What is SEO? (And how to be good at it!)

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SEO. Three little letters strike fear into the hearts of marketers everywhere. And yet, it seems like everyone from the CIO to the COO claims to “do SEO,” so we wanted to take a moment to clear a few things up.

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SEO may get a bad rap, but there is a lot of power in using it properly. At the same time how to get south africa number for whatsapp there are a lot of ways to do it wrong. To avoid scaring you off, while also making sure you're doing it right, here are some important things you need to know to be successful at SEO.


What is SEO?
According to Moz , a recognized authority on SEO,

SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.

We like this definition because it focuses on the fact that SEO works to increase not only the number of people who come to your site, but also, and more importantly, the quality of those people. We don’t mean that they are quality people in terms of their generosity, core values, or anything like that (although we’re sure they are upstanding citizens). Instead, we mean that if you’re doing SEO right, you’re attracting visitors who want or need to read your company’s blog or have a question that you and your widget can answer.

When they arrive at your site, these people are quality visitors because they are more likely to interact with your brand and remember you as the company they can turn to (and trust) when they need to purchase a product or service.

Getting these quality visitors to your site happens because you've done a good job of SEO. Specifically, visitors find your blog or website through organic or natural search results – the non-paid search results on sites like Google.


Why is SEO important?
75% of people will never go past the first page of search results. To ensure your website is easily discoverable, it is crucial to rank highly on the first page of search results.

SEO can increase website traffic by over 100%. By implementing SEO strategies on your website, you have the potential to attract a substantial increase in visitors to your site. In more than one example, we have seen the number of visitors to existing content double and triple by diligently focusing on its optimization.

The average cost per click on a paid search is $2.32. If your website is not optimized for search engines, you may be spending too much on traffic. By implementing SEO strategies, you can increase your website's visibility and attract more visitors without spending a fortune.

SEO is a long-term investment, but it's worth it. SEO requires patience and consistent effort. While it may take time to see results, the benefits of a well-executed SEO strategy can be significant and long-lasting. You'll likely see little to no tangible impact in the first 3-6 months; depending on your site and your industry's competition, organic search traffic will begin to increase within 6-12 months.

In addition to these statistics, it's important to remember that SEO is constantly evolving. What works today may not work tomorrow, so it's important to stay up to date on the latest trends. By doing so, you can ensure that your website remains visible.

How does this SEO magic happen?


Content, content, content
We’ll spoil the surprise and start with the most important thing you need to know about SEO: content matters.

That’s right, content. The easiest way to improve your website’s SEO is by regularly publishing useful, quality content. Unique content, posted to your URL with attention to keyword usage and a well-crafted, eye-catching headline, is one of the key SEO tools in your arsenal.

There's still more to keywords that will be mentioned below. First, we want to make sure you understand the power of headlines. Your article headline is the first and often the only part of your content that your site visitors will read. Therefore, they should be well thought out and planned, use keywords, and not exceed ~60 characters.

If the latter seems oddly specific, that's because it is. 60 is the approximate number of characters displayed on a search engine results page ( SERP ). Keeping your headline under this limit ensures that it is fully displayed.

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Use your keywords, but don't overuse them.
Yes, keywords are still important to improve your SEO. Many people still overuse them (a practice known as “keyword stuffing”). However, this can lead to your website being penalized by Google due to the ever-evolving algorithms that power their search engine.

First, there are two categories of keywords you should pay attention to:

Short-tail keywords: These are the words most people think of when they search on Google (or your search engine of choice). Examples of this are “ inbound marketing ,” “ blogging ,” or “episodic content.” You should use these keywords in your headlines and titles.

Long-tail keywords: These are less common but very useful as they are key phrases. For example, “Ways to attract more followers on social media ”, “ The history of inbound marketing ”, or “Customer segmentation with AI”. These keywords are used sporadically throughout your content. You only need each long-tail keyword to appear once per page for it to be effective.

Google's current algorithms analyze the searcher's intent. They do this by using AI that can understand the words the searcher types and related terms and phrases. This means that Google can return more valid results even if the searcher is unclear in their search.

This means that a searcher can type in the question “How can I improve my SEO?” and Google will return results that include other keywords such as “keyword” itself, “SEO mistakes to avoid,” or “content marketing for beginners.”

This means that while it is necessary to use keywords, you should not overuse them in your article. Google makes sure that this is not necessary.

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Use your links correctly
Like keyword stuffing, link stuffing no longer accomplishes what you want. Too often, links are the primary focus of a corporate blog. Little or no attention is paid to whether the link is reciprocal or whether it is an internal link to another blog post that is up to date.

Content marketing in SEO is a long-term game. Use external links sparingly (unless you know the other party will link back to your content), such as providing a source for cited statistics. Otherwise, you should only link to your own content.

This forms what is called a “topic cluster.” This is precisely what it sounds like, a group of linked pages (landing pages, pillars, posts, or otherwise) on the same topic. Google is a big fan of topic clusters, as they help your site appear as an authority on that topic, which boosts your rankings.


Speaking of classification
Yes, it is true that at one point in history, SERP ranking was everything in SEO. But we are no longer in that era.

Nowadays, your website needs to prove that it is authoritative, useful, well-read, and receives lots of inbound links and clicks to boost rankings. Think of it this way, if your site appears on page 1 for a search that isn’t related to your product, you’re still ranking.

Focus on your content, create articles that answer questions people are asking about your industry or solve their problems, use keywords correctly and include some appropriate links, and your site will move up the rankings in an organic way that will encourage even more clicks.

Oh, and make sure your meta descriptions are accurate. This is often the only thing searchers see on your page when they scan the SERPs, so using the right language here can make the difference between a click and a bypass.


SEO is not something you do once and then forget about.
Sure, you may have optimized your website's landing pages. Or maybe you remembered to use long-tail keywords in your article while leaving the short ones for the title and headings. But none of that means you're done with SEO.

You should complete an SEO audit for your website, frequently review your content and check for any necessary updates. You can always tweak something (meta description, alt text on images, etc.) to see if you can increase the numbers for these pages.

You should also scan your entire site from time to time to make sure it’s still optimized. Your HR team adds job descriptions on a monthly basis, your content team publishes blog posts, and your marketing team creates landing pages for upcoming events. All of this is to say that your site isn’t a static thing — it’s constantly evolving, so your SEO needs to constantly change to keep up.

SEO is a complex world, with aspects that span marketing, sales, human resources, IT, and beyond. If you deal with your company's website on a regular basis, you don't need to become an expert, but it's a great idea to be aware of the basics.



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