What is SEO and how does it work?

Leading the Marketing Charge, Together

What is SEO and how does it work?

SEO is a short form for “Search engine optimization”. It’s a long-term marketing strategy employed in order to improve a website's visibility and organic search results in google and other global search engines.

 

The goal of SEO is to have your website appear as the top result for certain keywords that relate to your business or product. For example, if you are a florist, you would want your website to appear as the top result when someone searches for “flowers” or “flower delivery”

 

In order to achieve this, SEO experts use a variety of techniques, including on-page optimization (such as adding relevant keywords to your website’s title and meta tags) and off-page optimization (such as building backlinks from high-quality websites)

 

SEO is a complex and ever-evolving process, but by following best practices and staying up-to-date with the latest trends, you can ensure that your website is well on its way to the top of the search engine results pages.

The benefits of SEO

The benefits of SEO

There are a number of benefits that come with ranking high in the search engine results pages, including Increased website traffic: More people will visit your website if it appears as the top result for their search query.

 

Improved brand awareness and visibility: appearing at the top of the search results will help to increase your brand’s visibility and awareness.

 

Higher conversion rates: Websites that rank higher in the search results tend to have higher conversion rates, as they are seen as more credible and trustworthy.

 

Improved customer satisfaction: If your website is easy to find and navigate, your visitors are more likely to be satisfied with their experience, leading to improved customer satisfaction levels.

How SEO works

The SEO process

The SEO process can be broken down into four main stages.

 

Keyword research: In order to identify the best keywords for your website, you need to carry out extensive research. This includes using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and competitor analysis to find relevant keywords with high search volume.

 

On-page optimization: Once you’ve identified the most effective keywords, it’s time to start Optimizing your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, header tags (read here about how to write a good headline), and content. This will help to ensure that your website is relevant to the keywords you are targeting.

 

Off-page optimization: Off-page optimization is all about building backlinks from high-quality websites. The more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in the search engine results pages.

 

Monitoring and tracking: The final step in the SEO process is to monitor and track your results. This includes using tools like Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic and conversions, as well as keeping an eye on your competition to see how they are performing.

How to improve your website SEO ranking

How to improve your website's SEO ranking

There are a number of things you can do to improve your website’s SEO ranking, including.

 

Keyword research: As we mentioned above, keyword research is essential for optimizing your website. Make sure to target relevant keywords with high search volume.

 

On-page optimization: Once you’ve identified the right keywords, it’s important to Optimize your website’s title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and content. This will help Google understand what your website is about and rank it accordingly.

 

Off-page optimization: Off-page optimization is all about building backlinks from high-quality websites. The more backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in the search engine results pages.

 

Monitoring and tracking: The final step in the SEO process is to monitor and track your results. This includes using tools like Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic and conversions, as well as keeping an eye on your competition to see how they are performing.

Important SEO ranking factors

What are the most important ranking factors?

There are a number of factors that can affect your website’s ranking, but some are more important than others. Here are the most important ranking factors according to Google.

 

Relevance: Make sure that your website is relevant to the keywords you are targeting.

 

Content: Your content must be high-quality and informative if you want it to rank high on the search engine results pages. If you setup your content correctly you can repurpose it for your own social media content.

 

Backlinks: The number and quality of backlinks pointing to your website are one of the most important ranking factors. You can increase your backlinks by submitting your website to directories and guest posting on high-quality websites.

 

User experience: Google wants its users to have a positive experience, so it takes into account things like page load time and mobile-friendliness when determining rankings.

The importance of keyword research

The importance of keyword research

If you want your website to rank high in the search engine results pages, keyword research is essential. This process involves finding the right keywords to target that have a high search volume and are relevant to your business. Once you’ve identified the right keywords, you can start optimizing your website for them. This will help Google understand what your website is about and rank it accordingly.

Tips for optimising your website content

Tips for optimizing your website content

If you want your website to rank high on the search engine results pages, it’s important to have high-quality, informative content.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to SEO, but there are some general tips that can help you achieve success. Here are some of the most important ones:
1.       Make sure your content is relevant to the keywords you are targeting
2.       Optimize your website for the right keywords
3.       Keep your content updated and fresh
4.       Don’t stuff your content with keywords
5.       Make sure your content is easy to read and digest
6.       Monitor and track your results

Tools and resources for Google SEO optimization

Tools and resources for SEO optimization

There are a number of tools and resources you can use to help with SEO optimization. Here are some of the most popular ones:

 

Google Analytics: This is a free tool that allows you to track your website’s traffic and conversions.

Google Search Console: This is a free tool from Google that allows you to submit your website to Google and track its performance in the search results.

Google Ads keyword planner: This tool shows you how many searches the keywords get a month. Enter your website in and they will suggest keywords for you.

Google Marketing Platform: Another Google tool that integrates with Google Analytics and allows you to test how users interact on your website.

SEOQuake:  An extremely hand extension that gives you different SEO metrics from a website. Learn what your competitors are doing by using this tool.

 

By following these tips, you can help improve your website’s ranking and visibility in the search engine results pages. You can also follow us on our social media channels for SEO tips.

Help with SEO in Auckland

When to hire an Auckland SEO agency or SEO consultant

SEO is a long-term game and takes time and hiring a search engine optimisation expert can drastically cut down the time it takes for your page to rank.

If you don’t have the time or knowledge to optimize your website yourself, you can hire an SEO Agency in Auckland or SEO expert to do it for you. Be sure to choose someone who is experienced and has a good track record.


Worried about the cost of seo optimization?
What we always suggest is, talk through your goals with your SEO agency and ask them what their take on SEO ROI is. Most that have been in the SEO game should be able to give you a solid answer that you are comfortable with.

Our starting point is $480 a month for the cost of local SEO, this will get you on the SEO map (pun intended + Google Maps) and more importantly get you to see how we work together.

We are running an introductory special at the moment ($200 a month) with limited spots available, reach out to us for more info.


We would be happy to advise or help you with growing your business. We genuinely want to see your business succeed; it is why we do what we do. Reach out <here> and let’s have a chat.

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jono-head-of-noursemen-author-block
About Jono Nourse

Jono, director at NourseMen Marketing, has a proven background in various forms of media and communication. His passion lies in helping people succeed by leaving them with the how and why. He loves technical SEO, Ad management, digital marketing and web development.

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