Most people have heard about search engine optimisation (SEO) – but not everyone is really sure how to use it properly and incorporate it into their digital marketing strategies.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has been around since the mid-nineties and is the process of increasing your website visibility in organic search results through major search engines such as Google. The aim of SEO is to improve where your website ranks in the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The higher your website is listed in the search engine; the more people will see it and click through to your site.
Seems simple, doesn’t it? Many marketers make it more complicated than it is – a dark art! We like to keep things simple and transparent and that’s the aim of this article!
SEO can help bring a competitive digital edge to your marketplace. By analysing the keywords on your website, and your competitors’ websites, you’ll uncover and understand the optimal opportunities for increasing traffic.
So, if you’d like to improve the SEO on your website, read on.
Technical optimisation
Technical optimisation is the process of completing changes to your site that are designed to improve SEO but aren’t related to content. This often happens behind the scenes, at the back end of your website, but it’s super-important to make sure that it’s up to scratch. A responsive website should be mobile-friendly and have a secure sockets layer (SSL) to ensure there is an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. Search engines also prefer sites which load quickly and have fast hosting to gain a better ranking. When you launch a new site you’ll need to let search engines know that your site is ready to crawl and be indexed. Don’t forget your navigation and website structure, either, so that users will be more likely to stay on your site!
On-page optimisation
On-page optimisation refers to all the measures you can take in relation to your site’s content. It’s important to make sure that all content is relevant to what’s of interest to your target audience so that it can be found via organic search, you add value and provide the best user experience. You’ll need to target your audience with the right keywords so that your website pages, blogs and other content rank well enough to be found. It can be quite tricky to master, but it’s crucial that your content is prioritised in search engines and converts visitors to your website. Not only that, but varied visual assets such as images, videos and infographics can help to boost your SEO – and consider HTML, website architecture, URL structure and links, too!
Off-page optimisation
This is the process of improving your site’s search engine rankings through activities outside of the site. This is largely driven by backlinks, as they help to build your site’s reputation by other websites linking back to your own. Another effective method is your social media marketing because your content can then be seen by a wider audience across numerous platforms – again linking back to your website. Guest content is also a good tool, as it has great SEO benefits, such as thought leadership pieces. You could also simply submit your business into local directory listings to increase revenue, reputation, and rankings.
At Embrace, we offer ‘REACH’ – a proven and completely transparent approach to enhancing your SEO. You’ll see a full report on the best keywords in terms of traffic, relevance, and difficulty to rank, as well as viewing what your competitors are ranking for. We also share specific recommendations on technical, on-page and off-page optimisation.
If you’d like to identify any current issues and discuss opportunities around enhancing your SEO to increase targeted website traffic and enquiries, contact our digital expert, Ciarán Reardon.
Email hello@weareembrace.com or call 01625 789050
This latest thinking article was written by:
Ciarán Readon
Digital Director
