Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is the process of adjusting websites, web pages, and social media pages to gain higher placement (Zimmerman & Ng 2007).
But what does that even mean?
The goal of SEO is the easiest way to see if it is done well. Where does the result appear in Google (or any search engine) when you search for the key terms? For SEO the goal is to be that first unpaid result, we don’t want to pay thousands to get on that first results page, we want to get there organically or without paying Google.
SEO can be divided into 3 major areas.
- Quality Content – the actual information on the page plays a key role in SEO. It will essentially allow the search engine to see your site as legitimate. This can be supported by the use of keywords relevant to the site but not to the point where the content lo longer reads well.
- UX – The user experience is another are of SEO. The goal here is for a customer to enter your site, navigate to the page they desire and complete a purchase or any other action they aim to without any difficulties.
- Links – The links on your sight to ‘authority sites’ as well as from other pages to yours is important. Simple steps can be taken such as linking all relevant social media accounts to your webpage.
Other areas to be aware of include image descriptions, titles (keywords should be here) as well as subheadings and remaining up to date and active. It is an extensive algorithm that generates search engine results so a holistic approach must be taken for the entire site.
Who Does it Well?
What better way to test it than a simple word search.
A word search for ‘marketing agency Sydney’ comes back with 91.6million results. The top result being Make it Happen (https://mih.com.au/). If I was a business looking for a marketing agency in my area their chances of being chosen increase significantly due to their SEO.
Their combination of web design, functionality and continual use of keywords relevant to their business are perfect examples of great use of SEO.
References:
Zimmerman, J. and Ng, D. (2017) Social Media Marketing for Dummies: All-in-one. 4th Edition, Wiley, Hoboken, New Jersey.
University Marketing Blog 