Search engine optimisation (SEO) is one of the single most important things you can do to improve your business online, by driving targeted traffic to your website. Gone of the days of the Yellow Pages, here comes SEO. Well, SEO isn’t something new, in fact, webmasters have been optimising their sites since the mid 1990s.
There are standard SEO tasks that should be completed in order to run a successful and recognised website, however these tasks do not necessary need to be completed in any particular order, nor implemented in the same way across every sites. In fact, they shouldn’t be applied in exactly the same way. Many people are under the impression that SEO is a one-size-fits-all approach to website ownership and online business conduction, but that’s not necessarily true.
The Framework
The standard framework of SEO consists of the rules that have to be followed and the algorithmic hoops website owners have to jump through in order to stay current with search engines. For example, Titan Digital has published an informative article about the Google’s Hummingbird update and how this effects webmasters. Yes, everyone who runs a website has to have top-quality content. Yes, keywords must be researched. Yes, silo architecture and media are important. But those are just protocols – within the framework you have a lot of room for creativity and personality. Think of the framework of SEO like you would the structure of a house. The blueprint for the home will be identical for everyone, but how you paint, decorate and stock it is completely up to you. Executing your own SEO strategy is like taking the same bare home that everyone else has and decorating it the way you like.
The Body
Now that you understand that SEO rules are simply a framework in which you must operate, you can work on filling it in the way you like. If everyone took the exact same approach to implementing SEO techniques, it wouldn’t make any sense. For instance, let’s say you own a flower shop, and you run an ecommerce portion of your business online. You’ll probably want to add content related to flowers, have a merchant service that allows you to take orders for arrangements and delivery, and you’ll also want to make sure that shopping cart allows you to have several options (with a vase, without a vase, in a basket, and so on). Now, imagine you sell insurance. Chances are you aren’t going to be selling insurance online, even if that’s how you generate your business, because it typically doesn’t come in pre-made packages; the business is highly individualised. The way people search for insurance is drastically different from the way people search for florists. Although both types of sites need to have a content marketing program in place, the structure of and material within that content will be quite different.
Customising Your Optimisation
Your goal then, is to create an online space that pertains to your individual business within the structure of search engine algorithms. Who are you trying to reach? What are your prospects going to search for in order to find you? What kind of helpful information can you offer your prospective customers that is related to your industry? What kinds of media will your target audience be most likely to enjoy? By answering these questions and others like them, you can start to build a picture of what your site should look like. Your “online home” will look a lot like every other business’s online home if you look at the basic structure, but the way you fill it in will be uniquely yours.
Next Steps
So, what do you do with this information? How do you design a website that is yours, but that fits in the correct parameters? What are the parameters? If you’re a web pro, you might have already started on the design phase of your new website. But if you don’t have a lot of experience with SEO, get an experience SEO agency to help you out. Companies such as Bruce Clay and Titan Digital are some of Australia’s leading experts in the industry, that exist solely to help you build your online presence. In other words, they know the parameters and you know your business; together you can create a wonderful website that is highly optimised for search engines.
Remember that the way you express the unique features and styles associated with your business will say a lot to your prospective customers about who you are, what you stand for, and what you offer. Make sure you’re putting your best foot forward and letting the personality of your brand shine. Attaining the perfect website may never be possible, but creating a highly effective website that is high ranking is certainly within your reach.
