Today, our organic SEO Essex agency is going to discuss why, when we are working with our clients, we advocate organic methods so passionately.
How do I get my website to rank on Google?
There are two ways of getting your business ranking on search engines like Google. You can choose the pay per click option or organic SEO. One is a ‘paid for’ method, the other you slowly gain attention.
Both these functions have merit, it’s just a case of working out what is best for your business and establishing a strategy to move forward in a measurable manner.
Often, people will run these two methods in tandem with each other; putting a significant budget into pay per click (PPC) until the organic SEO catches up and the enquires are more consistent. The main difference which is absolutely vital to understand when it comes to this type of marketing is this:
Pay per click will get you immediate results. However, the second you stop paying all the results stop too.
Organic SEO results take longer to come, however, when you stop, the results hang around.
Anyone that has a website can benefit from organic SEO, or at least an understanding of it. If you are looking for people to buy from you and your site, you’re either going to be carrying out your own SEO, or paying someone to do it for you. Sadly, we know only too well that people get stung using unscrupulous companies, so, make sure that at a minimum you have some understand of how it works so you don’t have the wool pulled over your eyes.
Why is SEO important?
People can’t buy from you if they can’t find you. Nobody searches online for something they have no interest in. This means that whenever someone lands on your website you stand half a chance of making a sale. You have to stand out from your competitors and make them notice you.
If you are worrying about SEO I’m willing to bet you’ve invested in your website or are looking to. If your website is well presented, professional, and well branded; it’s time to implement an SEO strategy.
We touched on it above, SEO takes some time and you can’t give up. You have to be both consistent and persistent.
Understand your customer.
Before you start with your SEO strategy, you need to understand who your audience are. If you can’t define who wants to buy from you, you can’t possibly run an effective campaign. Think about what your perfect client looks like. How many employees do they have? What is the reason your service will be invaluable to them? Once you have defined your target market, you’ll be able to consider which of your services and products are relevant to them. What key phrases are your potential customers typing into Google in order to find you?
Search Terms.
Make sure you research your terms. You can become so entrenched in your industry that you would type something completely different into Google to what your customer would. By using a keyword research tool you not only find out what people are looking for; but you can also see the volume of searches and how competitive that particular term is. Make sure you understand the effect localised searches have too. For example, if you are searching for us and type “Organic SEO Essex” into Google, it’s not necessary if someone in Chelmsford is searching from that location. Search engines can tell where you are, and they will localise the search based on your location. However, people often type this entire key phrase in as they want to be specific.
Make sure you set up a ‘Google My Business’ page. This will require a physical address that you have to verify, but it is well worth the time setting up; and it’s free! Create an excel spreadsheet and within this write all the terms you want to rank for. (AKA show up on Google for.) Pull up a private window and search Google yourself to find where you are currently ranking. Put the current ranking in next to the search term it relates to. Every month have a look at how you’re progressing. You will bounce up and down but should be able to see a steady increase. We like to tell people to traffic light this process; green for an increase, red for when you fall in the rankings, and amber for no change. You should see that the sheet is predominantly green as the months pass.
Create content
It’s beneficial to regularly create content to be posted on your website. We would suggest a bare minimum of one page of content, or blog, each week, with a minimum of 1000 words per article. Make sure you create articles centred around topics that are linked to your website’s speciality. There is no good having a website about SEO and writing a review on headphones. Make sure you understand the effect localised searches have too. For example, if you are searching for us and type “Organic SEO Essex” into Google, it’s not necessary if someone in Chelmsford is searching from that location. Search engines can tell where you are, and they will localise the search based on your location. However, people often type this entire key phrase in as they want to be specific.
Make sure you set up a ‘Google My Business’ page. This will require a physical address that you have to verify, but it is well worth the time setting up; and it’s free! Bear your keywords (search terms) in mind too. If you have determined phrases, use them in your content. Absolutely do not ‘keyword stuff’ though. Instead, scatter your key phrases around the text in a very natural way. There was a phase of people choosing a word, for this blog we can reuse the example of ‘organic SEO Essex’ and copying it in at the end of sentences and articles then making the text white. This is not a smart move and is not to be encouraged!
Link Building
People used to go onto every directory site they could find and create listings that would link back to their website. Then they would find other blogs and leave a comment that included a link to their site too. This worked really well for a short period of time. Then, Google realised what was happening and put a stop to these tactics straight away.
Now, if you are link building you want a natural mix of mentions, no follow links, and follow links in order to gain great rankings. An excellent way to do this is through PR. Our public relations team can pitch your business to journalists, and have you featured in the media. When reputable publications mention you, Google notices, and gives your website better credibility which bumps you up the rankings. It’s one of the most important factors in your organic SEO strategy.
I hope this article has been useful in helping you understand how SEO and PPC work. If you are interested in more information, please get in touch with our Essex marketing agency for more information and a no obligation proposal.