SEO is a driving force in online marketing that is complex and always changing. A great website is one thing, but getting it seen is another. Thankfully, there are some relatively simple, low-cost SEO strategies you can employ. It all comes down to one thing: relevant content. The more relevant your copy, the more likely people will come across it in a Google search – increasing the chances of someone making a purchase with you (whether that be in store or online). Simple.
SEO terms explained
For SEO newbies, we have included an SEO glossary at the bottom of this article. Words highlighted in bold can be found with an explanation, as well as some other terms you might not have seen before.
What is SEO?
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimisation. In a nutshell, SEO involves using keywords within your website copy to optimise where you are ranked in search engine results.
How does SEO work?
Search engines – such as Google, Bing and Yahoo (just to name a few) – are incredibly technical. Indexing websites involves deciphering what the content is all about, and who might want to read it, by analysing keywords. Keywords are a main component of your SEO strategy when it comes to your search engine ranking, so ensuring your website uses appropriate, relevant copy is crucial. A good range of quality keywords also opens up your website’s potential for matching long-tail searches. Strong, keyword rich copy, paired with user-friendly design, structure and mobile device compatibility makes for a great, findable website.
Why should I use SEO for my business?
Top-ranking positions in search results are highly regarded. Strategically thinking about and applying SEO principles maximises your chances of being seen. Furthermore, the use of relevant keywords helps to increase conversions by ensuring your web content addresses exactly what a user is looking for. This offers better bottom line value to your business than meaningless hits and high bounce rates that can result from irrelevant search traffic.
What is the ROI (return on investment) of SEO?
One of the greatest aspects of SEO is that it is measurable. Unlike traditional marketing methods, such as the distribution of brochures and flyers, you can monitor the success of implementing SEO as a strategy in real time. Using a data tool like Google Analytics, you can review changes in web traffic, time on site and number of clicks each visit. Access to such data helps you make informed decisions about what changes you can do to your website, and how these changes affect the way users interact with you.
SEO Glossary
There are many industry key terms you’ll come across while learning about SEO. Here are some of the most common, and what they mean for your business:
- Bounce rate – This metric, always shown as a percentage, represents the number of visitors that come to your website but only look at one page and leave; they do not click through to any other pages on your website or links. These types of hits are typically bad news. A high bounce rate means that people come to your site but are turned off by its appearance or content. The only situation in which you would want a high bounce rate is if visitors are picking up the phone to call you, immediately.
- Conversions – This term is used to describe when a visitor takes action after viewing your website. The action could be anything from purchasing something online, filling out an enquiry form, requesting a quote or dialing your contact phone number. SEO increases the likelihood of conversion by making your site more visible to those who are searching for what you offer.
- Keywords – Keywords determine the relevance of your web content to someone’s search when they enter certain terms into a search engine like Google. The more relevant your content is (i.e. through strategic use of keywords and key phrases), the more likely your site will rank higher in search results for those terms.
- Hits – Put simply, hits represent the number of visitors to your website. Hits are also called ‘traffic’ and/or page views. Although a high number of hits is great, conversions are much more valuable.
- Long-tail searches – This term refers to search terms that comprise several keywords. The long-tail search phrase may be conversation-based (e.g. What time is JB-Hifi open until?) or it could be location-based (e.g. hardware store in Brunswick). Alternatively, long-tail keywords can be any combination of words that make a term more specific (e.g. not just ‘affordable copywriting service’ but ‘affordable copywriting service for small businesses’). By incorporating long-tail search phrases into your web copy, your website will rank more highly for those particular terms – which in turn is likely to increase traffic for those terms, and ultimately, your conversion rate.
- Google Analytics – Google Analytics is the most common tool used to collect data on visitor behaviour. Creating an account is easy; just ask your web developer to do this for you. It simply involves adding a special code to your website, which then feeds information to your Google Analytics account. You can log into this anytime.
- Time on site – This metric literally measures the time a visitor spends on your website. It can be broken down, page-by-page, and span a matter of seconds through to hours.
- Metadata – Attention to metadata is crucial for SEO. It is related to your website’s code. The most important components you should know about are: keywords, title and description. Keywords we have covered in this glossary above. Title is the title of the page that you can create yourself (i.e. optimise it to include your business name and keywords). Description, on the other hand, is a short summary that you write to describe each page of your site. It should contain relevant keywords, be a maximum of 160 characters, and generate enough interest to make someone click on it; you’ll see it display under the website link (URL) when looking at a list of search engine results.
Shuttle Rocket can help you write SEO web content
Our team knows how SEO and web copy work together. If your content needs a boost, or you simply don’t know where to start, chat to us or select one of our copywriting packages to suit you needs.
Once we’re all briefed and ready to go, you’ll have a copywriter jump on your case and send brand new web content to you within 48 hours. How good is that?!