Search engine optimisation

SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimisation and by definition, SEO is the series of strategic approaches and practices that are implemented to organically generate a high rank position in the search engine page results of internet search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.

SEO is so important that if I were to choose between SEO and design I would, even though the designer in me will most likely have a heartattack, choose SEO.

Of course all aspects of web design have to work together, the sites content, design, user interface and user experience. It just won’t be displayed for the users eyes if it isn’t optimized.

SEO can be time, data and research intensive in some applications or relatively easy in others. It depends on what the task is. Search Engine Optimization can be broken down into many fundamental components, however here are four of the most important ones:

Content: The most crucial part of an SEO strategy is a powerful content wheel. Curating content that is powered by research and insight is what drives traffic to a site. Content should be well researched and factual. It should provide enlightenment and insight to people engaging with it. To improve engagement and increasing quality organic traffic, a business must have high level understanding of what stage of the consumer engagement cycle the content addresses.

Onsite optimisation: This facet introduces all the technical changes on a website; ensuring programming and coding is in direct alignment with Google’s search engine best practices. Fixing a website’s backend can be easy or time intensive. It all depends on the scope of the work. Generally, it requires experienced people with highly specialised technical disciplines.

Link profile: This is the part of an SEO strategy that focuses on building quality external referral links that trust a given site as an authority or source in the targeted categories. Simultaneously the internal linking within the site is optimised for ease of navigation to promote a better user experience.

Analytics: Every SEO strategy should have measurable milestones. These metrics provide insight into what’s working and what isn’t. By leveraging these insights SEO strategies can quickly adapt to the changing tides of the internet.