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The Importance of SEO

Written by
Jessie Mae Lambert
Internal Marketing Manager
Friday, March 15, 2024
Friday, March 15, 2024

In the digital age, SEO or Search Engine Optimisation has emerged but many are yet to understand the significant advantages that professional SEO can promote. This common perception is contributed to further by the quick results that paid ads can garner. However, what sets SEO apart is its ability to constantly generate results, even when advertisements aren’t running. This means unlike paid ads; SEO doesn’t suddenly stop and there’s no ad budget to consider! The thing to remember is SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. This blog will discuss SEO in more detail and how it can help your business achieve.

The Basics of SEO

To put it simply, SEO is a multifaceted approach that encompasses various aspects. The main 3 aspects of SEO are on-site SEO, off-site SEO and Technical SEO. The importance of SEO stretches to all 3 aspects of SEO to see the optimal results.

On-Site SEO

This entails fine-tuning specific web pages to improve their rankings on Google for keywords and earn more relevant traffic. Onsite SEO includes content creation, writing meta tags and keyword optimisation. Showing the importance of SEO expands to playing a pivotal role in bolstering the growth of a website, by meticulously optimising for relevant keywords, and crafting high-quality content abiding by SEO rules. Mobile optimisation, schema markup and clean URL structures further contribute to improved visibility in search results. As well as this, consistent content updates also help to keep the audience engaged and help to rank for more keywords.

Off-site SEO

Off-site SEO refers to activities outside your website that impact your search engine rankings. This includes backlink building and social media engagement. Off-site SEO is important for driving the growth of a website by increasing its domain authority. This strategic approach involves activities outside the website itself to boost its online presence. Key elements of off-site SEO include link building – this is trying to get authoritative websites to link to your website to build domain authority. Developing authoritative and pertinent backlinks in accordance with the guidelines set forth by major search engines such as Google should be a top priority for any digital strategy. As well as this, active engagement on social media platforms also expands the site’s reach but also strengthens its brand and community. Online reputation management helps maintain a positive online image, which is critical for attracting and retaining customers. The importance of SEO expands to guest posting and influencer collaborations which are other off-site strategies that can increase brand awareness and drive traffic. Guest posting includes writing a blog on someone else’s website and linking back to your website to obtain more backlinks. This shows the importance of SEO in increasing domain authority scores.

Leverage PR

An additional offsite SEO strategy that is often forgotten is utilising PR to obtain backlinks and site traffic. By giving PR companies stories about your company’s successes that are already written, it increases the likelihood of them using the story. What’s more, this doesn’t just increase awareness and site traffic but by asking them to link back to your company this also increases high domain authority website backlinks linking to you, which in turn increases domain authority.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO focuses on the backend of your website and ensures that it’s user-friendly and search engine friendly. It includes aspects like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and structured data. Technical SEO serves as the invisible force behind a website’s success. It encompasses a range of elements such as improving site speed – leading to passing Core Web Vital tests and ensuring mobile responsiveness to implementing structured data such as XML sitemaps and robot.txt files. By attending to technical details such as canonicalisation, 301 redirects, and HTTPS security, it ensures that a website is not only more likely to rank highly on search engines but also offers a secure user-friendly which is of growing importance for Google. From URL structures to image optimisation, every aspect is carefully fine-tuned to improve performance. In essence, the importance of technical SEO is to ensure a website flourishes, underpinning higher search engine rankings, user engagement, and overall growth.

What Are Core Web Vitals?

Passing Core Web Vitals is very important for SEO and a main part of technical SEO. Core Web Vitals consists of a set of three essential performance metrics introduced by Google to evaluate and optimise the user experience on websites. These metrics include Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), which measures loading speed, First Input Delay (FID), which gauges interactivity, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), which assesses visual stability. These metrics have become crucial for SEO because Google uses them as ranking factors, aiming to prioritise websites that offer a better user experience. To pass the tests, website owners must focus on improving LCP by optimising images and server response times, reducing FID by minimising JavaScript execution, and optimising code, and mitigating CLS by ensuring that page elements don't unexpectedly shift during loading. Meeting these Core Web Vitals benchmarks not only enhances SEO but also provides users with faster, more enjoyable experiences on your site.

The Importance of Keyword Research

Keyword research is the foundation of SEO. It involves identifying and targeting the right keywords that your target audience is using to search for products or services. It involves a comprehensive analysis of words and phrases that potential customers use to search for products, services, or information online. This critical process helps businesses understand their target audience's needs, preferences, and pain points, enabling them to tailor their content and marketing strategies. By identifying high-traffic and low-competition keywords, businesses can optimise their website for better search engine rankings and increased visibility. Keyword research also aids in creating relevant, valuable content that resonates with the intended audience, fostering user engagement and trust. In sum, keyword research is the compass that guides digital marketing efforts, ensuring that businesses connect with their audience and drive growth by meeting their specific needs effectively. It’s important for SEO to choose keywords that are relevant to the landing page and are also low competition.

SEO Benefits

Organic Traffic

By meticulously optimising your online presence, your website ascends the ranks in search engine results, paving the way for a steady influx of visitors who possess a sincere interest in what your business has to offer. This is the beauty of organic traffic; it's not a fleeting or artificial boost, but a sustainable and cost-effective means of attracting a targeted audience. These visitors are more likely to convert into customers, engage with your content, and ultimately become loyal advocates for your brand, making the importance of SEO stretch to long-term success in the digital landscape.

Credibility and Trust

Websites that appear at the top of search results are often perceived as more credible and trustworthy by users. This can significantly impact your brand's image and increase click-through rates.

Cost-Effectiveness

SEO is an investment that continues to provide benefits over the long term. SEO builds up your site's authority, content, and visibility in search engines sustainably over time.

SEO represents a long-term investment that yields enduring advantages. It gradually enhances your website's authority, content quality, and visibility in search engines, ensuring sustainable growth over time.

SEO as a Long-Term Strategy

Sustainable Results

Sustainable results in SEO derive from its long-term nature, characterised by the gradual accumulation of website authority and high search engine rankings. This approach entails constructing a reputable online presence, enhancing user experience, and generating top-quality content to become recognised as a valuable resource. The lasting advantage of SEO lies in the difficulty competitors face in swiftly surpassing a site with established authority and top rankings, making it a resilient strategy. However, to maintain this edge, ongoing adaptation is essential, given the evolving search engine algorithms and the dynamic competitive environment. This underscores the importance of SEO to preserve SEO-driven success.

Results We’ve Seen

During our time conducting SEO we’ve seen a lot of good results. One of our clients has seen nearly every keyword we’ve tried to rank for, rank on the 1st page of Google. This is from doing a combination of all the activities mentioned above. The high backlink profile, domain authority and finding long-tail keywords that are easy to rank for yet have a high search volume have enabled this to happen.

We’ve also ensured all content abides by voice SEO criteria which has also seen some of our blog content rank as the number 1 answer on smart speakers.

Also, regarding technical SEO we’ve also made clients' websites go from failing core web vitals tests to passing from scores of Es and Ds to Bs and As.

Conclusion

In today's digital landscape, the importance of SEO cannot be overstated. SEO is a multifaceted strategy encompassing on-site, off-site, and technical aspects that work in tandem to enhance a website's visibility and online presence. On-site SEO involves optimising individual web pages for specific keywords, while off-site SEO includes activities like link building and social media engagement. Technical SEO ensures a user-friendly and search engine-friendly website. Keyword research serves as the compass guiding digital marketing efforts, helping businesses connect with their target audience effectively. The benefits of SEO include driving organic traffic, enhancing credibility and trust, and offering a cost-effective long-term strategy with sustainable results. Embracing SEO is the key to achieving lasting success in the digital world.

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