What is SEO and what does it mean?
Search Engine Optimization, commonly known as SEO, is a set of techniques and strategies used to improve a website’s visibility and ranking on search engines like Google and Bing.
There are three main ways to improve your SEO:
- Technical SEO: Improvements behind the scenes of your website like submitting an XML sitemap to Google, optimising the robots.txt file, improving site loading speed, making sure that confidential info on the site is secure, and so on.
- On-page SEO: Optimising the headings. content, images, and backlinks on your website to improve the website’s ranking for targeted keywords.
- Off-page SEO: To improve search engine and user perception of a website’s popularity, relevance, trustworthiness, and authority, off-page SEO involves getting other pages, sites, and people on the Internet to link to or promote the website, essentially providing a “seal of approval” for the content.
With an effective SEO strategy, businesses can improve their visibility in search engines, attract more quality organic traffic, and ultimately increase sales. When creating an SEO strategy, the goal is to make sure that your website is optimised for search engines so it can be easily found by users.
It is also important to keep in mind that SEO is an ever-changing field, as search engine algorithms are constantly being updated. To stay ahead of the competition, it is important to keep up with the latest SEO trends and best practices.
What does an SEO company do?
An SEO company can help businesses by providing a variety of services. These services work in harmony to strengthen your business’s SEO.
Keyword Research
The first step to successful SEO is keyword research. An SEO company will research the most relevant and high-traffic keywords related to a business to determine which ones should be targeted. It is important to use keywords that are relevant to the business, as this will ensure that the content on the website is optimised for the right audience.
After researching the best keywords, an SEO company will then optimise the website’s content and meta tags to ensure that the website appears at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Website Optimisation
In addition, an SEO company will optimise website architecture. Website architecture is the structure of the website and how it is organised. This is an important part of SEO because it affects both the user experience and the way search engines crawl and index the website. An SEO company will ensure that the website is properly structured, with easy-to-find navigation, clear headings and subheadings, and properly optimised titles and meta descriptions.
SEO Audits
An SEO company may also perform a technical SEO audit. This audit will check the website to identify any technical issues that may be preventing the website from appearing in the SERPs. This can include checking for broken links, examining the website’s speed and loading times, checking the website’s robots.txt file, and other technical details.
Link Building
Link building is another important part of SEO. An SEO company will help businesses build links to their website from other authoritative websites. This can help improve the website’s rankings in the SERPs and help drive more traffic to the site.
Link Building is important, ideally you want more inbound links (linking to your website) than outbound links (linking from your website).
“This is important for Google’s algorithm”, according to Josh Moore, head marketing fanatic at digital marketing agency, Duoplus. “Google see’s links as votes of confidence… so the more links you have directed to your site, Google is going to think you are trustworthy and reliable and rank you higher in search results”.
Content Creation
Finally, an SEO company can help businesses create content for their website. Content plays an important role in SEO, as search engines use content to determine which websites should appear in the SERPs. An SEO company can help businesses create content that is relevant to their industry and target audience, which can help improve the website’s rankings in the SERPs.
Why do I need SEO for my business?
Example Scenario
You are a heat pump specialist located in Hamilton, New Zealand. You have a website that you spent a lot of money on, getting a modern design and functionality. However, you aren’t getting any phone calls or from filling leads from your website. Additionally, when searching on Google for terms such as “Heat Pumps Hamilton” you can’t find your website and only see competitors’ sites showing in the search results… Sound familiar?
SEO is a viable digital marketing strategy to help your business achieve better visibility in the SERPS and most importantly drive more traffic to your website, resulting in more leads for your business.
There are four main reasons why you need SEO for your business and why you should invest in this digital marketing strategy to benefit your business in the long-term.
Reach More Customers
With SEO, you can make it easier for potential customers to find your business online. By optimising your website and content for specific keywords and phrases, you can help customers discover your business when searching for related products and services. This can help you reach more customers and increase your overall visibility. If your website is not in the top 5 positions on the search page, you are losing out on a majority of your business!
Build Brand Awareness
SEO can also help you build brand awareness by creating content that is relevant to your target audience. When customers find your site in search engine results, they’ll recognize your brand and become more familiar with it. This can help you create a loyal customer base and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.
Increase Your Website Traffic
SEO can help you drive more organic traffic to your website. When you optimise your site for search engine algorithms, you can appear higher in search engine results, which can lead to more clicks and visits to your site. This can help you increase your website’s traffic and generate more leads and conversions.
Gain a Competitive Advantage
SEO can also help you gain a competitive advantage over your competitors. By optimising your website and content, you can make sure that you’re appearing higher in search engine results than your competitors, giving you an edge in the market.
What can I expect from an SEO agency?
Comprehensive Analysis
The first step in any SEO project is for the agency to conduct a comprehensive analysis aka an SEO audit of your website and its current ranking in the search engines. This includes looking at both on-page and off-page factors, such as keyword usage, meta tags, backlinks, and content quality. The agency will then be able to provide you with an action plan for improving your website’s search engine rankings.
Strategic Planning
Once the agency has a clear understanding of your website’s current performance, they’ll be able to recommend a strategy that will help you reach your goals. This might include changes to your website’s design, content, and structure, as well as link building, ongoing monitoring and optimisation of your website’s performance.
Implementation
After the agency has created a plan of action, they will then begin the process of implementing it. This can include the creation of new content, the optimization of existing content, and the building of backlinks to your website. The agency will also be responsible for tracking and analysing the results of their efforts to ensure that your website is achieving the desired results.
Reporting
A good SEO agency will provide regular reports to keep you informed of their progress and the success of their efforts. These reports should include details on rankings, traffic, conversions, and any other relevant metrics. This will give you an insight into the performance of your website and the effectiveness of the agency’s strategy.
Conclusion
When done properly, SEO can help to improve a website’s visibility on SERPs, which can lead to more qualified traffic, more leads, and ultimately more sales.
If you are a business in Hamilton or New Zealand, help your business grow with a digital marketing strategy that is proven effective. Contact Duoplus, to book a free strategy session and enquire about SEO from a trusted Hamilton SEO company.