Developing a SEO strategy that works
Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps search engines such as Google find, understand and rank your content. By developing an effective SEO strategy you can increase your website’s organic traffic without spending on paid traffic.
You can use SEO to get maximum visibility for your organisation in simple ways.
Here’s:
- Why SEO matters.
- How to improve SEO on each page.
- How to improve SEO outside your website.
- How long it can take for your SEO strategy to work.
After you’ve read this page, find out more about the latest SEO trends so you can adapt your strategy to keep up with search engine algorithms.
Why SEO matters
Last year I had to update some pages on a website. According to data analytics, the pages weren’t getting many visitors or engaging their target audience.
As I edited the pages I noticed none of them had strong metadata (additional descriptions that help users and search engines find a piece of content). A lack of quality metadata was holding back the organisation’s efforts to get their content seen.
Why good metadata is important
Let me give an example . Imagine someone wrote an article about ‘Regional food in Spain’ and used “Spain” as the keyword phrase.
“Spain” as a keyword phrase doesn’t give search engines enough to go on.
The page is competing with literally millions of other articles about Spain – without even mentioning that it’s about food or different regions as well. A better keyword phrase would be “Spain regional food” or “Regional Spanish food”
Now take the meta description.
The meta description is a chance to give more detailed information about your content to search engines, or potential readers. It’s not enough to just copy and paste a line from the article such as “Spanish food varies from region to region”.
Instead, you might include a mention of the themes covered in the article. For example, you could say: “Find out about the different types of regional food in Spain, including regional specialities such as paella or gazpacho. Discover the best places to go for tapas in cities such as Barcelona and Madrid.”
Give search engines useful information
Poor metadata will hold your organisation back. Give search engines accurate information and tie all your metadata together in a coherent way. Otherwise, your site won’t get the visibility it needs.
For example, a lack of accurate metadata means that your content is less likely to be ranked on the first page of a google search. This is a problem because user research shows that most people are unlikely to look beyond the first few results on the first page of Google.
According to a survey by MOZ, “the vast majority of respondents remain on the first page of Google to find an answer to their query. 75 percent of respondents either click on the first one or two results, scan page one looking for the most relevant answer to their query, or visit multiple results from page one.”
How to improve SEO on each page
You can start developing your SEO strategy in your content management system (CMS).
Focus on making tweaks to the metadata on individual pages of your website. Improving your metadata will help to get each page ranked higher on search engines.
Identify the best keywords
Choose the right keywords for your page based on search trends and relevance.
Find out what your target audience are looking for by checking what words people search for. You can use analytics or tools such as Google Trends to see how people talk about their needs.
However, a word of caution. Don’t go stuffing your content with repetitive keyword phrases. These should never make up more than 1 to 2% of the overall text.
Search engines such as Google are now trained to:
- ignore content stuffed with keywords
- favour content which gives as much value as possible to the user
This is a good thing. It means that good quality, well-researched content will be rewarded.
Create title tags
Choose unique and keyword-rich title tags for each page (no more than 50 to 60 characters long).
Write great meta descriptions
Your meta descriptions should be around 150 to 160 characters. Meta descriptions should encourage clicks by showing the reader what they’re going to find out on the page.
Create SEO-friendly URLs
Make URLs short and descriptive, with relevant keywords.
Use SEO-friendly headings
Structure your content logically with actionable, descriptive headers. Doing this will make headers easier for search engines to find. Use the H1 tag for the main topic, and H2, H3 and H4 tags for your subheadings.
Make images accessible
Use descriptive filenames and alt text for images. Include relevant keywords. Compress each image to improve site speed (for example, by using a free tool such as TinyPNG).
Create internal links
Link pages that cover similar subjects using descriptive anchor text (the text you click on for a link). This helps search engines understand the structure of your site.
Make your site mobile-friendly
Design your site to be mobile-friendly. This will push up your ranking on Google, as well as being really helpful for people who are navigating on mobile phones.
Improve page speed
Speed is important for user experience and SEO. Get quicker loading speed by optimising images and using caching (an efficient form of data storage).
Keep updating your content
Create fresh content and update older content often. This will improve your site’s ranking and authority.
Monitor how your site is performing
Use tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your site’s performance.
You’ll need to:
- identify the areas needing improvement
- measure the impact of the measures you’ve taken
How to improve SEO off your website
“Off-page SEO” focuses on actions you can take outside your website. This helps to show search engines that your site is trustworthy and relevant.
You can take the following actions:
- build high-quality backlinks – create content that other websites will want to link to, for example by guest-posting on other websites
- market your content on social media – share your content on social media sites so you can attract more traffic
- do videos and podcasts – taking part in interviews is a great way to get exposure for your website
- reach out to journalists – get coverage for your website, for example through HARO (Help a Reporter Out) requests
- answer questions on Q&A websites – you can get more exposure by being active on forums such as Quora and Reddit
- improve your site’s technical SEO
How long it can take to see results from SEO
When you take steps to improve your SEO it can take:
- several months before you see any change in search engine rankings
- six months to a year to get improved traffic
Your initial results will vary based on the following factors:
- competition – if you have lots of competition in your field, it might take longer to see results compared to a less competitive market
- the current state of your site – it can take longer for new sites to generate interest
- content quality – high-quality, relevant content tends to rank better over time, but it takes longer to create and might not get much attention at first
- keyword choices – long-tail or less competitive keywords may work better at first than highly-competitive keywords
- technical SEO and site structure – focusing on the technical side of your website (for example, site speed and security) will influence how quickly search engines index and rank your site
You’ll need to be patient and keep plugging away, but the benefits of developing a successful SEO strategy are huge.
Get SEO strategy help from us
Understanding SEO is vital for your organisation’s online visibility and reputation. At Llibertat we understand the nitty gritty of SEO, as well as the technical side.
Get in touch to find out how we can help with your SEO tactics and content strategy.
