Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a structured and valuable long-term approach used to direct your website traffic from Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. If you are not doing so already, here’s how to start using search engine optimisation.
Search Engine Optimization helps increase the search engine rankings/place of your company or its product/service in the organic/natural result listing for specific critical phrases and relevant keywords on these search engines.
Suppose you know the relevant criteria that Google uses to rank your website. In that case, you will be in a better place to find ways of improving your position in Google search results using various aspects of digital marketing.
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Using high-quality content to improve your position in search engine results will, in the long-term, help to drive more traffic to your website, with little or no extra financial cost.
As noted above, SEO takes time to yield results compared with the likes of PPC adverts.
It also takes time for you to become proficient in SEO. Google and other search engines constantly update their algorithms to rank websites with excellent content.
Google demotes websites with poor content and sends them to the bottom of the search engine result pages (SERP).
SEO is very technical. But taking the time and effort to understand the basic concepts of SEO will help you, the business owner, know how well your brand is doing online in organic search compared to your competitors.
In addition to Google, Bing, and Yahoo, several other search engines are there. So it will be almost impossible to get high rankings in each of these search engines.
But this should not discourage you from striving to make your website rank for relevant search terms in these search engines.
The easiest way to go about it is to have an in-depth understanding of the key ranking factor for Google because it’s the dominant search engine worldwide, and thus other search engines try to emulate it.
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What Is Google Looking for in Your Website?
For a business to thrive in getting organic traffic and search rankings, it must prove a reputation for providing reliable products or services to satisfy its customers so they don’t go over to the competition.
Google strives to provide excellent content through reliable search results. This goal is why their algorithm aims at promoting great content while demoting poor content at the same time.
This goal will ensure that Google always serves the best content available online to its users.
So what are some things Google is looking for in your website for your website to rank high in its search results? Here are a few areas you need to focus on in your SEO strategy.
Relevant Content
When someone uses Google to search for something, the more relevant your website’s content is to the user’s search query, the more likely your content appears on the coveted front page of Google’s search result page.
To achieve this coveted place through your content, avoid keyword stuffing. Use relevant long-tail keywords, internal links, title tags, etc. Doing so will help your content reach potential customers.
The front page of Google’s search result page (SERP) is more sought after because hardly people go to the second or third page of the search results.
An industry joke goes, ‘if you want to hide something, you put it on the second or third page of Google’s search results.’
That goes to show you that only the most desperate of users go beyond the first page of Google’s or other major search engines results.
If you contemplate creating misleading content and titles as a ‘clickbait’ to attract traffic, be warned!
Such misleading content does not fare well on Google or any modern search engine.
It will harm your website’s ranking, bounce rate, conversion rates and domain authority.
Sometimes, your website might be scrapped off the search engine entirely. So please don’t do it. It’s not worth the risk.
And if you have created misleading content, duplicate content, misleading external links and titles in the past and you have gotten away with it, be warned that sooner than later, you will get caught, and you will pay the price. So you better get rid of it.
User Experience
Google continues to change its search algorithm to favour websites that give relevant content, sites with better interfaces, and accessible by visually impaired persons.
So strive to improve the user experience of your website. Improving user experience by avoiding broken links will help your site and content rank high on Google.
Mobile Optimised
These days, when it comes to search engine marketing, the more mobile responsive your site is, the more you are to receive favourable placement in Google search results.
Since more than half of all Google search inquiries are on mobile devices and tablets, your website must be well-optimised for mobile devices.
Google has observed this mobile trend and features sites that conform to responsive website standards.
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Why Does Google Always Change Its Algorithms?
As mentioned above, Google constantly changes its search engine algorithms according to the needs of its users.
But as a business owner who is looking to grow your business online, you also need to keep up with these Google algorithm changes.
Even if your website is driving enough organic search traffic, this does not mean you should rest on your laurels.
If you take your website’s organic traffic for granted, this will be harmful to the growth of your business online.
One fundamental thing about SEO and search engine marketing is that you should never be satisfied with things as they are. Regularly tweak your primary keyword, keyword phrase, title tags, social media sites, etc, in line with your digital marketing strategy.
There will always be one thing or the other that you can improve on your website to make it more Google-friendly.
Conclusion
Now that you have a basic understanding of SEO, you need to strive to put in place on-site and off-site SEO tactics and strategies into your website to improve traffic to your site.
If you need help, feel free to schedule a consultation. I will show you how to use search engine optimisation the proper way. I will also help you find the right pay per click sites in Nigeria and abroad to drive targeted traffic to your website.
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