SEO can feel like a buzzword in today’s marketing. But while you might be familiar with the idea of optimising for search engines, what does good SEO really look like? Once you understand the basics of SEO and why it matters, you’ll be well on your way to gaining top-ranking positions with content that readers and search engines alike will love.
What is SEO?
First things first, what is SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It allows websites and pages to rank highly on search engines such as Google. One of the most obvious components of search engine optimisation is incorporating keywords into your content, allowing Google to match your page to a search request. In other words, it helps tell search engines what your content is about and what questions it answers so it can be shown to the most relevant audience.
It’s a common misconception that SEO is all about writing for computers and algorithms. In reality, SEO is about matching user queries with relevant content, making it just as much about your reader as it is about Google.
How does SEO work?
Search engine optimisation is comprised of several elements which SEO marketers will try to incorporate. The three main categories include on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO. These can change with algorithm updates and changes in customer behaviour, but they all work toward the same goal: making your website and content as user-friendly and helpful as possible.
As mentioned earlier, this may include incorporating specific keywords into your content. By using certain phrases and words in your copy, Google can easily match your words with the words a user is searching for. A good match, in theory, should equate to a high ranking.
But SEO actually goes further than that, and there’s a lot more to consider when implementing an effective SEO strategy. Building authority for your website with backlinks and references helps tell Google that you are a reliable and trustworthy resource for the searcher’s query, boosting your SERP (search engine results page) positioning and making your content more visible.
Technical SEO plays a vital role in website usability. While it may not be directly relevant for most copywriters, it’s crucial to consider your technical SEO when building your website. Technical SEO essentially refers to how user-friendly your website is – factors like slow loading times, broken links, and intrusive pop-ups can all negatively impact your technical SEO. These issues can signal to Google that your website is frustrating to use, leading to a drop in your ranking.
Remember, Google wants to provide searchers with the best possible experience, both on Google and when they follow the links on the results page. If your website is poorly written, slow, or poorly configured, it will lead to frustrated customers, which is just as bad for Google as it is for you, so down in the rankings you’ll go!
Why is SEO important?
SEO is the most important aspect of any marketing strategy. Consider that 68% of all online experiences originate from a search engine, 53% of website traffic comes from organic (unpaid) search results, and 93% of global traffic comes from Google (including Google Search, Images, and Maps). It’s immediately obvious why all websites and content writers must consider SEO when creating anything designed for the web.
What is Google looking for when it comes to SEO?
Simply put, Google is constantly hunting for content that matches searcher intent. SEO is just a fancy term for ensuring your website allows the search engine to do this.
Although we can simplify what Google is looking for regarding SEO, it can also help us understand how Google finds and ranks content.
To start, Google uses a huge set of computers to scan the internet for new websites and pages with their aptly named Googlebots. Although these bots are always searching, it can take up to a few weeks for the Googlebots to find new content, so don’t panic if your latest blog post isn’t indexed immediately!
Googlebots take three steps when deciding where (and even if) your site will rank on the results pages. These are:
1. Discovery
In this stage, Googlebots “crawl” the internet, looking for new web pages and recording every new piece of content they find.
2. Relevance
Once a bot has discovered your content, it decides how relevant it is to various search queries by indexing it based on keywords and other signals. This is where a lot of SEO work comes in, as this tells the Googlebots (and ultimately your readers) what your content is all about.
3. Authority
Next, the bots decide how important your content is and whether it’s worthy of ranking in a top spot. This is done by checking for backlinks directing to the webpage from other reputable sites, references to your content, etc. By showing Google that you’re an expert in your industry, and one that others rely on, you’re much more likely to gain those top spots.
It’s important to note that, while general SEO guidelines are available, Google doesn’t release specific details about the Googlebot process or the algorithms in play. This means that SEO can be a bit of a guessing game as SEO marketers try to figure out what is important to the search engine with each algorithm update. This can make it a little frustrating, and any SEO strategy will need constant tweaking and patience to find the best results. But while it can be challenging to stay on top of ever-changing search trends and updates, that’s also what makes it an exciting, dynamic field. And a good SEO marketer will relish the challenge of figuring out what Google will value next!
One thing is clear, though: with every algorithm update, Google is actively trying to improve the experience for its users. This means that any attempt to “cheat the system” or “beat the algorithm” is likely to backfire in the long run, and copywriters who focus solely on creating content for algorithms at the expense of your readers will not lead to long-term high Google rankings.
In fact, Google has penalised SEO “hacks” in the past. For example, white fonting (aka adding extra keywords in a white font that can be read by search engines but not users) was an SEO hack that was incredibly popular in the past. However, with subsequent algorithm updates, webpages caught doing this are now actively pushed down the results pages. This is true of many other SEO hacks, including keyword stuffing, plagiarism, and more, showing that trying to cheat doesn’t work in the long run.
On-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO
Since there’s no way to know precisely what Google is looking for when ranking websites, SEO copywriters and specialists will recommend that your marketing strategy contains multiple tactics to make your site as user-friendly and categorisable as possible. These are generally broken down into the three headings mentioned earlier in this article: on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.
Let’s dive into these in a bit more detail:
On-page SEO
For most SEO copywriters and content writers, on-page SEO will be the priority. This incorporates everything that is implemented on your website itself. Here are some on-page SEO examples:
· Long- and short-form keywords
· Alt text
· Metadata
· Internal links
· Using keyword-rich subheadings
· Properly formatting your content using the correct headings – i.e., H1, H2, H3, etc.
Above all else, a great SEO content writer will make sure the content on your website actually answers the question it claims to. There’s no use in having a blog post filled with the long-form keyword “how to plant roses in your garden”, for example, if the article doesn’t provide the answer readers are looking for.
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO refers to SEO strategies that take place away from the webpage you’re trying to optimise. This can feel a little out of your control, but activities such as guest posting on other authoritative websites or requesting customers send in their own USG (User Generated Content) can help boost your off-page SEO.
To get you started, off-page SEO examples include:
· Backlinks from another reputable source linking to your website.
· References to your content from other sources.
· Social media marketing.
Off-page SEO is all about building authority and trustworthiness. So, on-page SEO tells Google what you’re talking about, and off-page SEO tells it that what you have to say is worth listening to.
Technical SEO
The third SEO category isn’t one that your SEO writer will be handling. Still, it is a vital component of any SEO strategy and relates to everything you can do to improve your website experience.
Technical SEO examples include:
· Loading times
· Image rendering
· Easy-to-use navigation panels
· Removing broken/expired links (whether internal or external)
· Domain names and URLs
· SSL Certificates (Google confirmed this would be a ranking factor back in 2014)
All together now!
Although SEO content writers are generally only responsible for on-page and off-page SEO, it’s essential to consider all aspects of SEO as a team. You need a strong offence and defence to win as well as your fans’ (your audience’s) support. Technical optimisation is your defence, content optimisation is your offence, and on-site optimisation is your opportunity to attract, engage, and retain your fan base.
You achieve SEO perfection only when all components of your SEO strategy are working together.
SEO is not a “quick win”
Remember, SEO does not guarantee any sort of quick wins. It’s far from a ‘get rich quick’ scheme; getting right takes time and effort. Your SEO strategy must be constantly evolving in line with algorithm changes and changes in customer behaviour to consistently achieve and maintain those top spots on Google results pages.
But while it can feel frustrating to adhere to the mysteries of algorithm updates or feel like you’re fighting a losing battle for competitive search terms, putting in the effort will always play in your favour in the long run. Organic traffic and loyal audiences don’t just come from a good SEO strategy; they’ll also help towards it and go further in helping show Google that your content is worthy of the high positions you’ve gained.
PS Copywriting 