Search engine optimisation (SEO) combines art and science. But creating the perfect mix can seem daunting if you don’t have a marketing background.
Recent 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.
One of the most important things to get right in SEO is understanding what your target audience are searching for and that your website meets that desire. You can identify this through the words that your audience are searching with (keywords) and making sure that your website includes the same keywords and matches that intent.
Then if you appear at the top of the search results (your ranking) for those keywords, you will have matched intent and improve quantity and quality of traffic to your website.
Want to know more? Read on to discover how to improve your website's SEO.
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. However, 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.
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.
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