, not a checklist to check off and then move on to something else. It takes time to master SEO as a practice. Don’t be discouraged if your website isn’t immediately at the top of every page of search engine results as you develop and implement your SEO strategy. Let’s connect if you’re interested in learning more about search engine optimization and the advantages it can provide. We’d be delighted to speak with you about how we can assist you in achieving your goals.
GENERATE BETTER OPTIMIZATION
Even the most elaborate content marketing strategies can fall short if they don’t reach your target audience and fill a need. These keywords and phrases, like the flashing lights on a runway, provide a path from search engines to your website.
SEO STRATEGY GOALS
Developing an SEO strategy that delivers results, like any other strategy, requires clearly defined goals and objectives ahead of time. The most important thing to remember about this strategy is that more traffic and a higher ranking are not ideal goals for your company. Having a high search engine results ranking and a large number of visitors to your website is useless to your business unless they click through and become new customers or clients.
To provide some key performance indicators when measuring the return on your SEO strategy, first determine the overall goals for your business. Let’s say your company is attempting to increase the number of email subscribers through search engine optimization. Was it more successful to get 500 monthly visitors but only five new email subscribers than to get 200 monthly visitors but 20 new email subscribers? Obviously not. An ideal SEO strategy is one that assists you in achieving your business objectives rather than the other way around.
Keep in mind that SEO is a lifelong process, not a checklist to check off and then move on to something else. It takes time to master SEO as a practice. Don’t be discouraged if your website isn’t immediately at the top of every page of search engine results as you develop and implement your SEO strategy. Let’s connect if you’re interested in learning more about search engine optimization and the advantages it can provide. We’d be delighted to speak with you about how we can assist you in achieving your goals.
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.