The term ‘SEO’ gets thrown around a lot but is often used incorrectly.

To help you out we have deconstructed SEO to help you understand what it is and how it can be used.

What does SEO stand for?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation.

What do you optimise for for SEO?

The simple answer – everything!

From the layout of the website (where possible due to constraints with some platforms), headings, content, links within the content, images, sitemap, contact form, checkout process, the list is endless.

Why bother with SEO?

The majority of online purchases start with a search in search engines such as Google.

Think about your own purchasing behaviour and the purchasing behaviour of your friends/family – most people search for what they are wishing to purchase/find and then go from there.

Even when you are looking for a service such as a local plumber or pizza delivery place, you search in Google now rather than leafing through the Yellow Pages.

Appearing in Google and appearing in a prominent place is all down to the search engine optimisation that you carry out on your website.

What do I need to do to get to the top spot in Google?

Unfortunately there is no set checklist to work your way through to guarantee your website a top spot on Google.

Google guards its search algorithm very well, however we know from tried and tested methods, industry news and general speculation that there are a few hundred factors that they take into consideration.

These factors can be grouped into the following categories:

  • Site Speed – known to be a key requirement for Google, especially with mobile usage
  • Site Content – As Bill Gates said in 1996 – ‘Content is King’
  • Site Experience – an easy to use site that is engaging is a winner in Google’s eyes
  • Site Authority – just how is your website perceived by others? A question to ask yourself

One of the most important factors to remember is that it is not all about your website. Your off-site activities can have a huge impact on your SEO. If you are highly active on social media (in a positive way), or have a number of reviews about your company (positive reviews), then these can help improve your website’s SEO.

Here at Digital Nachos we look at each of these main categories as well as how your website/brand fits online as part of our SEO efforts and seek to create and implement an SEO strategy to improve your current positioning online.

Is there a ‘get rich quick strategy’ that I can apply to SEO?

No.

SEO is a long term strategy to research, cultivate, implement, review and adjust your website and its offerings.

There are known SEO tactics (referred to as Black Hat SEO) which optimise your website purely for search engines. The impact of these black hat SEO techniques, normally sold and promoted by less than reputable agencies/companies, are horrific.

Black hat SEO tactics see spammy pages created and ultimately banned from search engines very fast. There have been a number of updates to Google’s algorithms over the past years which seek out these kinds of actions and will result in the removal the entire website from its search engine.

At the end of the day Google makes its money from providing a good service for its search users, if you were to try and introduce spammy pages into its search results then it has no choice but to ban you to ensure that its service standards are upheld.

To ensure that you have successful results from your SEO efforts then make sure they are search engine friendly.

Here at Digital Nachos we only ever discuss white hat SEO strategies with our clients, all based on our experience and industry knowledge.

Once I ‘do’ SEO then its done, right?

Nope. As much as we would love to say that is a one-time task that lasts forever and a day, its not.

SEO is a long term strategy designed to help highlight your website and offerings to those browsing the world wide web.

As time goes by and your competitors grow, emerge and target your audiences you must ensure that your SEO strategy is maintained and more importantly, adapted, to help push the areas of the business that you want to see grow.

What is the future of SEO?

With the latest changes in technology and consumer behaviour we can see many changes in the way that SEO is carried out.

The first of these changes is the rising use of voice searches thanks to items like the Amazon Echo. This has, and is going to change, the way in which content is created and optimised to allow for search results to ‘appear’ in voice searches.

Another change is the increasing use of online shopping, putting further pressure on ensuring that your product can be found in the midst of all other products. This effects not just the website itself but your online reviews and other reassuring elements that many online shoppers want to see before making a purchase.

Lastly, here at Digital Nachos we are expecting the use of mobile to continue to drive upwards. This impacts SEO and future SEO strategies as it places a stronger importance on fast loading time, small screen friendly content and easy login processes to help capture and implement loyalty programs.

What benefits can I gain from SEO?

The benefits gained from SEO knows no bounds, successful SEO strategies can help improve your website’s brand presence, sales, profit, customer experience and feedback, your ROI and ultimately see more traffic arrive on your website.

If you are interested in improving your website’s SEO then get in touch today.

Published: 1st Feb 2018

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