Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is an abbreviation of “Search Engine Optimization”. 

SEO is the craft of making your website rank higher in the search engine results page, i.e., Google search when a user searches for your brand, product, or services. The purpose of SEO is to grow your website’s traffic by earning a higher rank.

Being on the very first page of the Google search engine results page (SERP) will create the most possible visibility. To make it on the first page, you need to convince Google that your website is of high quality and it’s content actually matches the query (or need) of the user searching online.

The numbers unequivocally show a proportional correlation between a good rank on Google’s SERP and an increase in traffic volume.

There is a complete list of elements that go into convincing Google search to rank your website on page #1. There is no overnight method or quick hack to organically reach that top position (of-course if your willing paying for it – you’re probably thinking of Google Ads or PPC). Google search is based on algorithms and factors that work on indexing all of the world’s websites into the most extensive digital library and making them all accessible through Google search.

Basic SEO

SEO is quite relevant, and contrary to what many might think, it’s not that hard. Getting your SEO basics will allow you your website to grow.

First of all, technically, your website should be in order. This is the first mistake that many fall into – if your technical elements aren’t in place, Google may not be able to crawl and index your site correctly. If this is the case, you will be missing out on being added to the world’s biggest digital library. Correcting all technical errors and ensuring it is technically optimized is part of a “Technical SEO”.

• Technical SEO.

Miklagård has released a full technical SEO report for 2018 that you can download for free: Technical SEO Audit

Once your technical SEO is in place, it’s time to focus on your content. Your content (all media in the form of text, images, and videos) should be based on keywords and phrases that you expect to search for online. Google search ranks content that fulfils the users’ needs best. Therefore, your content should be optimized according to relevant keywords and phrases; this is known as “SEO keyword analysis”.

• SEO – Keywords.

The more content you have on your website, the more pages can get indexed by Google increasing the chances for ranking better in Google search results. However, it’s not all about quantity. If you fill your website with nonsense, it might have a negative impact, so focus on quality rather than quantity.

Google uses over 200 factors to rank website content; all of them have the sole purpose of ensuring that the material is providing value and quality to online users.

Google search engine ranks the content of individual web pages based on factors that include uniqueness, freshness, and relevance. It also uses key metrics to decide whether to rate your content or not; these can consist of the session duration, the number of clicks on your links, and the number of subscribers to your newsletter. Other elements that Google considers are user-friendliness (how simple your website is for users), speed, and security.

You will get a higher rank in Google if your website is delivering helpful and meaningful content to the visitors that are actually searching for it. SEO optimization of content is known as “On-page SEO”.

• On-page SEO.

When other websites, in the same or related industry, mention, describe or link to your website, it is called “Off-page SEO”.

• Off-page SEO.

On-page and Off-page SEO are both relevant factors that Google search engine uses in ranking websites. SEO optimization to reach the top of Google search results has a propelling effect of increasing the volume of visitors to your site.

You can On-page SEO optimize your website to allow visitors to navigate through menus, sitemaps, and links easily. It’s all about linking between your main page and sub-pages so that visitors can easily browse your entire website.

Doing this will ensure that your visitors stay online longer on your website (longer sessions). But that’s one side of it; you also need to create value through outbound links that are relevant to your visitors when they’re searching for more or further information. Ensuring that your website has a healthy link structure is called “SEO linkbuilding”.

• SEO – Linkbuilding.

You can off-page SEO optimize your website so that other relevant sites link to your website. When the Google search engine crawls on other websites and finds links to your website, your website achieves a better ranking on Google search.

You can off-page SEO optimize your website so that other relevant sites link to your website. When the Google search engine crawls on other websites and finds links to your website, your website achieves a better ranking on Google search.

The more websites that link to your site, the higher the web traffic your website gets. This also has a significant impact on strengthening your brand and credibility. There are many shortcuts to gaining more links. Creating links from other sites is called “SEO backlinks”.

• SEO – Backlinks.

Your website is competing with other sites online to rank # 1 on Google. You will never get rid of your competitors, but knowing them will give you the competitive edge that you need. Using this knowledge to SEO optimize your site will allow you to take advantage of their weakness and learn from the strengths. Creating links from other websites is called “SEO backlinks.” Knowing what content your competitors are focusing on, which keywords are driving most value to them, etc. is called an “SEO Competitor Analysis”.

• SEO – Competitor Analysis.

The very top three positions on Google search get far more visitors than websites further down the list. That’s why a high rank on Google’s page #1 can make or break your business. Ranking in the top positions on Google starts with optimizing basic SEO.

You could also advertise your website to the very top of Google search. Here we are talking about marketing techniques and will give you a firm rank in the top positions on the very first page of Google.

• Digital Marketing.

Here you can pay Google to advertise your website using selected keywords on Google searches. The exact price of Google Ads (AdWords) depends very much on supply and demand.

• PPC.

It would be best if you mastered your basic SEO before you start throwing a lot of money at online advertising. You can start paying for online advertising as you improve your website’s SEO for Google search. The big question about whether it can pay off depends on your overall online digital marketing strategy.

Advanced SEO

To progress from basic SEO to advanced SEO, first and foremost, you need to have a better understanding of how Google search engine works. A top ranking on Google will give your website many more clicks, web traffic, and visitors.

Google search engine uses several algorithms that ensure only the most relevant search results appear at the top; how these algorithms work precisely is one of Google’s business secrets. The same applies to other search engines like YouTube, Amazon, Bing, Instagram, etc.

What we do know from Google is that their search algorithm is designed to provide the best search results in comparison to competing for search engines. Google, therefore, also comment and share any significant changes or updates to their search algorithms – something which Google is doing periodically. They do this because they are continually adapting and modifying in accordance to their online users. Hence, the way you reach the top positions in Google search is continuously progressing and developing – maintaining the top position requires you to be agile and adaptive too.

The most recent significant updates to Google Algorithms include Hummingbird, Panda, and Penguin. The primary aim behind these updates was to prevent spammy websites from reaching the top positions while websites with relevant and valuable content were being pushed further down.

Here, SEO begins to become advanced. It would help if you kept up-to-date with the recent changes and updates that Google is making to their algorithms and how they operate. Adapting to the new online reality instantly will give your website a cutting edge SEO advantage.

• Google Search Update.

Read more on Google’s homepage about “Google search works”: How Google Search works

Another essential element in advanced SEO is to perform well with “SEO” and perform even better with “Local SEO.” Your website is relevant to some users and then not so relevant for others. The craft of customization means that your content becomes targetted towards the online users that find it most relevant; this is called “Local SEO.”

Your website can be categorized into classes depending on language, content, industry, demographics, geography, etc. In other words, your website workings within a particular scope, and if you optimize SEO towards that, you will ensure that you attract the relevant visitors to your site.

• Local SEO.

Advanced SEO is based on your website’s scope, with a particular focus on whether your site works within a B2C or B2B marketplace, webshop or retailer, non-profit organization, information portal, or just as an online business card.

With the help of advanced SEO optimization, you can utilize SEO tools to develop your website to a level where search, search patterns, and trends are all used purposefully to achieve a higher search engine rank. Here you have an opportunity to improve your SEO by creating a joint SEO plan that includes text optimization, keyword strategy, search volume, and keyword density. All of these combined will work towards your overall online digital marketing strategy.

Advanced SEO affects all digital marketing services, SEO, PPC, social media, analytics, web development, display, and video.

SEO agency

Miklagard is a company that offers digital marketing services across SEO, PPC, social media, analytics, web development, display, and video. Everything in digital marketing by leading experts and consultants.