Here is a simple overview of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). For a more detailed description read What Is SEO.

Search Engine Optimisation is the series of techniques and processes used to gain high organic rankings for a website on the Google search listings or any search engine results. These are the results that appear under the pay-per-click ads in search listings but can also appear in various other parts of the search results pages such as:

• Local Pack
• Featured Snippet
• Knowledge Graph

Organic Page 1 rankings are a long-term, cost-effective strategy to help build and grow a sustainable business. Done correctly, it ensures visitors to a website are properly targeted so they convert to customers.

This requires a detailed analysis to find the right keywords – these are the foundations of a successful SEO campaign to ensure increased traffic leads to increased sales.

These are the basic steps in any SEO campaign:

Keyword Research and Analysis

The search terms or keywords that a business is targeting are fundamental to success. They are required within the website itself but also elsewhere online to ensure the right visitors reach the website. Keyword research should be data-driven to understand potential traffic from each keyword and the level of competition.

Competitor Analysis

Looking in detail at how competitors are handling their organic search efforts can highlight gaps to target that may create quick wins. It can also reveal opportunities to collaborate with related businesses to generate valuable links and areas in which to surpass the competition with more effective content.
 

On-site Optimisation

This involves improving a website with respect to:

• page speed
• schema markup
• internal link structure
• mobile responsiveness
• mobile user experience
• relevant and unique content
• relevant page titles, description and image tags
• sub-headings, tables, bullet points and other formatting

Offsite Optimisation

Off-site SEO focuses mainly on building authority via high-quality, relevant backlinks to a website. These are usually gained via collaboration with other websites. These could be news sites, professional organisations, blogs or other related, but non-competing, businesses.

Producing high quality content in the form of articles, videos or graphics that other website owners will mention and link to, or publish on their own websites, is one way of securing quality backlinks. But this requires a content marketing strategy and concerted effort to promote that content to be successful.

Conversion Rate Optimisation

Once high rankings have been achieved and there is a greater flow of visitors to a website then other metrics are analysed and optimised to ensure the maximum number of visitors and that they convert to customers. Some of the metrics used include:

• Bounce Rate
• Pages viewed
• Time spent on site
• Click-Through Rate

Click here for a more detailed description of SEO.