SEO or Search Engine Optimization
One of the most frequently asked questions is “How Long Does it Take to See SEO Results”?
A good and a fair question to ask. Businesses (especially those who are just starting out) are in a hurry to gain visibility, leads, clients, and sales.
The only problem, however, is that this question is exceptionally difficult if not impossible to answer on a broad scale. There is no “one size fits all” to this subject.
There are a myriad of variables to take into consideration before even contemplating a tentative answer. Elements such as site history, competition, current traffic, target market, keywords and a wide range of other aspects that must be analyzed in order to understand a website’s existing position in SERPS.
SEO is more of an art than a science. If you Google SEO you will find thousands of sites all offering various ideas to achieve organic ranking with Google and other search engines. many of these offer good advice whilst others leave something to be desired.
In reality, there are three basic elements to search engine optimization which, if followed, will in time improve ranking. In essence, these are:-
-
On Site Optimization.
This is all about the content, structure, and layout of your site. Google’s bots crawl your site to get an understanding of what it’s about (and how authoritative it is), so the information it finds on your website can have a major effect on how it ranks pages on your site for relevant search queries. Without going into depth here the main elements are:-
(a). Meta Tags. Individually crafted for each page on the site.
(b). Meta Descriptions. Also individual for each page to describe the page content.
(c). Site Navigation. Enabling easy transition from one page to another.
(d). Internal Links. Links to other pages or parts of your site
(e). Page URL. Descriptive of the page content. With WordPress using Pretty Permalinks.
(f). Site Speed. How quickly your site loads on all screens.
(g). Responsive. So that the site displays on tablets and smartphones as well as desktops.
(h). Site security. Especially for e-commerce where HTTPS is now essential.
(i). H1, H2, H3 Headings in text to highlight sub-headings
(j). Add ALT Tags to images using appropriate keywords.
-
Quality Content.
More and more is being written about quality content and the phrase “content is king” is still relevant. However, quality is more important than quantity and the content of your website must be seen to meet a range of standards just some of which are:-
(a). Appropriate length to cover the topic adequately.
(b). Use of proper Grammar and Spelling and Punctuation.
(c). Proper page and text layout which allows speed reading.
(d). Achieving an acceptable readability score level.
(e). Does the content achieve its aim by solving a problem, answering a question, entertaining etc.
-
Incoming Links.
One of the ways Google judges the value of a website is the number of quality links the site has from other equally or higher quality websites. The premise is that if other sites link to yours, your site has a value that is worth sharing with other people searching for the products or services you, via your site, is offering. Gaining or acquiring links is an SEO topic on its own, with a great deal written about ways to do so legitimately. The days of swapping links or buying them has long gone. There are ways to obtain links but by far the best way is to acquire them naturally, by having great content that other sites will want to become associated with and link to.
So if you are looking to improve your site ranking with Google and other search engines these are some of the basic elements you need to consider. If you need help we offer a FREE Website Evaluation with a report highlighting the areas needing improvement. This costs nothing and is without obligation.
If you then decide you need help to rectify any deficiencies we will quote you based on the amount of work needed specifically for your website. This is because every site is different, in terms of size and what areas may require attention.
SEO, however, is a longer term project and it may take several months before you begin to see results. It is also not a “one off” exercise and to maintain a higher ranking means continual management and monitoring.
You may decide that once the groundwork has been laid and higher rankings begin to show through you can continue the process without further assistance. Alternatively, I can continue to provide guidance and recommendations on a permanent or reduced basis to suit your needs and budget.
For a free site review please complete the form below.