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Learning how to work search engine optimisation (SEO) into your digital marketing strategy is game-changing. Implementing SEO tools will help boost your campaigns from regular Google search engine results at the bottom of the page, all the way to coveted top position rankings, surpassing competitors.
Ranking high on search engine results pages (SERPs) is crucial for your business. The main reason for this is because users don’t usually scroll onto the second page of results. In fact, a Forbes study found that the second page is generally ignored by over 94% of users.
If you can rank organically in the top five search results, you are doing great; however, ranking first organically will showcase your business as high profile, professional and brainy. Naturally, this will bring in the most clicks.
Using the right SEO tools can promote your business effectively and ensure you are getting a great return on investment, but, what are the best and most effective SEO tactics companies can use to get to the top?
A few clever techniques include link-building and creating keyword-specific content and driving sales through pay per click (PPC) advertising. Google classes these as ‘white hat SEO techniques’, which essentially means they are Google-approved and you won’t get penalised for using them, which is not the same case for black hat SEO techniques.
SEO vs SMM?
Despite what most people may think, SEO has a larger impact than social media marketing (SMM). Although the rise of social media use and influencer culture may make you think otherwise, search actually makes up for 10x more traffic than social.
Those implementing SEO within their strategies are able to target not only their main audience, but raise their brand awareness whilst reaching a wider audience, too. Backlinko backs this claim by stating that ‘over 60% of all web traffic comes from search engines’.
Google is the most popular search engine, holding ‘91.94% of the total search engine market share’. In realistic terms, Google is where you should focus your SEO efforts, steering clear of optimising for other search engines like Bing and Yahoo.
The importance of keywords
SEO techniques, when used correctly, tap into the user’s search intentions. If your data and strategy is right, you can gain organic searches, higher engagement rates and better conversion rates; however, to attract the right audience, the right keywords must be used.
Keywords are an integral part of SEO, but in order to know which keywords to target, you need to understand your industry, competitors and audience.
Your keyword and target audience research, along with a competitor analysis, are crucial in ensuring you are picking out the most relevant keywords for your demographic. Once you identify which keywords are most relevant and engaging, you can begin implementing them on your webpages, being careful not to keyword stuff. Too many keywords and your content will flag as spam, and this will have the opposite effect. Generally speaking, try and keep keywords to URLs, meta descriptions, title tags, content and headings.
Creative content creation
Although keywords are a major factor in SEO and do influence your rankings, content creation is also a key facilitator of your online presence. Content creation comes in many forms, with gaining new backlinks, reinforcing your brand image and optimising your website being just three examples.
One way to engage your audience and potentially even attract potential customers is to create engaging, people-focused content. This is where your keyword, industry and competitor knowledge comes in.
Creating high quality and relevant content can enhance your relationship with other domains, as well as your customers, which result in increased authority and trust.
There are various types of content to consider. For example, blog posts, infographics, podcasts, newsletters or articles can all help your overall strategy and leverage your position on Google.
The more compelling and relevant your content is, the higher your website ranks on Google’s search results pages, thus making more users likely to click on your site.
Using GA to monitor SEO growth
Using Google Analytics to measure the success of your campaigns is crucial. Google Analytics (GA) is a great tool to measure SEO growth as it gathers data from search engines such as where visitors are coming from, how much time they spend on your site, what they do when they’re there, and whether they convert into a customer. This enables marketers to track, analyse, and report on their results.
Having data on your visitors, e.g. their location or interests, can show you where your visitors are coming from and determine your future content and ads. For example, using this data, brands are able to enhance their marketing strategies by creating ads based on location, interests, gender and more.
GA also allows marketers to analyse landing page traffic, which determines the most popular and effective pages on your website and where the traffic is coming from, as well as where you could focus your attention more.
Over the last couple of years, it has become evident that businesses need SEO to continue growing online organically. Whether it is implementing major keywords or creating organic and paid ads, there is a lot of scope for brands to learn about their audiences, what works for them and where they should focus their efforts.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
