An online presence is no longer an option; it is a necessity.
From small businesses to large multinationals, online visibility has a huge impact on a company’s success.
This is why a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is paramount for anyone looking to grow their business online.
What is SEO and why is it important?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is the best way to bring more attention to your website, your content and your brand.
By optimizing your content for search engines, you increase your chances of ranking higher in search results.
Organic search is so effective because the people who come across your content are actively searching for it. This usually means higher quality leads and therefore more engagement and conversions.
SEO is an inexpensive way to increase your visibility and has great potential in the long term.
Unlike paid advertising, where your reach typically drops sharply the moment you stop paying, search engine optimized content can still generate traffic months (or even years) after it was originally created.
It requires a larger advance and it may take a while before the results are visible, but it’s definitely worth the wait.
5 Beginner-Friendly SEO Strategy Techniques
Even though SEO is a strategy to get the search engine algorithm to rank your content higher, you should always focus on your audience and delivering valuable content!
Gone are the days of keyword stuffing and other black hat SEO techniques.
Bad SEO practices will backfire. So always remember: Your content should be written for people and optimized for search engines, not the other way around!
Focusing on SEO is a great way to increase organic traffic to your website.
Let’s dive deeper into some basic techniques you can use today to get started with your SEO strategy!
1. Focus on the “People Ask Too” section.
Google’s “People Also Ask” section is a gold mine for your SEO strategy.
When you search for something, Google often suggests what other related topics might be helpful.
Screenshot by Google, May 2023This is a great, free way to do keyword research and write about things people care about.
By addressing these questions in your content, you give users the answers they are looking for and increase your chances of appearing in that section.
Great for visibility and great for credibility. win-win situation.
Another resource for finding out what questions your audience has about specific topics is Answer the Public.
2. Study your competition
Looking at what your competitors are doing can give you insights that influence your SEO strategy.
Identify the keywords they rank for and study their backlink profile – for this you need an SEO tool like SEMrush or Diib.
Before investing in any SEO tool, you can sign up for a free trial, gather the information you need, and see if you plan to use this tool again in the future.
Another way to do this is to analyze your competitors’ content. Check out what they write about and the reactions they get from their audience.
Don’t copy their strategy, but evaluate what seems to work for them and use that knowledge to make decisions about your own strategy.
If you want to dive deeper into this analysis, check out this guide.
3. Internal links and backlinks
Links are very helpful for SEO as they provide more information to your readers. Search engines see this as more helpful content.
Internal links also help search engines understand the relationship between different pages/posts on your site. It will also encourage readers to read more of your content.
You can also link to other external resources if you think they’ll be helpful to your readers or help substantiate your point. You should also turn any mention of a brand into a link.
Backlinks, on the other hand, are an important ranking factor.
Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. Even if quantity helps here, quality is even more important.
When quality websites link to your site, it tells the algorithm that your content is accurate and trustworthy.
On the other hand, having suspicious websites linking to your site can damage your reputation and make it harder to rank at the top.
4. Update outdated content
Your SEO content will remain effective over the long term as long as it stays relevant.
That’s why it’s so important to regularly look back at older content that has performed well and update it when necessary.
It may not always be necessary, but think about it: is there anything else you can add to make this content even more valuable?
Or is there something in there that is no longer true or relevant? Updating your content regularly is a great SEO exercise.
Google tends to prioritize fresh and relevant content. This can also attract new backlinks, which should be part of your SEO strategy.
5. Basic web vitals
Another important SEO factor is the Core Web Vitals of your website. They are among the ranking factors that search engines use and should not be overlooked.
A Core Web Vitals report is gathered using real user data, and these factors are important to an overall user experience. It measures:
- Largest Content Paint (LCP) – How long it takes for the main content of your page to load completely (maximum 2.5 seconds).
- First Entry Delay (FID) – How long it takes before users can actually interact with your content (aim for 100 milliseconds or less).
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) – How much your content moves on the page before it lands in the right place (target is 0.1 or less).
This can be a bit too technical, but overall it’s about the user’s experience when they first come into contact with your website.
A good user experience is an important part of your SEO strategy, so you should take the time to ensure your website is healthy.
Some other factors to look out for:
- page speed – Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to analyze your website speed and get suggestions for improvement.
- Mobile Responsiveness – Most people use mobile phones for surfing. So make sure your website looks and works well on mobile.
- image optimization – This is a common error that causes a big problem – large images will slow down your website. So make sure you optimize all media before uploading it to the site.
When it comes to SEO, content might be the be-all and end-all, but if people leave before they see your content, it doesn’t matter how good they are.
Key Takeaways: Strengthen your brand with organic SEO
To recap, these five points will help you improve your organic SEO:
- Focus on the “People Ask Too” section of Google.
- Study your competition.
- Use internal links and backlinks.
- Update outdated content.
- Pay attention to your most important web vitals and user experience.
Remember that these strategies work hand-in-hand and implementing them together can often lead to better results!
Working on your organic traffic is a great way to gain more visibility and grow your brand.
And a human-centric marketing approach to your SEO content strategy will not only result in more organic traffic to your website, but also draw more attention to your content in general.
It’s a great addition to your organic marketing efforts.
More resources:
Featured image: iamjohnhult/Shutterstock
