If you’re looking for one avenue of your marketing that you should be focusing on this year, it’s without a doubt your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Often overlooked, your SEO is the secret to gaining visibility, making your digital presence more accessible and ranking better in your respective niche.
Don’t understand the technical side of SEO? Not to worry, within this article we’re going to be looking at what you need to know and why:
How does SEO actually work?
Imagine you have a shop in a busy marketplace. Every day, thousands of potential customers walk by, but they can’t see directly into your shop because all the windows are covered. The only way that a person would know what you sell is by the signs you put up outside and the words you use to describe your products.
In this analogy, search engines like Google are essentially blind shoppers. They can’t see your store’s interior or the products directly. Instead, they rely on the keywords you use to describe what you do and the descriptions you provide of the products you sell. Based on how well you describe your product, how easy it is to navigate your services and how well you keep all of this information up to date, helps them decide whether to recommend your shop to people and how frequently.
Keywords are like signs – When you use relevant keywords across your content, titles and descriptions, you’re putting up clear signs that guide the search engines to ensure they understand what the purpose of your work is.
Your content structure matters – Well-organised, informative and engaging content helps search engines determine that your online space is valuable and worth recommending. Making sure your headers, subheaders and text are labelled correctly and are easy to read ensure that search engines understand.
Links are equivalent to recommendations – In the SEO world, links from other reputable websites to your website act as recommendations which encourage the search engines to boost your content even more. The more high-quality links you have, the more search engines trust your site.
User experience is key – Imagine if customers found it difficult to move around your shop or if it took too long to find what they needed. They would likely leave and not come back, certainly not recommending that their friends visit. Similarly, user experience factors like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and easy navigation are crucial for keeping visitors in your online space. Search engines notice these factors and prefer sites that provide a good experience.
Keep your space fresh – Just like in a physical store, if you regularly update your shop’s display with new products and keep it inviting, more customers will return. For your online content, this means regularly updating what you share and keeping your SEO strategy up to date to reflect changes in search algorithms. This tells search engines that your online space is active and relevant.
Website builders – It’s important to note that not all website builders are built equal, and some are better than others for implementing an SEO strategy. For example, WordPress allows you to have full control over every aspect of your website, right down to the code which makes implementing a more robust strategy possible – whereas, Wix has a simpler interface but doesn’t allow you to get anywhere near as granular with your strategy.
Did you know? SEO doesn’t just apply to websites. Social media accounts also use a similar system to organise the content that you see on your recommended page.
Why should your SEO matter to you?
Increased traffic and better ranking on search engines like Google
According to a study by BrightEdge, organic searches drive 53.3% of all website traffic, highlighting the importance of your website appearing in front of your audience.
Better credibility within your audience
It’s no secret that internet users have a very short attention span. As such, appearing on the first page of search engine results often means that you’re more likely to be trusted by your audience. An effective SEO strategy will help your site be seen as an authority in your industry.
A cost-effective way to maximise your marketing
While there is an investment in time and resources to ensure that your content is SEO-friendly, the long-term benefits of maintaining your strategy far outweigh the costs. It’s a sustainable way to attract organic traffic without having to spend on ongoing advertisements.
Bonus: When your content is SEO-friendly, it’s also a lot more accessible to those with visual impairments and other disabilities who may visit your online space. With 81% of disabled adults being internet users (according to ons.gov.uk), you are opening up your business to even more customers.
Feeling a bit lost?
We understand that not everyone is tech-savvy and that’s where the team here at Inkfire come in. We can handle all the heavy lifting when it comes to your SEO, leaving you to reap the benefits of more traffic to your online space, whether that’s your website or social media pages.
From keyword research, through to content creation, optimisation and the technical side of SEO, we can handle it all for you.
Get in touch today to have a no-obligation chat with us.
