As SEO specialists, we understand that taking your first steps into this challenging channel of digital marketing can be daunting. However, it’s one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing your business can possibly invest in, so it’s really worth exploring how it could grow your organisation.
To help you get the ball rolling, we’ve answered some of the most commonly asked questions about SEO, including how it works and some common pitfalls.
What is SEO?
SEO simply stands for search engine optimisation. It’s the process of refining your website so that it appears higher on the likes of Google when a user searches for something relevant to your business.
Around 30% of searchers click the top result and around half click on one of the top three. So, if you’re in the business of selling discount holidays online, you’ll want to be ranking for “cheap holidays” in order to make some significant sales.
What are the three main areas of SEO?
The three main areas of SEO are technical SEO, content and link building (or “outreach”). Technical SEO is all about making your site easy for Google to read, as well as ensuring it provides a seamless user experience. This involves managing site infrastructure, categories, organisation, page speeds, internal links and the overall site health.
Content is optimising the copy on your site for keywords relevant to your business. A big part of this is also making sure it delivers what the customer is looking for, so it can’t be spammy, it has to be tailored to the customer as well as the search engine. Your copy will need to be well-written and informative, and should provide visitors with the answers they’re looking for.
Finally, link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your pages, often achieved through digital PR campaigns. This builds credibility and authority for your domain, improving your position in the rankings.
Do I need to optimise for mobile users?
Over half (58%) of all searches are now made via mobile, so ensuring your site is mobile-friendly is paramount. Google knows this, too, as its algorithm now prioritises sites’ mobile content when organising search results. Therefore, it’s essential to optimise your site for mobile users as well as desktop.
How long does SEO take to work?
SEO isn’t an overnight success project; it takes continuous work and maintenance in order to gradually improve your site’s position. Equally, you can’t really put a specific timeline on when you’d expect to see results, as this will depend on several factors like your own goals and strategy, as well as how competitive your industry is.
However, as a general rule of thumb, you should expect it to take a minimum of six months before you begin to see a noticeable rise in traffic and sales from your SEO efforts.
Can I stop working on SEO after achieving high rankings?
Similarly, as SEO is an ongoing process, you shouldn’t take your foot off the gas as soon as you get to the desired position. Your site needs to be consistently maintained and updated to ensure it remains in good working order and stays relevant for your target audience. If you start to disregard your site’s SEO, this will be reflected in your position and you’ll begin dropping beneath your rivals on the results page.
Can I do my own SEO?
There are certainly aspects of SEO you can tackle on your own to improve your site’s performance on the results pages. However, SEO is a long-term marketing strategy and getting into those profitable positions requires a lot of time and investment.
Doing this yourself means maintaining the health of your site, building a link profile, ensuring the content remains optimised and updated, as well as staying on top of Google’s ever-evolving algorithm changes yourself. Plus, you’ll need to make sure you’re avoiding the various SEO banana skins that could harm your rankings – that’s where our expertise comes in!
Getting professional support for your SEO efforts can help you stay on top of this. It will free up a significant amount of your time and resources that otherwise would’ve been required to improve your position. Plus, you will be able to make use of specialist knowledge and experience, increasing your chances of making it into those profitable top spots.
Got another question?
If there’s another burning question you want to ask about the world of SEO, or if you simply feel like you need a hand, get in touch with our friendly team to hear about how we can help you. Alternatively, head over to the It Works blog for more digital marketing advice and insights.