A brief overview of SEO
The main objective of any business is to satisfy its customers’ needs. Google, Bing and all other search engines are no different. Their “Customers” use search engines for one reason; because they are SEARCHING for a need. That may be a product, a service, an event or something else.
To satisfy its Customers’ needs most effectively, search engines want the results it displays to be exactly what is being searched for first time, every time. If you, as an end user, search for a restaurant in Bristol, and your results return “garden centres in Scunthorpe,” you won’t have got the information you want, and will not use that search engine again! Google and the others invest millions of dollars in ensuring they are returning exactly what the end user is looking for, but how do they do this?
SEO is a term for what search engines are looking for in your website so you rank higher on the search than your competitors. Each search engine has a distinctly different method, but the premise is always the same. So how do you get your business to page 1, position 1 I hear you ask?
This is a minefield of processes to get right and if anyone tells you they can guarantee you page 1 position 1, they are not being truthful about it. It is also a constant process that needs managing. If you think about it every day your competitors are working to become top so what you did last month to help with SEO is now out of date. Sadly, it isn’t a quick process but there are some best practices you can follow to help!
Domain
This is the start of a website. Choosing a domain that is right for your business. It’s the first part that search engines will look at. For example, the B&Q web domain is https://www.diy.com, this will help them every time someone searches for DIY products.
Building an SEO-friendly site
Content Management Systems (or CMS) like WordPress are designed to give the search engine “bots” the easiest route around your site, meaning the framework is looked at more favourably. It is estimated that over 64 million websites are built using the WordPress CMS, which includes everything TwistedWeb has created.
Additionally, plugins have been created to aid good SEO practices. It’s always worth having one of these on your site to help guide you along.
On-site SEO
Search engine crawlers, or “bots” will scan through your website looking for relevant content to the key search phrases. Where, when and how often these key phrases are placed will make significant impact to how well your page ranks, as will the popularity of your keywords. For example, ranking for “Mexican Restaurant in Weston-super-Mare” will be easier to rank well than “restaurant in Somerset” will, and if your page mentions “Mexican Restaurant” in the right places, search engines will know what you have will be what your end user is looking for. Links to other sites are also important. If you link out to other, reputable sites, search engines will look more favourably on you, as this demonstrates legitimacy.
Off-Site SEO
Similar to having links on your page to others, having other pages linking to you will have a positive effect. Social Media, blogs, video sharing sites and news articles are all good ways to get people talking about you!
Is this it?
Not a chance! These are the very basics of SEO, and once you think you’ve mastered it, the search engines will move the goalposts. They are, after all, always looking to improve, and what is favourable today may not be tomorrow.
We at TwistedWeb not only design our sites with SEO in mind; but put all the building blocks in place to help you rank well, and are always happy to advise where we can! Contact us for more information or to see how we can help you get in front of your customers!
