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Written by Robert Mould

What is SEO?

What is SEO? blog post

Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the process of optimising web pages and their content to be easily discoverable by users searching for terms relevant to your website. The term SEO can also refer to the process of making web pages easier for search engine indexing software, known as “crawlers,” to find, scan, and index your site.

The goal of SEO is to have your website appear in the top positions of the search engine results page (SERP) for specific keywords or phrases related to your business. This helps to increase traffic to your website and generate more leads and sales.

To optimise your website, you need to understand how search engines work. Search engines use algorithms to determine the relevance of pages for a given query. They look for keywords, link structure, and other elements to determine the best results.

SEO involves making sure your website is optimised for search engine algorithms. This includes optimising your content, HTML, and other elements of your web design.

When done properly, SEO can help your website rank higher in the SERPs and increase your website’s traffic. It can also help you to build your brand and establish yourself as an authority in your industry.

How do I know what keywords to use on my website?

Keyword research is a process of discovering the words and phrases that consumers use when searching for products and services online. It is an essential part of any successful search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy.

The goal of keyword research is to identify the words and phrases that users are searching for when they are looking for products and services related to your business. This information helps you create content that is more likely to be seen by potential customers, resulting in more website visits and conversions.

How to conduct keyword research?

When it comes to keyword research, there are two main methods: manual and automated. Manual keyword research involves manually searching for relevant terms and phrases related to your business and then tracking the results. Automated keyword research uses software to look for relevant terms and phrases, and then automatically track the results.

Manual keyword research is often more effective, as it allows you to get a better understanding of what potential customers are searching for. It also allows you to create more targeted content that is more likely to be seen by potential customers. Automated keyword research, on the other hand, is faster and more efficient, but it is less effective in terms of providing more targeted content.

When conducting keyword research, it is important to focus on long-tailed keywords. These are keywords and phrases that are more specific and targeted than the more general keywords that most people would use. For example, if you are selling shoes, instead of focusing on the keyword “shoes” you might focus on the phrase “athletic shoes for men” or “black leather boots for women”.

How often do I need to do it?

It is also important to note that keyword research does not end once you have identified the most relevant terms and phrases. You also need to track the performance of your keywords over time and adjust your strategy accordingly. This will help you to create content that is more likely to be seen by potential customers and, as a result, increase your website traffic and conversions.

Keyword research is an important part of any successful SEO strategy, as it can help you create content that is more likely to be seen by potential customers. By understanding what potential customers are searching for and tracking the performance of your keywords, you can create content that is more likely to drive website visits and conversions.

There are many different types of SEO, including on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. On-page SEO focuses on optimising elements of your website that are visible to search engines, such as content, HTML, and meta tags. Off-page SEO focuses on optimising elements of your website that are outside of your control, such as links from other websites. Technical SEO focuses on optimising the infrastructure of your website, such as making sure it is mobile-friendly and loading quickly.

How do I get links from other websites?

The process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own in order to improve your website’s search engine ranking is called Link Building.

Link building is a key component of any successful SEO campaign as it helps to increase your website’s visibility and attract more qualified traffic. Link building is the practice of creating inbound links to your website from other websites.

Less is more when it comes to link building

Inbound links are links from other websites that point to your website. By building these links, you can improve your website’s search engine ranking and increase its visibility. When it comes to link building, the key is quality over quantity. It’s important to focus on quality links from high-authority websites in order to really make an impact.

Quality link building involves finding relevant, authoritative websites and persuading them to link to your website. This can be done through various strategies such as guest blogging, content creation, and directory submissions.

Link building is an ongoing process. It requires constant effort in order to be successful. You should be constantly monitoring your links and looking for new opportunities to build more.

It’s also important to review your existing links and make sure they are still relevant and up-to-date.

It’s important to focus on quality links from high-authority websites and to continually monitor and review your links in order to maximise your search engine ranking. By doing so, you can ensure that your website is seen by more potential customers and drive more qualified traffic to your site.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a type of search engine optimisation that helps businesses increase their visibility in localised searches. It focuses on optimising a website so that it can appear higher on the search engine results page (SERPs) for specific location-based queries. This means that when someone searches for a business near them, the local business will be more likely to appear at the top of the results. Local SEO can help businesses increase their website traffic, and therefore, their customer base.

When optimising for local SEO, it’s important to focus on both on-page and off-page factors. On-page factors include making sure that the website has the correct local keywords, such as the city or town where the business is located, and making sure that the website’s content is relevant to the local area. Off-page factors include creating a Google My Business listing, optimising local citations, and building local backlinks. These activities will help businesses increase their visibility in local searches and attract more customers to their business.

I’ve seen Core Web Vitals from Google – how does this impact SEO?

Core web vitals are a set of performance metrics related to page loading, interactivity, and visual stability provided by Google. They are designed to measure user experience on websites and to provide insight into how a website’s performance impacts user engagement. Core web vitals are important for SEO because they provide metrics to measure a website’s performance from a user’s perspective and can help inform decisions related to optimising the website for a better user experience.

Google has made core web vitals a ranking factor for search engine optimisation (SEO). This means that websites that have a higher score on the core web vitals will have a more favourable ranking than those with a lower score. This is important because it incentivises website owners to optimise their sites for a better user experience, which can lead to more traffic and conversions.

Three key measurements for a website with great user experience

Core web vitals measure three key aspects of the user experience: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. The loading performance metric measures how quickly a page loads and how long it takes for the main content to be visible. The interactivity metric measures how quickly a page responds to user input, such as clicking on a link or filling out a form. The visual stability metric measures how stable the page layout is during loading and user interactions.

By measuring these three key aspects of user experience, core web vitals give website owners insight into the performance of their website and how it affects the user experience. This insight can be used to make improvements to the website to provide a better user experience, which can in turn lead to higher SEO rankings and more traffic and conversions.

In summary, Core web vitals are important for SEO because they provide insight into the performance of a website from a user’s perspective and can help inform decisions related to optimising the website for better user experience. This can lead to higher SEO rankings, more traffic, and more conversions.

There are no shortcuts when it comes to SEO

It is important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy. It takes time for search engines to recognise and index changes to your website, so you should be patient and consistent in your efforts.

SEO can be a complex and time-consuming process, but the rewards are worth it. Investing in SEO can help you to reach more people, build your brand, and increase your website’s traffic. If you’re looking to get started with SEO, there are many resources available to help you, including tutorials, e-books, and online courses.