Websites don’t end up on Google by accident. The world’s most popular search engine takes the customer experience just as seriously as we do in our own businesses. They only want to provide customers with the most relevant and useful information. It’s led to the development of complicated algorithms and criteria each company must stick to if they want to get their name on the front page.
The process doesn’t happen overnight. SEO might not start working for at least four to six months or even longer in some cases. With SEO, you’re playing the long game, so what must you do to get it right the first time?
Understanding Google’s algorithms
Google’s algorithms are essentially a set of rules your website must follow if you want Google to recommend it. These algorithms change regularly, making SEO an ongoing process.
The algorithms consider ranking factors to different degrees, like the following:
- Content quality – This includes spelling, grammar, and length, as 60% of consumers won’t purchase from a brand with poorly written content. But it also includes demonstrating expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, which are all measurable by Google using reviews, footprints across the web, or even website security. Your content should be written for users first, not search engines, if you want Google to take you seriously.
- Keywords – Infusing the right language into your content is essential and forms the basis for how people find you. But this often leads many businesses into a trap where they pack their content to the brim with SEO keywords. This will actually work against you as Google can recognise you’re writing to them and not to your customers.
- Links – Where your site links to and who links to your site is incredibly important. Google focuses on websites who have organic links. So paying for unnatural links won’t work and will drop your down in the rankings. Organic and effective link building means linking to and from reputable sites, working web pages, and relevant companies.
There are hundreds of other ranking factors to think about, like website quality and speed. And there are specific rules to follow depending if it’s a website, social media site, or something else. Keeping up with all of this is no easy feat, but there is help available.
Outsourcing
There are dedicated SEO companies who make it their mission to understand the way businesses, customers, and websites interact. These companies are made up of professionals who have trained and developed their skills in SEO to be as effective as possible in helping your business rise to the top.
If you don’t already have a dedicated internal team who controls SEO, outsourcing the task could provide a cost-effective method for SEO. When you outsource, you won’t have to spend money keeping up to date on the latest changes to the Google algorithms. This sound knowledge base comes included in the price of your SEO company you’re outsourcing to, leaving your staff free to be creative and focus on helping your business grow.
If you use a professional SEO company, you will get a better ROI and they will advise you on how best to update your marketing strategy. However, if you want to infuse effective SEO into your eCommerce site, you need a platform that supports high-level SEO, as not all do.
Shopit’s team is full of agency SEO experience. This seeps into the creation and development of our platform, allowing you to get SEO right the first time. With ultrafast Google cloud servers, lean code, and customisability for each website, you’ll have no problem rising to the top. See more about Shopit’s marketing performance here.
Surahi believes in that good people, good processes and structure produce great companies.
With a keen interest in globalisation and personalisation, she writes about the opportunities for growth to everyone