What is Search Engine Optimisation?
What is Search Engine Optimisation?
What is it and why is it important for your business to get it right.
Let’s be honest, most people get the concept of optimising their website for Search Engine Optimisation. But it’s almost like a puzzle that has no picture where you can just get the edges right.
Think of it as all the blood vessels in your body, that all have to be pumping your blood all the way to your heart to keep it beating. And yes, that analogy is intentionally complicated. SEO is complicated, but it isn’t something that you can’t get your head around so read on so you CAN understand SEO.
Search Engines like Google, Firefox, Safari etc, The web is now the world’s library of knowledge. It’s sorting through websites that contain knowledge, like libraries, universities, social media and shopping. You need to know how to get your website into that mix so that it’s being found by the people you want it to be found by targeted users. SEO mean’s you’re being specific about who you want to attract to your business. So let’s jump into it.
You are not just competing for attention in your own business arena. You are on a world stage of websites. Search Engine Optimisation is about you being specific about what you do and how you do it.
Search Engine Optimisation and Google
The Coolest Kid in the Playground
Before we get into the technical aspects of Search Engine Optimisation, there are important factors that need to be right on the front of your website before we start looking at the back. If you don’t have these things right, then Google may not want to play with you in the playground even before it gets to know you. So mark these off your checklist.
Google favours the responsive!
Google Ranking – Google favours responsive design contributes to better search engine rankings, driving more organic traffic to your site.
“Google search favours mobile indexing first, so build your website with responsive design.
Googlebot will only crawl and index the mobile version of a webpage. If your website is not responsive design, Google will index the page as-is.”
speed really does matter
Yes, speed really does matter. How quickly your website loads will be a key factor in keeping your users interested.
Mobile users especially don’t want to hang around. Responsive design often involves optimising images, adding in plugins and sometimes code.
53% of mobile users abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
To check the speed of your website go to page speed insights. Follow this link to it here.
set up google analytics
Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor your site’s performance. Install Google Analytics to your website to track how your website is doing. Google has a Site Kit for WordPress among others. Understanding your traffic sources and user behaviour can help you make important decisions to improve SEO.
google business profile manager
I set this up for every single client from Branding + Logo Clients and Web Design clients. Everyone who has a business MUST do this. I have clients who haven’t done this, and when you search their listing, a different company comes up to the closest match Google can find.
accessible design
Your site needs to be easy to read, understand and navigate. Clear menus, with a great layout, and a clean design help visitors find what they need and stay longer. Keep your text over 16 pts and NEVER CENTRE BODY COPY! Your users will miss what your message is.
Internal linking
Link to other pages on your site to keep visitors engaged and help search engines understand the structure of your website.
titles + discrptions
Make sure every page has a unique title and description that includes relevant keywords. This helps search engines understand the content and improve click-through rates.
META DISCRIPTIONS
Connect your website with your social media profiles to drive traffic that will help you improve your website’s visibility. Make sure you set your social’s up so that people can share your content. And don’t forget to have links in your socials to your website, even in your private facebook bio!
KEYWORd research
Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your site, including in titles, headers, and meta descriptions. Tools like Yoast SEO or Rank Math can help you find and implement the right keywords for your WordPress site. Wix works differently.
optimise images
Use high-quality images, but compress them to reduce load time. There are a variety of different plugins you can use to do this, I personally like Smush It. Optimising images will speed up your load time.
great content is critical
Content is king in SEO. Your site should offer valuable, well-written content that is relevant to your audience. Regularly updating your blog with new posts can also help along with linking to reputable websites or those that work with you.
And Finally
Having great content – and a good amount of it – will help your page rank higher. Check out your completion and see what they are doing, how they are ranking, and what they are doing that’s working.
Google will determine a website’s “authority” by all of these factors and others, including how many backlinks you have to your website. This takes time and commitment which is why I say – we are building a skyscraper, not a sandcastle.
more insights
A Case Study in Branding
Laura Scott, a respected neuropsychologist based in Victoria, Australia, approached me with a unique challenge. She needed a cohesive branding identity that could effectively communicate to both the professional legal industry, where she presented reports, and her clients, many of whom suffered from brain injuries.
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