SEO SEO SEO, what does it even mean, and what is the difference between it and just running an ad? Often, marketing is a complex industry with loads of methods all promising… something.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is absolutely key for websites, online retailers, and just about anyone whose business is conducted online.
In this blog, we will be focusing on getting started with SEO, how search engine ranking (how high you appear in search results) works, how long it will take to work, and the importance of keywords. But before that, let’s address the elephant in the room: Is AI going to solve all my problems?
Can AI Just Do It For Me?
Let’s address this right away… Not entirely. But as a support tool, it can accelerate your productivity to the extreme! We have a whole blog dedicated to this very topic: Will AI Replace SEO?.
Writing content using AI is not inherently a problem, but search engines like Google prioritise E-E-T-A (expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness). AI can only summarise what already exists; without human intervention, it will struggle to rank on its own.
The rabbit hole goes even deeper, but as a general rule, ‘AI is not a replacement for the human being; it is a productivity enhancer, and a very good one’!
How Does SEO Work?
Let’s take it back to basics and ask the foundational question: how does Google know what people want? Well, they search for it, of course! But there are an endless number of websites online, Google needs to sift through as many as possible to find the ones that best fit your search, and they do this in three stages:
Crawling
Google sends its bots out across the web, and they scan and collect information on as many websites as they can. They form a snapshot of the website and save it.
The bots will also look at other information, such as whether the website is functioning properly. If a website is a broken mess, Google will likely decide that it is not worth people’s time! Now that the website has been found and collected, Google will index it.
Indexing
Their goal is to understand the websites, and what they have to offer; whether that be information, products, services etcetera.
The website’s content is key here. Varied content, such as images, videos, and content tags, helps the reader to understand, and search engines love that.
Google understands what the website has to offer; now it can serve it in a search query.
Serving
Put simply, Google will attempt to match the website that best fits the search query, which Google believes to be the most trustworthy and useful.
All of these elements combined lead to your website’s ranking, where you place on Google’s organic search. It will take time and effort to reach the top of the ranking, to a point where Google sees your site as the number one answer.
Google itself has a great series of videos that explain the concept:
Are Keywords Important for SEO?
When you search for something, Google is going to pick out the words that get to the heart of what you are looking for. For example, if you were to search for:
“Good Burger Restaurant Near Me”
That would prompt Google to look for a highly reviewed, sit-down eating establishment that references your current geographic location.
At its core, SEO is matching the content of your website to the terms that your audience is searching for, so you appear more often and with a higher ranking than your competitors.
Here lies the power of SEO as a form of marketing. It is organic. It is inherently more trustworthy than paid advertising because the high ranking and visibility are earned, not bought.
But how do I find what people are searching for? Here are some tools: Google Trends, Answer the Public, and SEMRush’s Magic Keyword Tool.
How Long Does SEO Take To Work?
The uncomfortable answer is that it takes anywhere from 3 to 12 months to show results. SEO tends to work as a build over time, and often a page’s ranking can fluctuate, even dropping down before rising again.
There are some key metrics that you should be considering:
- Impressions: How often do you show up in search results?
- Traffic: Are people visiting your site?
- Conversions: Are they doing what you want them to?
- Indexed URLs: Is Google finding your new pages?
- Technical Issues: Are there errors appearing on your site?
- AI Viability: Are you appearing in AI searches?
How Do I Know If My SEO Is Working?
- Google Search Console – Focuses on how people are finding you. There is a video tutorial to help you get started!
- Google Analytics – Focuses on what people are doing when they reach your site. You can find a video tutorial on YouTube!
These tools will serve as the foundation of your SEO analytics! Get used to looking at them periodically, noting the changes you have made, and their performance over time.
How Can We Make Your SEO Easy?
There is a lot to take in, there is no denying that! SEO is a complex game that is always changing, and staying ahead of the curve takes time and dedication.
But do not fear, if there is a lot to learn and you would like an expert to talk you through it all, then you’re in luck. We offer workshops or even 1-2-1 coaching sessions!
Or if you are ready to let the experts handle your SEO for you, get in touch!
