SEO Explained
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation and is a process for improving your website’s organic search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo) ranking.
SEO includes a number of steps and tasks performed both on and off the website to help the site rank higher in search engine results.
The goal is to have your website ranked at or near the top to increase visitors, enquiries and potentially the number of sales!
A standard Google search engine results page includes a number of ads or paid listings. However, by doing SEO the focus is on ‘earning’ your way to the top organically, rather than ‘paying’ your way to the top with ads.
Here is an example of a Google search result showing the organic rankings vs the paid rankings:
In this example, the red sections show where paid ads are positioned on a search result page in Google. In this case there is only one paid ad at the top of the page from Apple, but in a lot of cases there will be 3-4 paid ads in this position. Paid ads also appear along the right hand side of the page.
The blue section shows the organic search results, which is what your focus should be on. These pages have ‘earnt’ their way to the top of the search results and more often than not will be exactly what the searcher is looking for.
We identify the keywords used by people using search engines to find your website; in the above case “buy iPhone” is the keyword.
THE SEO PROCESS
SEO is an ongoing project that combines both on-site and off-site optimisation of your website, as well as the use of external tools for research, monitoring and reporting.
Think of it like running your car – constant maintenance is required!
On-site optimisation revolves around optimisting content on each page to reflect keywords that are being targeted. Steps in this process include ensuring that pages load quickly and contain relevant content; headings and other tags are used correctly; page titles and descriptions are added and optimised and any images used are compressed and setup for search engines to recognize.
Off-site optimisation is centered around building a strong list of “backlinks” to your website, improving its authority on the web. A backlink is simply a link from another website to your website that Google sees as a ‘recommendation’ which positively impacts your ranking.
How long does it take to see results?
Results can often be seen within the first week, but generally improvements show up after around 3 months.
Performing SEO on a website is an ongoing task, not a once-off. With this in mind we normally work on either a 6-month or 12-month plan.
How much does it cost?
This is a tough question to answer without some research and setting goals first, but some companies pay big dollars for SEO. However, imagine the difference being number one for “hotels Melbourne” compared to being on page 5!
Putting together a cost for ongoing SEO is determined by 3 main factors:
1. Competition:
How many other websites are ranking for your nominated keywords
2. Keywords:
Which keywords you are targeting and how specific or general they are (e.g. “hotels in Cranbourne Melbourne” vs “hotels”)
3. Previous Work:
Whether any SEO work has been done on the website in the past
Each SEO plan is tailored specially for each client for which we charge a monthly fee.
How does it help your business?
REACH MORE
CUSTOMERS
Rather than being on page 5 where no one looks, being on the first page or at the top is the goal.
RECEIVE MORE
ENQUIRIES
Having more people visit your website naturally means more enquiries.
More enquiries = more sales!
OWN YOUR
NICHE/SPACE
You will get an edge on your competitors by outranking them on Google and other search engines.