Businesses worldwide are trying to attract as many eyeballs to their websites as possible. The seemingly dark art of search engine optimisation (SEO) is regularly bandied about as the best way to accomplish this.
SEO refers to the process of optimising your website so that it ranks highly in search engines such as Google and the less used Bing.
A ranking refers to the position where your website appears in the list returned when someone uses a search engine to find information – about financial advice or the best chicken tikka masala in their local patch. Research shows that internet users rarely scroll beyond the first few options returned in a Google search, meaning the higher you rank, the more likely a user will see your website.
Google and others use a range of factors to decide how highly they rank a website. These factors can vary, and the technical processes are hugely complicated. Ultimately, site design, the quality if the written copy, video and imagery content will contribute to your SEO ranking.
A strong search engine ranking can definitely be the difference between attracting new business or causing possible clients to look elsewhere.
Is it important?
SEO should be part of the mix used to attract new clients. There's significant research demonstrating the first-place consumers look for information is the internet. "Google it" is now part of the lexicon. Moreover, the proliferation of mobile devices is accelerating the use of search engines, as we can now find information online whenever and wherever we want.
How do I get started?
There are plenty of online guides available for do-it-yourself SEO, but it's not the same as fixing a leaky tap; therefore, having a reliable SEO partner is crucial. The chances are that the team that designed your website is in the SEO game or has a partner they could recommend.
Using an expert is your best chance of receiving a valuable result from your SEO activities. My advice is to shop around and, where possible, seek a recommendation from someone you trust. Also, be mindful that SEO is a specialist skill and be wary of agencies selling the big SEO dream while have little in the way of results to prove their claims.
SEO is a challenge to address in a single post. I'll revisit some of the finer points in later blogs.
TOPICS: Search engine optimisation
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