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Struggling with your SEO efforts? You’re not alone. Many business leaders invest time and resources into SEO, only to be left scratching their heads when the results don’t match their expectations. But here’s the good news: improving your SEO results is not as elusive as it might seem. In this article, you’ll learn exactly how to improve SEO, so that you can drive more traffic, leads, and sales for your business.
There are countless sources of SEO advice online, so why choose to listen to us?
Firstly, we’re not just armchair theorists—we’ve been on the SEO battlefield for decades, helping hundreds of clients improve their search engine performance. This means the insights and advice we share in this article come not from speculation, but from proven real-world strategies and practices.
On top of this, we believe in leading by example. Over the last 3 months, we have doubled our own organic traffic from targeted SEO efforts.
In addition, we can also attribute $125,000 to content resources we recently published on our website, as can be seen in the below image.
Bottom line: we know what works, what doesn’t, and most importantly, why.
Because we’ve faced and overcome the challenges you’re dealing with right now, we’re in a unique position to guide you through your SEO journey. Our aim is to not only help you understand SEO, but also to empower you to deploy these tactics in your organisation right away.
With that said, let’s get started!
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is the practice of improving the visibility and ranking of your website on search engines like Google.
It’s all about getting your website to appear at the top of search results when people search for the products or services that you offer.
SEO can be broken down into three primary components:
- Content creation: Publishing high-quality, helpful content that resonates with your audience and answers their questions.
- On-site optimisation: Improving the technical aspects of your site such as site speed, mobile-friendliness, internal linking and tag optimisation.
- Off-site optimisation: Increasing the authority of your site from other reputable websites (such as backlinks and brand mentions).
In later sections we’ll delve more into how to use these to improve SEO.
Content: The Hidden Gem of Finding Success With SEO
Google’s Helpful Content Update in 2023 made one thing clear: content is king. Google prioritises content that it deems to be helpful to users over all other SEO measures.
So, the number one way to improve your SEO is to focus on creating ‘helpful’ content. But what does this even mean?
Helpful content isn’t just content that sounds good or looks pretty—it solves a problem, answers a question, or meets a need for your prospective customers. It’s the content that your audience finds valuable enough to read, share, and act upon.
One of the key aspects of helpful content is answering buyer questions. This requires an understanding of what your potential customers are asking or searching for. Engaging with your sales team can provide invaluable insights in this regard. Sales teams interact with prospects daily, hearing their concerns, answering their queries, and understanding their needs.
Once you have a list of frequently asked questions from your sales team, these can form the basis of blog articles. Answering these questions through your content not only adds value to your audience but also boosts your visibility on search engines. Google loves content that answers users’ questions.
Another way to make your content more helpful and SEO-friendly is by leveraging keyword research tools like SEM Rush. This tool helps you identify high-volume keywords with low competition in your niche. These are search terms that many people are looking for but not many websites are addressing adequately and transparency. It might also be useful to write blog articles around keywords that have low search volume and low competition.
Writing blog articles with keywords baked in means you’re providing content that a number of people are actively searching for, hence improving your chances of ranking higher in search results.
But remember, the keyword is just a starting point.
Your content should always focus on delivering valuable information that goes beyond just addressing the keyword.
In short, creating helpful content is all about understanding your audience’s needs, answering their questions, and providing value. It’s a mix of insight, relevance, and usefulness. When these elements come together in your content strategy, you’re well on your way to improving your SEO performance.
Other Tactics to Improve SEO
While content is a vital component of SEO, there are numerous other factors to consider that can help you improve SEO.
These fall into two categories: on site optimisation and off site optimisation.
| On-Site Optimisation | Off-Site Optimisation |
| Keyword Optimisation | Backlinking |
| Metadata Optimisation | Guest Blogging |
| URL Structure | Influencer Outreach |
| Internal Linking | Forum Participation |
| Mobile-Friendly Design | Directory Submissions |
| Fast Page Load Speed | Press Releases |
| XML Sitemap | Brand Mentions |
| Structured Data Markup | User Reviews |
| Quality Content Creation | Local SEO Citations |
| User Experience (UX) | |
How exactly do you implement the above? Let’s take a look.
Keyword Optimisation
This involves researching and integrating relevant keywords into your website’s content, including titles, headings, and body text. For example, if you’re writing a blog article about “improving SEO” and you find the top keywords to use are “how to improve SEO” and “increase traffic with SEO”, you would want to include these in your content.
To do this, you should identify relevant keywords using tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEM Rush. Once you have a list of keywords, naturally incorporate them into your titles, headings, and body content.
One thing you don’t want to do is overuse keywords. Aim for relevance and readability, and include those keywords on your pages, but don’t over do it – it should feel and read natural. You may be penalised by Google if you overdo it.
Metadata Optimisation
This includes creating compelling and keyword-rich meta titles and descriptions for each page. Each webpage should have a unique meta title and description.
Ensure they include your primary keyword and succinctly describe the content of the page. Meta descriptions should also be compelling as they often show up in search engine results. Your audience should want to read your content after seeing your meta description.
Hot tip: ChatGPT can help you write meta descriptions. Check out this article to learn about the best ChatGPT prompts to use for SEO.
URL Structure
URLs should be SEO-friendly, ideally containing main keywords and following a logical structure.
Keep your URLs simple, relevant, and easy to understand. Include your primary keyword where possible. For example, instead of ‘website.com/p123’, use ‘website.com/improve-seo’.
Internal Linking
It’s beneficial to link your pages together, helping users navigate your website and spreading link equity across your site.
For instance, if you mention a topic that’s covered in more detail on another page, link to it. This encourages users to stay longer and boosts the ranking power of linked pages.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Having a responsive, mobile-friendly design is crucial for SEO and a non-negotiable.
At a minimum, make sure your website is responsive, meaning it adjusts and displays well on all device sizes. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test can show if your site meets this standard.
Fast Page Load Speed
Users and search engines prefer websites that load quickly. On average, one in four users will leave a website if it takes longer than 4 seconds to load (Website Build Expert).
You should compress images and use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to identify ways to speed up your site. You can then pass these recommendations onto your developer to improve site speed.
XML Sitemap
This helps search engines understand your site structure and index your pages more efficiently. You can use an online sitemap generator or a WordPress plugin like Yoast SEO to create an XML sitemap. Submit this to Google Search Console to help Google’s bots navigate your site.
Structured Data Markup
Also known as Schema markup, this helps search engines understand your content better. It converts unstructured data into structured data, which in turn helps search engines return more detailed and relevant results for searchers.
One benefit is that schema markups help your website show ‘rich snippets’ in search results. For example, Google has expanded the search result to include an image, rating, review count and time estimate.
Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can guide you through this process.
Quality Content Creation
Regularly publishing high-quality, original, and relevant content attracts search engine bots and engages users. We recommend posting three blog articles every week.
Here’s a guide on how we produce 50+ content pieces per week.
User Experience (UX)
A positive user experience, including easy navigation, readable text, and attractive design, can reduce bounce rates and improve your site’s ranking.
Make your site easy to navigate with clear menus and a logical page hierarchy. Use an attractive, clean design and ensure text is easy to read on all devices.
Here’s a guide on 5 things you should include on your website to get you started with this process.
Backlinking
Earning high-quality backlinks from reputable sites can significantly boost your site’s authority and rankings.
One way you can do this is by reaching out to authoritative websites in your industry and suggesting relevant content on your site that they could link to.
Some other ways you can achieve backlinks include:
- Guest blogging
- Influencer outreach
- Directory Submissions
- Press Releases
- Brand Mentions
Guest Blogging
Writing articles for other websites in your industry can help gain backlinks and expose your brand to wider audience.
Identify relevant blogs in your industry that accept guest posts. Propose high-quality articles that provide value to their audience and include a link back to your site.
Influencer Outreach
Collaborating with influencers can help you reach a larger audience and earn valuable backlinks.
Identify influencers in your industry who could reach your target audience. Propose collaborations that offer mutual benefit, like sponsored posts or joint webinars. Make sure that the influencer posts your link in their content.
Directory Submissions
Listing your website in online directories can provide backlinks and increase your site’s visibility.
Press Releases
When syndicated effectively, press releases can generate online visibility and backlinks.
If you have newsworthy business updates, draft a press release and distribute it via online PR platforms.
Be sure to include a link to your website in the release.
Brand Mentions
Encouraging online brand mentions (linked or unlinked) can boost your site’s authority and visibility. Monitor the web for mentions of your brand using tools like Google Alerts. If someone mentions your brand without linking to your site, reach out and request a link.
Forum Participation
Active participation in online forums, like Quora or industry-specific forums, can drive referral traffic and improve your online reputation.
Engage in online forums related to your industry. Provide useful information and answers, and include a link to relevant content on your site where appropriate.
User Reviews
Encouraging satisfied customers to review your business on third-party review sites (like My Google Business) can help your business stand out in search results.
Local SEO Citations
Listings in local directories (Google My Business, Yelp, etc.) can improve your visibility in local search results. Ensure your business is listed correctly on Google My Business and regularly respond to reviews and queries.
Implementing these strategies won’t bring success overnight. SEO is a long-term commitment that requires ongoing attention.
And remember, content is king.
So, what’s next?
SEO might seem complex at first glance, and its results may not be instantaneous. However, with the right approach and consistent efforts, it can yield substantial, long-term rewards.
Ultimately, SEO is about catering to your audience’s needs, answering their questions, and providing them with value. The better you get at doing this, the more favourably search engines will look upon your site. And the more visibility you gain in search results, the greater the traffic, leads, and sales you can expect.
We understand that waiting for six months to see results may feel daunting, but remember that SEO isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. Moreover, while paid ads can provide faster results, they don’t contribute to your website’s long-term organic visibility and may end up being more costly in the long run.
The truth is, we’ve been where you are—investing in SEO, wondering if it’s worth the wait. But over a decade of experience and dozens of success stories have reassured us: SEO, when done right, is worth every bit of effort and patience.
And the strategies and steps shared in this article are the same ones that led us to our SEO victories. So start implementing them, stay the course, and soon, you might just find your own success story unfolding.
If you’re interested in improving your SEO results, then you might be interested in a blog article we wrote about how to write content that ranks and generates leads.
