How to Start SEO For a Website

SEO is a part of your business if you run an online store or own a website. Search Engine Optimization is the key thing when it comes to digital marketing strategy. When running a business online it is vital to be intentional about how you will be found by your audience. SEO, in its simplest definition, refers to the process of obtaining traffic through free, organic, editorial, or natural search engine results. Just like human beings have needs, businesses have needs to be seen and recognized, and SEO plays a part in meeting this need. Is it really crucial to have an SEO strategy for my website? The answer is YES! Here is why: 68% of all online activities start from the search engine. That means for your online store or website to be identified quicker by your ideal clients, your searchability has to be high. Your searchability must be optimized. This article is the ultimate guide to an effective SEO strategy that will make it easier for you to increase your chances of ranking on the first page of search engine results.

Before we go any further, it’s vital that we understand that there are three types of SEO; technical SEO, off-page SEO, and on-page SEO. These three types of SEO have different functions. Technical SEO is mainly about the markup website’s backend structure, so the HTML tagging system gives the outline to your pages to be read by your browser and outline a usable web page. It is essential as Google considers it regarding the websites’ ranking. The goal of on-page SEO is to increase organic traffic for a website by optimizing its pages to rank higher in search engines for specific keywords. Off-page SEO is mainly about practices that are done to improve SERP (search engine results page) off the website, which adds more chances to rank higher on Google and others. This off-page optimization includes practices such as link-building, newsletters, brand mentions, influencer outreach, and more which bring traffic to your page and gain interest from the audience and the crawlers.

When your customers search on Google, they are looking for solutions, and the first step you want to take when planning your content is to put yourself in the shoes of your current and ideal clients in order to provide them with unique solutions and tips. You can compile types of information that would be valuable to your clients that might be looking for your products or services. This doesn’t necessarily mean all content should be product or service-oriented but should be industry related and appealing to the target market's interests. High-quality and unique content increases brand awareness, enhances trust, and converts visitors into customers, and in this case, helps you to improve your ranking on Google and other search engines. The more value your audience receives from your content, the greater the chance of ranking at the top of relevant search results. L’oreal does a brilliant job providing valuable blogs with content that informs its clients about how to use the products, follow effective routines, and much more. When creating website content, relevance, quality, and uniqueness are crucial factors to consider. Now that we understand the importance of unique content, is that all there is to it? There’s more! Creating engaging headlines will capture the attention of your visitors and compel them to read more on your page. When crafting your headlines, it is crucial to consider the emotion you want to give them, and the solution you’re offering them without neglecting the keywords to optimize your searchability.

Optimizing your keywords involves finding, analyzing, and determining the most appropriate keywords to target and drive traffic from search engines. If one writes a blog post with good points, does that ensure their work will stand out on the internet? Not quite. So what’s the first thing to consider? The answer is keyword research. Many people feel intimidated by the idea of conducting keyword research, but with marketing tools such as Semrush and Ahref, the work is made easier. The first step to finding keywords is by gathering phrases and words related to the content of your website and systematically entering them into the search. Analytics and results you get from the search will help you determine which words have the highest searches, and conversion rates, as well as the appropriate keywords to use. Keyword optimization should be integrated into titles, link-building strategies, meta descriptions, and URLs. Want to know how back-linking works? Keep on reading.

Backlinking is one of the most important tactics in the execution of your SEO strategy as involves the process of creating links from other websites to your site. In order to earn trust and gain authority on Google, backlinking has to be part of your strategy. When you integrate this practice into your strategy you show Google that your content is valuable as it will be linked to other websites. The more backlinks with high domain authority you allocate, the higher the position of your ranking on SERPs. It’s also crucial to understand that not all backlinks are valuable however there are factors that will influence the value of a link; do-follow and no-follow, the authority of the linking site, and on-site link location. To simplify things, do-follow links encourage search engines to crawl and index website pages to add more value to their indexes. On the other hand, no-follow links prompt search engines to ignore them, bringing less SEO value. That being said, you will need to have both do-follow and no-follow when you plan on building your backlinking SEO strategy. You can build backlinks from widely recognized websites by using the authority of the linking site. This signals the search engines to rank your site higher.

Does social media play any role in developing an effective strategy? The answer is yes. If you are going to create an effective SEO strategy, then you may want to consider your social media in because it is necessary. In addition to being free, organic social media is very beneficial when leveraged strategically. You will stand a chance of being noticed when you post on platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn and Instagram because people spend a lot of time unwinding, searching for inspiration, and finding entertainment on social media. Instagram and TikTok are necessary for building awareness and traffic improving your visibility and engagement. Additionally creating shareable content on social media will assist you to reach many people. Take advantage of features such as stories and reels to create content about your products incorporating the appropriate keywords in your captions. The Pinterest social network is a perfect platform for link building and showcasing your products or content from your website. As a digital marketing strategy, social media can increase exposure for your content, build valuable backlinks, and create social signals for SEO ranking purposes.

As we wrap up you may want to be aware of the fact that search engine optimization takes time, and should be perceived as a long-term strategy for your brand-building purpose. Results do not manifest instantly, and testing is required. Avoid experts who promise you that you will wake up at the top of the rankings overnight. If this happens, stay away from them, as no one can guarantee that. There is no exact recipe but if you follow these tips in your SEO practices, you will be able to develop an effective SEO strategy and start seeing some results. Are you ready to start building your way to the top of search results pages, we are ready to walk that journey with you, pushing you at the forefront. Get in touch with us by filling out the form below and we will give you a free consultation.