The world of search engine optimization can seem pretty simplistic at times. You just pick a few keywords, write them out a few times and hey presto! Your page is on the front page of google, right? Not quite.
Many people understand the basic principles of SEO, but a lot has changed in the last 10 years. SEO is also something that marketers continue to define, redefine and then further redefine. In case you feel stuck in this ever changing world of SEO, here are a few definitions of the most popular terms & questions.
What Is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimisation – that much has stayed the same since its inception. It refers to the techniques used that help your website rank high in search engine results pages (SERPs). This will make your website more visible to people who are looking for solutions that your brand, product, or service can provide via search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing.
What hasn’t stayed the same are the techniques we use to improve rankings. This has everything to do with the search algorithm that these companies constantly change.
How does SEO Work?
SEO works by optimising a website’s pages, conducting keyword research and earning inbound links. You can generally see results of SEO efforts once the webpage has been crawled and indexed by a search engine.
Search engines also look at the structure and design, visitor behaviour and other external, off-site factors to determine how highly ranked your site should be.
What is an Organic Search?
Organic search referst to someone conducting a search through a search engine and clicking on a non-paid result. Organic search is a search marketing channel that can be used as part of inbound marketing to increase website traffic.
What Is An SEO Strategy?
An SEO marketing strategy is a comprehensive plan to get more visitors to your website through search engines. Successful SEO includes on page strategies, which use intent-based keywords and off-page strategies which earn inbound links from other websites.
What Is Organic Traffic?
Organic traffic is unpaid traffic that comes from search engines such as Google or Bing. Paid search marketing does not increase your organic traffic numbers, but you can optimize your website using inbound marketing software to gain more visitors.
What Is Direct Traffic?
Direct traffic consists of website visitors that come to your website by typing the URL into their browser, rather than coming from another website, a search engine, or social media.
Why is SEO important?
SEO is important because it’s a tool that helps people find information and discover new pages on the internet. SEO is especially important for businesses as it ensures they’re answering their audiences biggest questions on search engines, whilst driving traffic to their products and services.
How Much Does SEO Cost?
SEO cost can vary depending on how in depth you wish to go and the size of your business. You can buy plugins and tools for your website that will help you do it yourself, these can cost between £50 – £500, however you can go even further and hire an SEO consultant. These consultants charge big bucks, up to £150 per hour.
What Is Paid Search Engine Marketing?
Paid search engine marketing refers to pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. This enables you to pay a search engine for text ads shown at the top and bottom of search engine results pages after someone conducts a search. It is used to increase website traffic and gain more customers
How Do I Do SEO?
You can breakdown SEO into 9 steps and work through these at your own pace.
- Conduct an audit of your website content.
- Use keyword research tool to identify the keywords with which people are finding you.
- Target new keywords you’d like to rank for.
- Develop new content and optimize existing content.
- Monitor your website’s performance.
- Purchase inbound marketing or SEO software.
- Examine the web pages that are performing well.
- Look for opportunities to earn inbound links from similar websites.
- Monitor your change in rankings and traffic.
SEO is still the same thing it was 10 years ago, a bunch of tactics that, when employed correctly, will help you rank better in search engines. All that’s changed is some of the tactics we use to get to the end result. If you’re confused about SEO and you want to chat to an expert, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us here.