Frequently asked questions about SEO are common. You will find some of the most common SEO questions people ask about search engine optimization (SEO) below:
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of optimising a website or web page to improve its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) for a particular set of keywords or phrases. This is done by making changes to the content, structure, and code of a website to make it more attractive to search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.
SEO helps to increase the visibility of a website and can lead to more traffic, leads and sales. Many factors search engines consider when ranking a website, such as the quality and relevance of its content, the number and quality of links pointing to the site, and the overall user experience.
SEO is an ongoing process, and it’s important to stay up to date with the latest best practices and algorithm updates.
There are several ways to improve your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs):
1. Optimise your website’s content for relevant keywords.
2. Build high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites.
3. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly.
4. Use meta tags, including title tags and meta descriptions, to summarise the content of your web pages.
5. Create high-quality, unique content that provides value to your audience.
6. Use alt tags to describe images and other media on your website.
7. Create a sitemap to help search engines find and index your web pages.
8. Make sure your website is easy to navigate.
9. Optimise your website for local search by including your business name, address, and phone number on your website.
10. Have a solid social media presence.
Keep in mind that SEO is an ongoing process and it can take time for changes to take effect.
The most important elements of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) are:
1. Relevant and high-quality content: The content on your website should be unique and informative, and it should also be optimised for the keywords you’re targeting.
2. Keyword research: Identifying the keywords and phrases that people are searching for about your business, and then including them in your content and meta tags.
3. On-page optimization: This includes things like meta tags, header tags, and keyword-rich URLs, which help search engines understand the content on your website.
4. Backlinks: Backlinks from other websites to your website are important as they indicate that your website is valuable and credible.
5. Mobile-friendly: Your website should be optimised for mobile devices, as more and more people are using their smartphones to browse the internet.
6. Site Structure and Navigation: A clear and easy-to-use navigation structure can help search engines understand the organisation of your site.
7. User Experience: A positive user experience can help to increase the amount of time a user spends on your site, which can also improve your search engine rankings.
There are several ways to conduct keyword research for your business:
1. Use a keyword research tool, such as Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush, to generate a list of relevant keywords based on your industry and target audience.
2. Analyse your competitors’ websites and social media channels to see what keywords they are using and target similar keywords.
3. Look at the language and phrases used by your customers in reviews and feedback to identify keywords they use to describe your products or services.
4. Utilise your own website’s search data to see which keywords are driving the most traffic to your site.
5. Try using long-tail keywords that are more specific less competitive, and also more relevant to your business.
6. Utilise the Google Trends feature to identify the keywords that are trending in your industry and are being searched the most.
Once you have a list of relevant keywords, you can use them to optimise your website, blog, and social media content for search engines.
There are several ways to optimise the technical elements of your website, such as the code and structure. Here are a few:
1. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve static assets, such as images and CSS/JavaScript files, from a location closer to the user, which can improve load times.
2. Minimise the number of HTTP requests by using techniques such as combining files, using image sprites, and inline small images.
3. Optimise images by compressing them and using appropriate image file formats (e.g., WebP, JPEG for photographs, PNG for graphics with transparent backgrounds).
4. Use Gzip compression to reduce the size of text-based assets, such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files.
5. Use a tool like Google’s PageSpeed Insights to identify additional optimization opportunities and to measure the performance of your site. We have also found a far more useful tool that does the same thing but works better and has more options https://www.experte.com/pagespeed.
6. Use code and file structure that is easy to understand and maintain, this will help you to spot any bugs and errors faster.
7. Use browser caching to cache static elements on the browser so that they will be loaded faster for the next visit.
8. Use a framework that makes it easy to develop and maintain your website.
9. Use of Clean and organised CSS and JavaScript which can help to improve the performance and maintainability of your website.
These are just a few examples, but there are many other ways to optimise the technical elements of your website, and it’s a good idea to continuously monitor and improve your website’s performance over time.
To create high-quality, relevant content for your website, consider the following steps:
1. Understand your audience: Identify your target audience and research their demographics, interests, and pain points.
2. Conduct keyword research: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to identify relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is searching for.
3. Create a content calendar: Plan out a schedule for creating and publishing new content. This will help you stay organised and ensure that you’re consistently publishing new content.
4. Create a variety of content: Mix up the types of content you create, including blog posts, videos, infographics, and more.
5. Optimise your content: Use the keywords you’ve researched in your content and make sure it’s well-written and easy to read.
6. Promote your content: Share your content on social media and other platforms to drive traffic to your website.
7. Measure and refine: Use analytics tools to track the performance of your content and make adjustments as needed.
8. Keep updating and improving your content.
By following these steps, you can create high-quality, relevant content that will attract and engage your target audience.
There are several ways to acquire backlinks to your website, including:
1. Creating high-quality, engaging content that other websites will want to link to.
2. Reach out to other website owners and ask for a link.
3. Guest blogging on other websites and including a link to your website in your author bio.
4. Participating in online communities and forums related to your industry and including a link to your website in your forum signature.
5. Building relationships with other websites and businesses in your industry and collaborating on content or projects that include links to each other’s websites.
It’s important to note that acquiring backlinks should be done naturally and ethically. Avoid buying backlinks or participating in link farms, as these practices can harm your search engine rankings and reputation.
There are several metrics you can use to measure the success of your SEO efforts, including:
1. Organic traffic: This measures the number of visitors coming to your website from search engine results pages (SERPs).
2. Rankings: Track your website’s rankings for specific keywords in search engine results pages.
3. Bounce rate: This measures the percentage of visitors who leave your website after only viewing one page. A low bounce rate is a good indicator of high-quality content that is relevant to the user’s search query.
4. Time on site: This measures the average amount of time visitors spend on your website. A high time on a site is a good indicator that your content is engaging and relevant to the user’s search query.
5. Conversion rate: This measures the percentage of visitors who take a desired action on your website, such as making a purchase or filling out a contact form.
6. Backlinks: Number of quality links pointing to your website, backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors, the more backlinks you have the more authoritative your website is considered.
It’s important to track these metrics over time and make changes to your SEO strategy as needed based on the data.
One way to stay up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and best practices is to regularly read and follow industry blogs and publications, such as Search Engine Land and Moz. Additionally, attending SEO and digital marketing conferences, such as Pubcon and SMX, can provide valuable insights and networking opportunities.
Joining SEO-focused online communities and forums, such as the Google Webmaster Central Help Forum, can also be a helpful resource. Additionally, following industry thought leaders on social media can provide valuable information and perspectives on the latest trends and best practices.
Yes, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is important for any business with an online presence. It helps to improve the visibility and ranking of your website on search engines like Google, making it more likely that potential customers will find and visit your site.
This can lead to more website traffic, more leads, and ultimately more sales. However, the importance of SEO will depend on your industry and target market.
The cost of SEO services can vary widely depending on the scope of the project and the level of expertise required. Some SEO professionals may charge an hourly rate, while others may offer a flat rate for their services. On average, you can expect to spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per month for SEO services.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that SEO is an ongoing process, and it can take several months or even years to see significant results. It’s also important to find a reputable and experienced SEO professional or agency to work with, as the cost of poor-quality SEO can be much higher in the long run.
The time it takes to see results from SEO efforts can vary depending on several factors, such as the competitiveness of your industry, the current state of your website’s SEO, and the specific tactics you are implementing. Typically, it can take several months to see significant results from SEO efforts.
However, it is also possible to see small improvements in search engine rankings and website traffic within a few weeks of making changes to your website. It’s important to note that SEO is a long-term strategy, and consistent effort over time is typically needed to see sustained improvements in search engine rankings and website traffic.
To use Google Analytics to track your SEO progress, you will first need to set up a Google Analytics account and add the tracking code to your website. Once your website is being tracked, you can monitor your SEO progress by looking at the following metrics:
1. Traffic: Monitor the number of visitors to your website over time to see if your SEO efforts are increasing the amount of traffic to your site.
2. Bounce rate: Look at the percentage of visitors who leave your site after only viewing one page. A high bounce rate may indicate that your website is not providing the information that users are looking for.
3. Organic search: Track the percentage of your website’s traffic that comes from organic search results. This will give you an idea of how well your SEO efforts are working in terms of getting your site to rank higher in search engine results.
4. Landing pages: Look at which pages on your website are getting the most traffic from organic search results. This can help you identify which pages of your site are the most effective at attracting visitors from search engines.
5. Keywords: Monitor the keywords that are driving traffic to your website. This can help you identify which keywords you should focus on in your SEO efforts.
6. Geography: Track where your website visitors are coming from. Knowing where your visitors are located can help you tailor your SEO efforts to specific regions or countries.
7. Mobile: Track the traffic coming from mobile devices. With the increasing usage of mobile devices, it’s important to make sure your website is optimised for mobile.
8. Time spent on site: Track the time that visitors spend on your site. This can give you an idea of how engaging your content is.
9. Goals: Set up goals in Google Analytics to track specific actions on your website. This could be things like form submissions, phone calls, or product purchases.
By regularly monitoring these metrics, you can get a clear picture of how your SEO efforts are impacting your website’s performance and make adjustments as needed.
There are a few signs that Google has penalised your website:
1. A sudden drop in organic traffic from Google.
2. Your website no longer appears in Google search results for certain keywords or phrases.
3. Google Search Console alerts you of a manual action taken against your website.
Keep in mind that a drop in traffic could also be due to other factors, such as changes in Google’s algorithm or increased competition. If you suspect that it has penalised your website, you should check Google Search Console for any manual action warnings and review Google’s Webmaster Guidelines to ensure that your website complies.
Here are a few more things to consider if you suspect your website has been penalised by Google:
4. Check your website’s backlink profile. If you have a large number of low-quality or spammy backlinks, this could be the reason for a penalty.
5. Check for any crawl errors or broken links on your website. These can affect your website’s ability to be indexed and can lead to a penalty.
6. Check for any duplicate content on your website. Google may penalise your website for having too much duplicate content.
7. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and has a good page loading speed. Google’s algorithm now favours sites that are mobile-friendly and load faster.
8. Keep an eye on your website’s analytics and search engine rankings, if you see a significant drop in organic traffic or your website disappears in the ranking, it could be a sign of a penalty.
It’s worth noting that sometimes the reason for a drop in organic traffic could be due to an update of Google’s algorithm rather than a penalty. However, it’s best to follow these steps and check your website’s compliance with Google’s Webmaster Guidelines to ensure that it’s not in violation of any rules.
There are a few key metrics you can use to determine if your SEO company is doing a good job:
1. Organic traffic: Check your website’s analytics to see if there has been an increase in organic traffic (traffic from search engines).
2. Keyword rankings: Check your website’s rankings for the keywords that the SEO company is targeting. If your rankings have improved, it’s a good sign that the SEO company is doing a good job.
3. Backlinks: Check the number of backlinks (links to your website from other websites) your site has acquired. A good SEO company will work to acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable websites.
4. Website Performance: Check the website’s performance like page load speed, mobile responsiveness, etc. SEO Companies should work on these technical aspects as well.
5. ROI: The ultimate goal of SEO is to drive leads, sales and revenue. Measure the ROI of your SEO campaign and see if it’s making a positive impact on your business.
If you are seeing improvements in these areas, your SEO company is likely doing a good job. Keep in mind that SEO is a long-term process, so it may take several months to see significant results.
SEO FAQ Schema markup questions are some of the most common. Schema Markup is a way to add additional information to a web page in a format that search engines can understand. This information can include details about the content on the page, such as the type of content (e.g. article, recipe, event), the authors, and the date it was published.
To use schema markup for better SEO, you can add the appropriate markup to your website’s HTML code.
Here are the steps to follow:
1. Identify the type of content on your page. There are different types of schema markup for different types of content, such as articles, events, and products.
2. Choose a format for your schema markup. JSON-LD is the recommended format by Google.
3. Use a schema markup generator tool to create the code. There are several online tools available that can help you create the code.
4. Add the generated code to your website’s HTML. The code should be placed within the head section of the webpage.
5. Test your schema markup using the Google Structured Data Testing Tool to ensure that it is implemented correctly.
6. Continuously monitor your schema markup with Google Search Console and fix any errors you find.
By adding schema markup to your website, you can help search engines better understand the content on your pages, which can result in improved visibility and higher rankings in search results.
There are several plugins available for WordPress websites that can help you add schema markup to your website. Some popular options include:
1. RankMath. This plugin also includes a built-in schema generator, which can help you create the necessary code for adding schema markup to your website. Additionally, it has a Rich Snippet feature that allows you to add rich snippets to your website, which can help improve the way your pages are displayed in search results.
RankMath is a popular SEO plugin that not only helps with schema but also provides features like keyword optimization, sitemaps, and analytics integration. It also comes with a range of other features that can help you improve your website’s SEO, such as a built-in keyword research tool and the ability to optimise your images for search engines.
2. All in One Schema Rich Snippets: This plugin allows you to add schema markup to your posts and pages, and supports a wide range of schema types such as reviews, events, and products.
3. Schema App Structured Data: This plugin provides an easy-to-use interface for adding schema markup to your website, and supports multiple schema types including articles, products, and local businesses.
4. WP SEO Structured Data Schema: This plugin helps you add schema markup to your website, including support for reviews, events, and products.
5. JSON-LD for SEO: This plugin allows you to add JSON-LD structured data to your website, including support for articles, local businesses, and products.
6. WP Rich Snippets: This plugin allows you to add schema markup to your website, including support for reviews, events, and products.
It’s important to note that before using any plugin, make sure that it is updated and compatible with the latest version of WordPress and also check the reviews of the plugin to make sure it is reliable.
Steve Baron, an astute entrepreneur and seasoned marketing professional, is the driving force behind Webprecision, a company that specialises in crafting affordable, fast, and SEO-friendly websites. Before his venture into the digital realm, Steve established Baron Marketing Ltd, an advertising agency that flourished under his leadership for over two decades. His entrepreneurial spirit further propelled him to launch several successful online startups.
A staunch advocate for nurturing budding entrepreneurs, Steve has served as a mentor for Business Mentors NZ. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Waikato, complemented by an Honours Degree in Political Science from Victoria University of Wellington.
A prolific writer, Steve has penned three books, and his insightful editorials have graced the pages of newspapers across New Zealand. When not immersed in his professional endeavours, Steve fulfils his role as the Clerk of the Scales for New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, is a competitive Bridge Grandmaster, and indulges in his passions for walking, running, and savouring the café experience.