What is Search Engine Optimisation, AKA SEO. It’s a question I get asked regularly by new clients. I’ll start by saying it sounds a lot scarier than it is. I’ll also let you know that it is a FREE and effective form of online marketing. SEO marketing is the most consistent, long-term way to drive traffic to your website.
What is SEO?
SEO is strategically adding content to your website pages to make your site more attractive to a search engine. This helps you reach and engage more potential customers.
Search engines such as Google, are designed to give you the best results for your search query. Crawlers scan websites and favour those with keywords relevant to your search. Google crawlers also consider a websites;
– Speed
– Traffic levels (higher traffic levels mean a site is popular)
– How often the content is updated
– External links (how many websites link back to yours i.e. online directories, blog collaborations.)
– Google and Facebook reviews
– Web clicks and how long a customer is spending on your website
How do you optimise your website?
1. Content Marketing
There are several ways to ensure your website is optimised for search engines, starting with content creation. Blogs are a great way to ensure you have a variety of keywords and searchable topics on your website. When writing a blog, it is important to consider the keywords and phrases that a search engine user might type in when looking for answers to their questions or relevant products and services.
For example, a fashion website might write a blog in Summer titled “How to style a mini skirt in Summer 2020.”
When you create content around these keywords and phrases, you improve your chances of ranking higher on the search engine results page.
For tips on how to write a blog visit here. https://unpublishedperth.com.au/how-to-write-the-perfect-blog/
2. On-Page SEO Optimisation
Every page on your website can be optimised for search engines. The same as a blog, your website pages should include a few paragraphs of industry relevant content littered with keywords and phrases. In the backend of your website you can also tailor your Title, URL and Meta description on every page.
- Title Tag – Just like the heading of an essay, the title tag of a website page tells the search engines what your page is about. It is very important to include keywords from the page and your business name.
- Meta Description – The meta description allows you to add a couple more sentences describing what the page is about. As you can see in the example below, if the search engine user deems your title tag relevant, they will further read the meta description to clarify what the page content is about.
- URL – Your URL is your page address. Just like the title tag it is important to include keywords. Often, the URL is the same as the title.
If you have a SEO plugin such as WordPress Yoast, you may also be told to utilise the following to further optimise your website page.
- Sub-headings – No one likes to read a huge paragraph of text, including Google. You can use H1, H2, and H3 tags to help search engines better understand what your content is about and break up your content to allow site visitors to skin read your content. If the subheadings are engaging, the will read the content and stay longer on your website.
- Internal Links – If you are writing a post about a specific product or service available on your website, you can link to the product or service page in your blog post. This will engage the reader to click the link and remain on your website.
- Image Name and ALT Tags – Any imagery on your website can be optimised with keywords. This is how google ranks their “Google Images,” which may appear when users perform an image search for a certain keyword or phrase.
There you have it, SEO in a nutshell! If you are new to the process, start by googling competitors and seeing what keywords they have included on their website. Note what they are blogging about. The more you optimise your website, the better it’ll perform, for free!
If your business needs help with content marketing we’d love to help! Give Unpublished Perth Marketing a call on 0431 511 037 or send us an email at hello@unpublishedperth.com.au
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