Easy steps for getting to grips with SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) combines art and science. But creating the perfect mix can seem daunting if you don’t have a marketing background.

Research found that 68% of online experiences start with a search engine, with Google holding over 90% of the market. So, making sure you understand and can implement good SEO practice is key to your business’ online success.

In its most simple term, SEO means that you’re using the same words on your website as your target audience uses on search engines (commonly called keywords). Do this well and you’ll already be ahead. When using the right keywords to match your audience, your website is more likely to appear early on in search engine results (called your ranking) and will help to improve quality and quantity of traffic to your website.

Want to know more? Read on to discover how to improve your website's SEO. 

Make sure you're visible 

SEO is one of the best ways to give your business a higher chance of being seen online and getting heard above the noise. Customers and clients need to be able to find you easily, so, first up, make sure your website can be found by search engines. You can check how many of your webpages are discoverable really easily. Type site: followed by your website into a search engine and it will list all of your results. For example, entering site: Vodafone.com has shown that more than 16,000 webpages are indexed.

Perfect your keywords 

When it comes to knowing what your audience is looking for, keywords are incredibly helpful. Using the right phrases and words will give your site a better chance of getting that all-important first-page ranking. Consider when your product or service is being searched for online; what words are your customers most likely to use and how are they searching? 27% of the global online population is now using voice search, for example, which impacts their search behaviour. But, no matter how they’re conducting the search, people generally want to find what they're looking for quickly – meaning they’ll use short phrases and colloquial language. 

Show your authority 

You know what you're talking about when it comes to your business. So, once you've got your website and keywords perfected, think about how you can expand your influence. Did you know building links from other sites (backlinks) can help your website climb the search rankings?

Could you be quoted in an online article for a well-known website? Or perhaps you have connections with those running local blogs and could be featured there? Whatever route you take, remember that these methods don’t need to be expensive or time-consuming. The important thing is that you get started.

Keep track of how you're doing and what you can improve 

It's one thing to have an SEO plan, but you also need to know what's working and what needs to change. So, make sure you factor in time to review the impact you’re having on your website and business. One way to do this is through backlink trackers, which will do most of the hard work for you

But, arguably, the most important way to see how your website is doing is through an analytics dashboard, like Google Analytics. This has everything you need to know in one place. You can review what keywords people are actually using, how long visitors are on your site, which pages are most popular and so much more. That way, you can continue to adjust your plans in line with what's really happening – all backed up with data.

Continuing to check performance over time is key, as audience search behaviour and keywords can change and may need to be added to. Having a part of your website which is easily updated and current – such as a news or blog section is a great opportunity for you to continually use the latest keywords and ensure there’s always fresh content to appeal to your audience.

Find out if your website is optimised to attract new customers by taking our SEO quiz at the link below.