Intro to SEO Best Practise

For the next few months we will be exploring SEO do's and don'ts, starting from the most basic, well-known tips today.

SEO - Consistency Is the Key

If you’re looking for your website to achieve a higher ranking on Google, prioritising SEO practices is the way forward. Typically, SEO practices can take between 6-12 months to reach its full potential, but consistency is key if you wish for your campaign to lead to positive results.

Search engines have their own algorithm process which considers several factors when ranking websites, including the quality of content and its relevance to the reader. Google discovers new websites by crawling through pages, before storing the information in their index. Although this process occurs regularly, there is no set time structure as to when it could occur which means having to stay consistent with SEO.

Finally, Google will monitor which of your pages are most searched for by web users before deciding on how to rank your website.

The bottom line is that SEO is not a practice that you can play around with sporadically if you’re eager for your business to grow online. You should create an SEO plan for adding more content to your website and using key techniques to widen your web reach and improve your search engine ranking (SERP).

The key SEO elements that require consistency:

Keywords

When it comes to writing content, using specific keywords regularly is crucial. Dispersing keywords across web pages gives search engines an idea of what your business is about. However, it’s important not to be too generous with keyword usage as it could give Google the impression that your website is a spam site. On average, keywords should make up roughly 3% of the final word count of each web page.

Ensure you use specific keywords throughout your content, including the meta tags, meta description, and the image ALT to give your website more chance of being ranked highly. 

Regular content

Websites that create content regularly are also much more likely to be valued by search engines, as it informs Google that you’re delivering fresh, relevant content to your desired audience. It would be worthwhile to prioritise ‘evergreen content’ which is a term used to describe content that will never be outdated and stay relevant to the reader for months or even years to come.

It may also be worth checking and refreshing existing content that could be improved. Update using high-ranking keywords and check for broken backlinks that could be harming your SERP.

Social media activity

Social media is one of the best ways to improve SEO, thanks to its ability to engage your audience and attract them to your website, which is otherwise known as ‘Cross Channel Consistency’. Whenever you post new content on your website, share it with your social media followers. Providing it’s relevant to their needs and interests, you’re bound to notice a rise in website visitor numbers which informs Google that your website is credible and worth a higher ranking.

On a final note, if you’re a business seeking to attract more customers, then SEO is a sustainable way to accomplish that in the long-term. It could be a great way to improve your online visibility.

Google provides information to help you create a good website experience for your customers. What it won’t do is give you any detailed insight into how the algorithms determine who sits where in the rankings. So, to get ahead of your competition you must rely on the best practice advice that has been shared.

We know that poor content, gaps in quality links pointing to your site and unseen technical issues could all be holding back your progress.

All these factors are going to have an impact on the ability of your website to rank on google. Often, once these are fixed, your website will rise to where people are guaranteed to see it – on the first page.

By following the advice above, you’ll be equipped with the main tools to ensure your website meets the basic technical obligations for SEO success or simply hire an expert to work with you on the matter.

More on SEO....coming soon......