SEO, search engine optimisation, is a marketing method that has been used for years. Before paid ads, this was the only way to ensure your website appeared on the front page of a search engine such as Google.
Even though there are multiple ways now to ensure your website is ranking on the first page of Google, SEO is still as important as ever. The first obvious value of having a great SEO ranking is that potential customers can find you easier and quickly (leading to more cash flowing into your business!). With attention spans lower than ever, if you do not appear instantly when someone searches for a service or product that you provide, the chances are the client will give up trying to find you. In fact, think about the last time you went on page 3 of Google searches when looking up something.
Imagine billions of websites fighting daily for a spot on the first page of Google (that’s only 3-5 spots, excluding the websites with paid ads appearing at the top).
So how do you fight and win one of these highly sought out spots, and if you manage to snag a spot, what does it mean for your marketing in the future? And do you have to do SEO if you already have paid ads?
Before diving into why it’s important to have SEO, it is vital to first understand the basics of SEO. There are three strategies that SEO specialists take into consideration when trying to win you a spot at the top:
- On-page SEO: This is the SEO that determines your score based on what is on your website. (hint: this is where blogs come in handy!) If you are planning to rank high for the search term “video”, the content on your website has to match the ranking you’re after.
- Off-page SEO: This is the SEO that refers to the actions taken outside of your website. This is where the term ‘linking’ comes into play. This is where sites create a link to your website and ‘vouch’ for your sites credibility and trustworthiness. The more links that lead to your website, the more search engines are likely to display your website as the first source for specific keywords.
- Technical SEO: This is the SEO that is determined by the technical abilities of your site. Does it load fast? Is it built on a trusted platform such as WordPress? All these factors impact the Technical SEO of your website and your overall SEO ranking.
