SEO has become a digital marketing buzzword in recent years. Whilst the concept of SEO is, in principle, relatively straightforward, it can be tricky to get your head around if you’re new to the game. So, if you’re asking yourself, how do I learn SEO – this guide is a great start. I’ll also provide you with a basic rundown of how SEO applies to your online business endeavors (this is relevant if you have either a standalone website or e-commerce platform).
What is SEO?
First things first, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It applies to the concept of improving the quantity and quality of traffic to your website or online store. In essence, this generates better exposure to your business, which can then be leveraged to make money – by selling more of your products or services.
One can ‘improve their SEO’ by creating content that is aligned with the searching parameters of your audience. To do this, it requires you to understand what your audience is searching for, the type of language (or keywords) they’re using, and the type of content that they wish to uncover.
The premise of SEO is based on driving organic traffic to your website. Organic means traffic that has come from non-paid search engine results. And unlike paid advertising, SEO requires more effort (in terms of research and content creation) and is seen as long-term strategy. To put it bluntly, you cannot expect to ‘improve your SEO’ overnight – it takes time.
Understanding Search Engines
Search engines use incredibly advanced technology. They can perform a seemingly infinite number of searches, across a host of content mediums. And whilst these searches are occurring – in a matter of seconds – a search engine will determine the credibility of content due to many factors (such as content originality, article length, keyword relevance etc.).
The process by which a search engine evaluates content is known as crawling and indexing. And it is through this process that a search engine will rank the results.
If you go into a search engine like Google and type in something (such as ways to build muscle) you will be shown results that are ranked in terms of their relevance.
Now, a business could pay to have their website promoted at the top of the list. This is a strategy utilized by many businesses that have a larger marketing budget. However, in terms of SEO, a website would need to be viewed by a search engine as unique, relevant and trustworthy – in order to achieve a higher ranking. And as anyone with a website knows, if you’re not near the top of a search (or at least in the first few pages), then you’re probably not being found.
It’s important to note that more paid ads are creeping into search engine results. So, whilst the basic of SEO remain the same (create quality content that targets relevant keywords), more businesses are paying for the privilege to appear near the top of a search. Search engines – like any other business – are out to make as much money as they can.
Why You Need to Prioritise SEO
For anyone with a website or an e-commerce platform, it’s extremely important to understand how proper SEO can improve visibility and ultimately, results.
Whilst tools like social media and paid advertising play a smaller role in driving traffic to a website, it is through SEO that most traffic originates. And what’s more, you can implement effective SEO at a fraction of the cost of paid advertising.
It’s also worth noting that organic search results receive substantially more clicks than paid advertising. In fact, recent statistics indicate that of all US searches, less than three per cent of users click on paid ads.
Another key takeaway is that SEO has the ability to deliver sustained results over a prolonged period. An example of this could be a well-researched, original piece of content that is based around a suitable keyword. In this case, the content is likely to be deemed as highly credible by a search engine. And with the passage of time, your traffic for this keyword could exponentially grow. And this could all occur without you having to spend money or alter the original content.
What to Remember when Creating Content
When you’re in the process of creating content for your website, it’s vital that you develop content as authentically as possible. Don’t become fixated on creating content with the sole purpose of improving SEO.
Obviously, your content needs to be relevant to your chosen keyword. However, your priority should be the creation of content that is helpful to your audience. Ask yourself, ‘What does my audience want?’ ‘What is going to keep users engaged and stay on my website?’
A terrific motto to remember is: Create content for users, not the search engines. Besides, the only way that you can improve your rankings in the long-term, is to create useful content – and lots of it!
Don’t attempt to trick your audience either. This is evident in many ‘click-bait’ style links to websites. As we’re all familiar with, these headlines allude to a pretense and then deliver something completely different (generally featuring a ton of ads). Avoid doing this. It won’t serve your brand well over time.
You need to be honest with yourself. What is it that separates your website from the myriad sites out there? What is it that YOU can offer users? When you know the answer to these questions, base your content on that.
Should You Hire an SEO Expert?
This really depends on a couple of factors. Namely, your willingness to learn and how complex your website is.
You may not have the time to learn how to better optimize your website. Or you may have numerous websites that are quite detailed. In these cases, it’s probably worth engaging with an SEO agency or industry professional.
Before you part with any money though, it’s necessary to do your research and ascertain which companies can best assist you.
So… How Do I ‘Learn’ SEO?
There is enough free information available to assist you in creating content that is optimized for search engines. It is hard work though. And the work that you do today is often not rewarded until further down the track.
That being said, effective SEO will drive more traffic to your website than paid ads or social media. And what’s more, traffic is more qualified which means you’re able to capture more leads.
Here are the key points to remember:
- Understand what users are searching for, the keywords they’re using, and the results they expect.
- SEO is a long-term strategy. It takes time and you won’t see immediate results.
- You need to consistently create content that is ‘optimized’ for search engines. That is, original content that is generally over 1000 words in length.
- Your content should be based around a clearly defined keyword. The keyword should be incorporated naturally (without stuffing) into your content.
- Organic search results (through SEO) generate substantially more click-throughs than paid ads or social media.
- Create content for users, not search engines.
- An agency or SEO professional can assist you improve your SEO. Make sure that your only deal with a credible organization (avoid the sharks).
I will be delving more into SEO in future articles. It is, after all, a broad subject that can be overwhelming at first.
I hope that this has been a good starting point.
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