What Is SEO?
SEO is an abbreviation for “search engine optimization.”
It is, as the name implies, the process of improving a website’s content, technical prowess and credibility in order to increase visibility in search engines.
It goes to reason that the higher your website ranks in the SERPs (search engine result pages), the more likely you are to attract the attention of prospective consumers.
However, before we decide whether we should, we must first comprehend the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of SEO.
The Big Search Engine
Before we begin, we’re going to start talking about just one specific search engine: Google.
There are other search engines, but Google is the monster when it comes to search.
For most websites, especially in the UK you’ll find more than 95% of your search traffic comes from Google.
That’s not to say we’re ignoring or discounting other search engines or the traffic they generate to your site but what you’ll generally find is that if your site appears in Google search results, it will also appear in other search engines’.
Who or what am I optimising for?
OK we just said Google, but in reality you’re optimising your website for the end user or potential customer. This might seem incredulously simple or even counter-intuitive. Why is there an entire industry around SEO if this is the case? Surely there are some fantastical secrets or cunning code I can deploy to my website to rank in position one?
In truth, not really. SEO is about ensure your site meets your website’s users needs. You’ll see Google time and again imploring you to do this. As machine learning gets better and better, the little bots that Google sends out to understand your site increasingly mimic a real life user. They try to read and understand your site and its content just as a human would.
Silver Bullets
Before we move on, let’s keep talking about that supposed silver bullet for a moment. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s a defacto way to do SEO. Not even us. There are definitely best practices but there are no guarantees. SEO is a long and slow process with no easy quick fixes.
You’ll find a lot of spirited discussion online about SEO; a great new discovery or white hat technique. These people might sound really smart, but remember there’s no SEO qualification or accreditation. These people (whether right or wrong) are just like you, they started from scratch and learned what they know from experience.
Google very rarely explain their algorithms or ranking methodologies. If they did, the black hat folks would very quickly start to game those systems and people searching on Google would find less and less useful websites. Google’s algorithms for how they rank websites are as secret as KFC’s eleven herbs and spices.
Top Tip If you find yourself doing more advanced reading online, check the date on anything you read. The SEO world is always changing and if you’re reading anything more than a year old, it might well be outdated.
How Do Search Engines Work?
Bots are used by major search engines to crawl the internet in search of new content. These bots then report their findings to a central index, which may include the text, images, links, videos, and other metrics from the target page.
All of this information, along with a plethora of other “off-site” parameters, is transmitted to an algorithm for analysis.
The search engine will then use the information gleaned from this algorithm to determine the order in which to display the results of your query. The results of a search are also referred to as the search engine results page (SERP) (search engine results page).
Understanding The SERPs
The first step in determining if SEO is a good marketing strategy for you is to familiarise yourself with search engine results pages.
Most commonly, the results of a search on a popular search engine will fall into one of two broad categories, with more subdivisions available for both (depending on the nature of the search).
The most basic and obvious form of search result is the natural one.
This portion, often known as “organic results,” displays all the webpages indexed by the search engine that are pertinent to your query.
Sponsored search results are the other major category of search results.
These websites have paid to be displayed for this search query, and often appear near the top of the page with a subtle notice that they are advertisements.
Sponsored search results’ rankings are frequently based on factors including the advertiser’s budget, the quality of the landing page, and the number of times an ad is clicked (CTR).
Secondary Search Engine Results
In contrast to a simple list of hyperlinks, the secondary search results provide enhanced content intended to provide a more thorough response to a query. These queries might be related to:
- Images
- Videos
- Maps
- Shopping
- Flights
- Finance
- Books
- Recipes
Furthermore, search engines can pull information from websites using schema to improve the SERPs and make them more relevant to the query.
Why Is SEO Important?
Of course, this doesn’t discount the importance of other mediums like TV, radio, and social media.
SEO is unique in that it allows you to put yourself in front of a customer exactly when they are looking for your product or service.
In light of this, certain drawbacks to SEO must be considered prior to launching a campaign. First, it must be acknowledged that SEO is not an immediate answer to increasing revenue.
Return on investment may not materialise for months or even years, but after four months, you should have a good idea of how well your approach is faring.
The Basic Elements Of SEO
If you’re running a small business, it’s important to understand the basic elements of SEO. Search engine optimisation can be a complex and ever-changing field, but there are some basic principles that always remain true. We’ll discuss the most important elements of SEO and how you can use them to improve your website’s visibility.
- Onpage SEO
- Offpage SEO
- Technical SEO
On Page SEO & Content
When it comes to managing your website, there is no finish line.
On-page optimisation (often referred to as on-site SEO) is primarily concerned with the content you create and how it interacts with search engine web crawlers. However, it also applies to other aspects of your web pages over which you have influence and which your viewers see, such as meta descriptions and title tags.
On-page SEO is, in a sense, anything that appears on your website that can be improved to enhance your rankings. When your audience visits your site, they will most likely come into contact with the elements of your web pages. Off-site SEO, on the other hand, refers to features that promote your page externally, such as backlinks.
To offer you a better understanding of what on-page SEO entails, below are the important aspects to consider when orchestrating your on-site optimization:
- Keywords
- Content Ratio
- Heading Structure
- Page Silos
- Internal Linking
Keywords
The phrases that you would like your website to appear for in the search results.
One of the most important aspects of SEO is keywords. Keywords are the terms that people use when they search for something on the internet. If you want your website to rank high in search engine results, you need to choose the right keywords. To do this, you need to understand what your potential customers are searching for. Think about the terms they would use to find your products or services, and then use those keywords throughout your website. Finally, another key element of SEO is your website’s metadata. Metadata is the information that search engines use to understand what your website is about. This includes things like the title of your website, the description, and the keywords you’ve chosen. It’s important to choose these carefully, as they will be used to determine whether or not your website appears
Content Ratio
The ratio of content to code on a web page.
Heading Structure
The headings on the page, outlining what the page is about.
Page Silos
The structure of the content on the website further elaborates upon the topic it covers or area of expertise.
Internal Linking
Self-referencing additional information on the website to elaborate on a topic, which is frequently done between page silos.
Understanding Keywords
Keywords are the key (excuse the pun) to informing Google about your page’s topicality. Although Google’s algorithm has evolved significantly over the years, introducing many new ranking factors along the way, keywords continue to define relevance heavily.
Search engine web crawlers use keywords to index web pages related to specific search requests. They can be considered a few words describing the product or service you offer.
For instance, if you have a page on SEO in Liverpool, you may come across terms like ‘SEO Agency Liverpool,’ ‘SEO Company Liverpool,’ and ‘SEO Services Liverpool.’ These key phrases, as well as the frequency with which they are utilised, inform Google about the topic of your website.
A keyword must be related to your business and match terms often entered into search engines by web users. To satisfy user search intent, your page’s information must match what the keywords used suggest.
In the past, the potency of on-page keywords encouraged many content authors to keyword stuff, which means they would overuse phrases in their copy in the hope that it would rank first in the SERPs.
Google has issued many updates throughout the years to prevent and penalise websites that commit keyword stuffing, and it is now an antiquated strategy for ranking your site.
It would help if you also considered your readers in this scenario. A keyword-heavy page is difficult to read well, so visitors will likely leave shortly. As a result, Google will rank your site lower (if everyone is bouncing so quickly, there must be nothing of value to readers).
The Helpful Content Upgrade, a new Google algorithm update announced in July 2022, prioritises readability more than ever before. In summary, information designed for search engines rather than human readers is much less likely to outperform natural, readable content. To cut a long tale short, keyword stuffing isn’t worth it.
To summarise, keywords should be used wisely and sparingly to get the most out of them. A much more thorough keyword research method is required. You must specifically fit keywords in the following manner:
Types Of Keywords
In general, there are two sorts of keywords: short tail keywords and long tail keywords. Short tail keywords, often known as ‘head terms,’ are broad topic keywords. Typically, they are no more than three words long. Short-tail keywords, such as ‘travel insurance,’ are the most competitive because they are the most commonly searched for.
Long tail keywords are sentences with three to five words. They are more precise words that are used to target specialty search results, such as ‘senior travel insurance.’ Long tail keywords are less commonly searched for than short tail keywords.
Keywords can be further classified based on how they relate to a user’s search goals.
The following are the most common search intents:
- Informational
- Commercial
- Navigational
- Transactional
Questions are informational keywords.
They are used by web users who want to find a specific solution to a question rather than buy a product or sign up for your website.
Consider for example the informational search query “how to tie a tie”
This is an excellent topic for a blog article if your business offers ties. If you can answer questions using these terms, your site may rise in the rankings for related informational queries.
Once a customer has come to trust your website as a reliable information resource, they may return to buy something from you in the future.
Sites that have informative information tend to perform better in search engine results.
The E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness) you gain from this type of content will encourage search engines like Google and readers alike to consider you a reliable resource.
Optimising for keywords with a commercial intent can help you make more sales.
Most of the time, people use these types of keywords to find out more about a certain product. They might be looking for reviews of products, top 10 lists, or articles that compare products. The search might say “best laptops 2022” or “top 10 laptops.”
These search kinds do not necessarily ensure site conversions, but they do indicate that the user has commercial intent – in that they wish to determine which products they should buy.
By writing content centered around commercial keywords, you can make it easier for a site visitor to buy your product by recommending it in the article.
Navigational keywords pertain to searches conducted by users who already understand their desired outcome. These searches have a specific destination in mind, for example, YouTube, eBay, or Amazon.
The terms “cost of X,” “X pricing,” and “directions to X” are all examples of navigational keywords.
You probably won’t be able to get steady navigational keyword traffic unless your brand is already well-known.
Navigational searches may not initially bring you traffic, but as your brand becomes more well-known (due to your SEO efforts), you may begin to see an increase in clicks.
The focus of these keywords is on making a sale.
Terms like “Manchester SEO Expert,” “Seo Services in Manchester,” and “Hire SEO Agency in Manchester” are all examples of transactional keywords that indicate a buyer’s intent to buy.
In these instances, an online shopper or subscriber who has likely done some preliminary research might be ready to make a final decision and execute an online transaction.
What Is Keyword Cannibalisation?
Cannibalisation occurs when two or more similar articles on your website compete for the same keywords.
It’s called ‘cannibalisation’ since it causes these web pages to compete with one another, effectively destroying their chances of ranking.
Cannibalisation happens when you create two pages on your site with similar content or optimise them for the same keyword. Even if the keyword(s) are distinct, a striking similarity can result in cannibalization.
Although the keywords ‘complete guide to SEO’ and ‘an explanation of SEO’ are clearly different, they may nonetheless result in cannibalization.
Cannibalisation should be avoided because Google only shows 1-2 pages from each site in response to each search query. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that the more you write about the same issue, the higher your website’s chances of ranking.
Cannibalisation not only causes you to compete with yourself, but it also has an impact on the quality of your backlinks and clickthrough rate. Cannibalisation dilutes each’s potency, causing both of your pages to rank lower.
To see if your site is suffering from cannibalization, simply type your domain name into Google, followed by the appropriate keywords used. If both pages appear far down in the list of results, your site is most likely suffering from cannibalisation.
You have numerous options for dealing with cannibalisation:
Understanding Content Ratios
Ideally, you should aim for a 70% text-to-HTML ratio
Although it is unclear to what extent your content-to-HTML ratio influences your ranking, it has a significant impact on numerous areas of the user experience. Poor content ratios can have a significant impact on page speed, both for your site’s visitors and for search engine spiders.
Although it may not be an explicit ranking criterion, the overwhelming majority of high-ranked pages have significantly more text than HTML code.
Content ratios refer to the proportion of HTML code to the amount of content on a web page. HTML is the coding that supports the page invisibly. It specifies how web browsers should display the page. The more HTML on a page, the more “bloated” the page becomes, which slows down the user’s experience.
Having more text than code satisfies the purpose of a website, which is to give information for humans. Browsers spend less time determining how to show your material when there is less code. With less HTML to read, crawler bots can finally read your page more quickly.
For each of the aforementioned reasons, it is essential to have significantly less HTML than content. You should strive for a 70 percent text-to-HTML ratio. You could utilise an online code-to-text ratio checker to discover your content/code ratios.
Alternately, you may manually compare the amount of code on your website to the quantity of content it contains.
