The world of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is complex and ever-evolving, which for many small- to medium-sized businesses can also mean intimidating. So many of our clients have no idea where to begin when it comes to boosting their SEO. The truth is SEO combines a number of different factors, which when done well, help your website climb the rankings on search engines such as Google, as well as smaller ones like Yahoo and Bing.
Why do rankings matter? Research from 2021 shows that the first five organic results account for more than 67 per cent of clicks in Google.[1] So, if you’re not sitting among those top results, you’re less likely to get noticed. Google owns an incredible 92 per cent of the worldwide search market[2] and more traffic means more opportunities to convert leads into customers or clients.
At Reeton Media we believe that organic SEO is an important part of making your business visible and successful. Here are some tips to help you climb the rankings ladder.
1. Content, content, content
Google ranks pages based on a website’s E-A-T. That is, its Expertise, Authority and Trust. For Google to rank your page highly, it needs to be considered ‘valuable’. One way to do this is by producing good quality content on your website. Blogging should form a major part of your organic SEO strategy. There are many factors to consider when preparing a blog post, but it’s also important to avoid getting so bogged down in the ‘rules’ that you forget to engage your audience.
According to Backlinko, in 2020 the average length of a top-ranking blog post was 1447 words. But nailing the word count is only useful if the quality of the post is high. When you understand your audience, you are better able to address their needs, interests and concerns, keeping them engaged longer. As the ideal word count has increased over the years, so has the importance of formatting – a long-form article with subheadings, images and short paragraphs is going to be considerably more readable than a huge chunk of unbroken copy.
As far as SEO goes, longtail keywords (longer and more specific keyword phrases) are the new normal. Once upon a time, including as many keywords as possible was standard, but now this practice, known as ‘keyword stuffing’, hurts your SEO. Longtail keywords, on the other hand, are essential. So, where you might have once considered an SEO keyword such as ‘blog post’, you are now better off including ‘how to write a blog post’. It’s that simple. More than 95 per cent of Google searches are four words or more[3] so it stands to reason that longtail keywords can have a huge impact.
2. Backlinking
A backlink is a link on a website that sends the reader to your website. Think of it as an endorsement or testimonial. Also known as inbound links or incoming links, backlinks offer credibility. Pages with a high number of backlinks tend to have high organic search engine rankings. But not all backlinks are created equal. High quality backlinks will come from trusted, authoritative websites. They will also feature on sites/pages that are thematically related to yours. Also, subsequent backlinks on the same site will have diminishing value.
3. Website speed
Website speed refers to the amount of time that it takes for a webpage to load. This includes all of the content that should appear on your webpage such as copy, images and videos. If you’re thinking that a few extra seconds won’t make a difference, think again! According to Google, as page load time goes from one second to 10 seconds, the probability of a mobile site visitor bouncing increases 123 per cent. On top of this, the probability of bounce increases 32 per cent as page load time goes from one second to three seconds (Google). The best way to find out your exact website speed is to do an audit. Not sure how? Contact us today and we can do one for you!
4. Meta tags
Meta tags are small parts of code that inform search engines about your webpage. They don’t appear on the webpage itself, but in the HTML document. The most important metadata is the meta title and meta description. You can update these in the code itself or CMS (content management system).
A meta title should be clear and concise, explaining what the particular webpage is about. It is the first thing a searcher will see in a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) and, as a result, it is one of the key determining factors when it comes to click-through. It also functions as the tab title in the web browser, making it premium real estate. So, while it is important to put keywords up front, you should also keep the title short – about 50 to 60 characters will do it. Long titles will be shortened for you.
A meta description is the snippet of text that usually appears under the meta title in SERPs. While a meta description is not a ranking factor in its own right, it will impact the number of clicks you attract. A meta description should be a couple of clear, concise sentences describing the gist of your page, with some keywords included, of course.
5. Integrate your social channels
Although social media does not directly contribute to SEO ranking, aligning your social media efforts with your website helps maximise brand exposure. Research by Cognitive SEO found that search engines use social signals such as shares, likes and comments to rank your website.[4]
As well as publishing relevant, shareable content, make sure your social channels are highly visible and accessible on your website, use social icons on your homepage, add sharing buttons to individual blog posts, and ensure you have a social media commenting function.
6. Keywords
Keywords are words or phrases that are used to match your website with the terms people are searching for in search engines. Every page on your website needs to be optimised with relevant SEO keywords. That means that all of your web’s copy should incorporate keywords. Ultimately you need to understand what people are searching for. However, this may change frequently. If you run a florist, for example, keywords such as ‘flower delivery’ are good, but a longtail version such as ‘flower delivery in Bondi’ is better. If you operate a medical practice, ‘medical centre’ and ‘GP’ are good, ‘bulk billing doctor in Richmond’ is better. You see the pattern.
You can start this process with some simple brainstorming before expanding on your ideas with keyword research tools such as Ahrefs, Semrush and WordStream.
Once you have ticked all of these boxes, you might also consider advertising with Google Ads. You will need to choose keywords that are most relevant to your business. Selecting high quality, relevant keywords for your advertising campaign will help you reach the customers or clients that you want to attract.
Need help with your organic SEO? Contact us on (02) 9825 9600.
[1] https://www.smartinsights.com/search-engine-optimisation-seo/seo-analytics/comparison-of-google-clickthrough-rates-by-position/ [2] https://au.oberlo.com/blog/top-search-engines-world [3] https://www.highervisibility.com/blog/organic-vs-paid-search-statistics/ [4] https://cognitiveseo.com/blog/11903/social-signals-seo-influence/
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