SEO 101: The Importance of Search to the Modern Day Marketer

While traditional marketing techniques stay the same year after year, digital marketing is always changing and evolving. With its constant algorithm updates and changes, business must evolve with the times as well. Which makes understanding SEO so important to the modern day marketer.Before we dive into the importance of search to the modern day marketer, we must understand the basics.

What is SEO?

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is the process of optimising a website to grow visibility in unpaid results in search engines such as Google and Bing. It’s a combination of technical and creative processes that help boost your website to appear at the top of search results for particular keywords and search terms.By optimising your website to appear for these search terms, you can drive traffic, build visibility and awareness for your business and website. There are so many things that affect your SEO performance, from the structure of your website, the text on the page or the external links connecting your website.So how does Google decide what website to show in the top results? Google uses algorithms that combine a number of tests to determine the best possible website to show for particular search results. Google wants to provide its users with the best user experience possible and only wants to show the best of the best. The better optimised and built your website is, the more likely it will show in the search results.

SEO Basics

The first part about building an SEO strategy, is to determine what people are searching for, what are the terms they are typing into Google and are they relevant to your website? Once you know what people are searching for, you can then optimise your website for these keywords and search terms. It’s all about developing the perfect keyword list.It’s also important to understand that it is not just about the technical aspects that Google likes, it’s also about building a positive user experience. It doesn’t matter how technically perfect your website is, If it’s not easy to navigate and easy for people to convert, visitors will not stick around and will move onto the next website on the list. It’s all about finding a happy medium of the perfect build and creating a positive browsing / shopping experience for your customer.Here are just a few things you need to know when optimising your website for Google:

• Mobile Friendly – Did you know that 58% of searches are done on a mobile device? That's why it's never been more important to have a website that is mobile optimised. A mobile friendly website will not only give your visitors a good experience, but will also improve your SEO performance as Google now includes in their latest algorithm update.
• Mobile speed - When it comes to website loading people can get impatient, so impatient that 53% of visitors will leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
• Content - Content is key to search engine optimisation, The text you provide on your website is not only there to provide information, but is also there to help your website rank. Your page content should include the keywords and search terms that you want your website to rank for in search results. But this doesn't mean just throwing in words here and there and ‘keyword stuffing’ your website, Google reads your website, just like a real person would, and determines if the content is natural, or forced.
• Social Media - While social media and SEO aren't exactly connected, they can have an impact on each others performance when done right. From social media pages ranking in search results to the sharing capabilities and visibility and awareness, social media can play a key part in an SEO strategy.
• Link Building – Link building is the process of acquiring external links for your website to another through hyperlinks. A hyperlink acts as a navigation and can strengthen your SEO performance when done well. However, it’s not just about linking with any old website. Only high-quality links should be used, if you connect with toxic websites it can have a damaging effect on your SEO performance.

For optimal results, a combination of these optimisations is the best approach to improve your SEO. But don’t try to cheat the system, there is White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO, don’t try a quick fix to get results. Google sees everything, and if you are caught trying black hat techniques your website can be penalised as a result. Instead, take the time to get it right and you will reap the benefits in time.

Why SEO is important

While a lot of traffic is driven through paid channels, such as Google Ads and paid social media marketing, the majority of website traffic is driven through organic search results. With an SEO strategy you will be seen by the people who are actively looking for your products and services by appearing at the top of their search results.It’s also important to consider that only 15% of people click on a paid advertisement in the list, meaning 85% of people will scroll down past those 3-4 ads to find the first organic results.Not to mention that most users won’t click on page 2 of search results unless they are desperate, which makes it so important to get into the top 10 results. The higher your page appears in the search terms, the higher your click through rate. Now you understand the importance and the effects of a solid SEO strategy for a modern day marketer, speak to the Perth SEO experts that can make it happen. Contact Bang Digital today to start building your SEO strategy.