SEO is the buzzword that everybody loves when it comes to building a website that earns it’s keep. It’s the magic bullet that will skyrocket your business into the stratosphere (or so some think).

Look, everyone wants that magical thing that will make everything better. And the pressure seems to be on SEO to do that thing. But in all honesty, there seems to be more myth surrounding the topic than fact!

So let’s get some things straight:

 

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It’s a strategy of improving your website’s visibility and ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs). Basically, SEO is a potion of content, design and technical wizardry that helps you climb the lofty heights of the Google rankings without paying for prime ad space.

 

Why does SEO matter?

Being on top of the Google rankings is important for two main reasons.

1. It increases your visibility.

It’s fairly straightforward logic. If your website is on the first page of Google results, you will increase your website traffic. And we all know that increasing traffic is the first step towards increasing conversions.

2. It increases your credibility

You don’t just magically get to the top of Google rankings. There are criteria a website has to meet to be able to rank higher than its competitors. And even if we don’t categorically know it, we tend to understand that a website that is at the top of Google should* be more trustworthy than one on the 18^th page of results.

This explains why people are constantly hunting for that perfect SEO solution. But it’s not an easy task.

 

What affects SEO?

Some people may think that SEO just comes down to content. While content can have a major role in improving your SEO, it’s just a piece of the puzzle.

Here are some of the top-ranking factors that Google considers:

• Backlinks
• Keywords
• User Experience
• Technical SEO

This isn’t even close to an exhaustive list, but it just shows you that there is more to creating a winning SEO strategy than just writing a couple of blog posts.

 

Keyword stuffing

I know that you know there is more to SEO than ramming a thousand keywords into your website and just hoping for the best BUT did you know that keyword stuffing will actually have a negative effect on your ranking?

Google wants to provide its users with helpful results. And a helpful result is something that people actually want to read. So, if you write content that is impossible to read because the focus is on what an algorithm might want, you might want to rethink.

Content should always be aimed at your intended audience. It should be helpful, entertaining or useful. If you can manage all 3, then congratulations!

 

How can I improve my SEO?

Create relevant content 

When you are considering blog topics, remember that you are writing for a person, not a computer. Any content you put together should be:

• Useful
• Entertaining
• Easy to read

I will keep saying it over and over again. If you post content that nobody wants to read, it won’t help your SEO, your marketing plan or your overall brand.

 

Keywords

Keywords can be a great guide to what content you should consider writing. But they aren’t the be-all and end-all.

Long-tail keywords are phrases that are commonly used when researching a specific topic. They quite often come up as questions. Knowing which questions are regularly asked gives you a good idea of the answers you need to provide.

Using tools like  Keywords Everywhere or Ahrefs can help you to see trends across your industry and where there are gaps in the market. This will help you to create content that is not only useful, but it will also help you create something unique.

 

Look after your UX

Your UX refers to your user’s experience. The design, content, structure and flow of your website all come together to for how your audience feels about your website. Make sure that anyone who visits has a good experience. If you make it difficult to get the information they need, they will just leave. This makes the Google overlords frown down upon you, thus bumping you further down their rankings.

Some easy steps to help you out include:

• Make sure your website loads fast by keeping on top of updates**
• Create a flow through your content that leads your reader through a journey
• Make sure it looks good. Nothing puts you off like a website that looks like it’s been mashed together by an angry 3 year old

 

When in doubt…

There is a lot of information here. But I’m barely even scratching the surface. The key takeaway should be that SEO is an important part of your marketing plan and should definitely be carefully thought out.

From a content standpoint, as tempting as it is to just ram a bunch of keywords into your website, please don’t. Be thoughtful with your copy and your content. Remember who you are writing for.

And if all else fails, reach for help. If you’d like to discuss how you could use content to improve your SEO, get in touch.

 

 

* This isn’t always true. Sometimes high ranking just means well known, and let’s be honest, not all well known things are trustworthy. Equally, you may be an absolute genius in your field, Google just might not know it yet.

** This is the most basic possible part of speeding up your site. For a more detailed approach, get some tips from HubSpot here.