Introduction to SEO

SEO – Search Engine Optimization. In a nutshell, SEO is a collection of best practices that help to increase your organic (non-paid) visibility in search engine results.

Search engines like Google want to be able to answer users queries with the best information possible. If a user asks a question and your website consistently provides the most helpful answers, Google remembers you and starts to put you forward as a reliable resource for other related or similar questions.

If your website doesn’t have the most helpful information or is not answering users questions efficiently, Google will put somebody else in that spot. Yes, you can pay to be in that spot, but wouldn’t you like to get there without it costing you anything?

Everybody Wants to Be #1

There is a misconception about what SEO is and how it “gets you to #1 on Google”

SEO is like a garden. In order for it to flourish and give you long-lasting joy and results, it has to be planned and laid out correctly and regularly maintained on an ongoing basis.

People walk into stunning gardens that are bursting with life and colour and are immediately impressed – but every gardener knows it took a lot of time and effort to get it there and it didn’t just happen overnight. Even if you paid a professional landscaper to plan your garden and lay it our for you, it still had to grow on its own. SEO is not much different.

SEO – Why Should You Care?

Millions of people search for things every single day, the volumes of traffic are hard to comprehend but most importantly they are searching for a business just like yours.

They are high intent users that want and need your goods and services. They are looking for brands and businesses to answer their questions, solve their problems and become a trusted resource they can rely on. I think it is safe to say that we all want to get in front of that.

And wouldn’t you rather get inquiries from people with high commercial intent than waste your time filtering out time-wasters? That is why you should care about SEO, through all kinds of best practices, you can get in front of the people that are looking for you now and the best part is you didn’t have to fork out an ad for them to find you.

How Do You Do It?

Search engines are complex and sometimes fickle beasts. The strategy you used yesterday might not align with what a search engine looks for today and it can seem impossible to keep up. But there are some fundamental things that have not changed along the way.

✔ High-Quality Information

Google is going to read (crawl) the content on your website and evaluate (use an algorithm) whether that content is unique, relevant and valuable, starting with your keywords. This is where having a professional copywriter on board is key. They will be able to landscape your SEO “garden” do the research for everything from keywords to competitors and craft a narrative that speaks to search engines and customers.

Tip: Get your copywriter to put together a content strategy for you, so you can plan and create the high-quality content your website needs to help people find you.

✔ Key Phrases

Think about the search terms and phrases you would type into a search engine to find what you are looking for. Those search terms are the key phrases you should be using in the content on your website. Don’t overthink it, don’t whip out the dictionary and wade through the synonym options, think quick like you would if you were the one performing the search.

Tip: Google Search Console is a user-friendly free tool to help you analyse the keywords you are currently using and all sorts of other useful information.

✔ Image Labels

If you have uploaded an image on your website with IMG5847 as a label, it is not going to help anyone find that image or you. Vegan blueberry pancakes Restuarant Name Auckland is going to contribute far more effectively to your SEO than IMG5847. If you have 100 images on your website, those are 100 opportunities to potentially show up in search.

Tip: Don’t label any two images with the same label but do use a combination of your brand, business name or location on the image labels. Vegan blueberry pancakes are a bit vague on their own.

✔ High Functioning Website

Search engines are looking for well-designed websites that have a good user experience, enabling users to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. They are looking for good page speeds and mobile responsiveness. If your site is loading slowly, has broken links and cluttered with content and large images that are slowing things down, you can fix that.

Tip: Speak to your web design team about a website audit to help you pinpoint the areas that are letting you down, along with some support to get them optimized efficiently.

✔ Social Media

Positive reviews, engagement and social shares are all positive indicators of a reliable and resourceful online presence. The healthier your social media platforms are, the more they will count for you in the long run.

Tip: You don’t have to post relentlessly on social media for you to get positive engagement. Just make sure your content is relevant, engaging and useful – it will be shared by your audience. Encourage reviews and visitor posts on social media to further boost your online profile.

Start Now

There are so many things you can do to boost SEO and drive organic traffic to your website. But there is no point in having a goal without a plan to back it up.

Are you ready for a kickass SEO strategy that will help your business get in front of people who are searching for you?

Book in for a Website Audit today and let’s get your SEO show on the road.