Every business needs to market itself in order to be successful. In a world where there are so many businesses competing for dominance of their respective markets, traditional marketing methods such as billboard, flyers and mainstream media commercials become extremely expensive to pursued on a commercially viable scale.
Since the dawn of the internet, businesses have looked for ways to use it in order to reach new customers that would otherwise have never heard of them. Nowadays, the vast majority of products and services people use are discovered through search engines like Google.
When someone needs a plumber, they will most likely perform a Google search for “plumber in X” with X being their geographic location. For a plumber, making sure they are seen in the results of these searches is absolutely critical for attracting paying customers.
This is where an effective SEO company in Sydney comes in handy. It’s all about ‘optimising’ the internet presence of a business so that its website ranks as high as possible in relevant search results.
Let’s take a look at some fundamental facts you need to know about SEO.
Why is SEO so important?
Search engine optimisation is absolutely crucial for the majority of businesses operating today, especially new ones that need to make an impression on the market. This is because, unless you’re an established brand like Coca Cola or McDonalds, your business website likely won’t appear high in search results with optimisation tactics in place.
The primary ways in which search engines like Google work is based on keyword relevancy. This means that when someone types “local plumber” Google will serve them results in descending order of relevancy.
Because the majority of people will only click on the first few results on the first page of results, appearing on pages 2 or 3 means your website is practically invisible. SEO allows you to change your website so that it is more relevant to the keyword your target audience is using.
What are the most common SEO tactics?
In the world of search engine optimisation, many tactics and strategies that were once effective can become redundant when Google chooses to update its search algorithm. The discipline is all about playing by Google’s rules so that you are ranked favourably as a website it would want to serve to its users.
Here are some common SEO tactics with brief explanations:
Keyword targeting – Keywords are the bread and butter of search engine optimisation because they work as signals denoting subject matter. For example, if you sell pet supplies, then including keywords like “dog kennels” and “litter trays” throughout your content will mean your website is more likely to appear high in the search results for said keywords.
Backlinking – Backlinking is a controversial tactic because of the tendency for it to be abused. Basically, it works by getting authoritative (trusted) domains to host a link to your website in their content. The authority of their site works as a vote of confidence in your site, which makes your site more attractive to Google.
On-page optimisation – This refers to all of the optimisation tactics you use on your website itself. This means improving page load speed, graphics, readability and a whole suite of other things under the hood. Basically; the more user friendly and functional your website is, the better it will perform in search results.
Who can perform SEO work?
At a rudimentary level, search engine optimisation can be performed by just about anyone. However, in order to be truly effective, you need a digital infrastructure and team of experienced digital marketing experts in order to pull it off.