SEO is a common term amongst digital marketeers and those operating in the wider marketing space. However, it may be somewhat of an unknown to those outside the space, which is strange given the importance of those for whom a web presence and strong visibility is an essential area of their acquisition or commercial strategy.
SEO is an acronym for search engine optimisation – ultimately the art of getting a site to rank higher in search engines, such as Google, for certain keywords which are relevant to the business.
If you are an online store selling trainers, the vast majority of consumers won’t know which site they want to purchase those trainers from and will be open to suggestions or browsing different options. As such, those sites which rank well for ‘buy men’s trainers’ will obtain a larger market share, as this is a highly searched keyword. Furthermore, given the nature of the keyword, it is indicative of strong search intent – it indicates that the consumer is in the market for this product, and increases the chance of a sale for the site to which they visit.
SEO effectively falls into two main categories:
- On page – ensuring that a site has great content that is relevant, unique and engaging. This is important, as Google have always indicated that content is king. On-page SEO also refers to the process of optimising a site in such a way that Google can understand and crawl it effectively – it is a robot, not a human, so the structure and codebase of a site is paramount in success within this area.
- Off-page – ultimately this refers to mentions or links to a site. If a strong or authoritative site links to another site, this is an indicator of trust to Google. The more good quality links that a site earns, the stronger signal of trust is sent to Google, and the more likely it is to rank well – in Layman’s terms.
Combining the two elements is paramount in terms of a holistic approach – something whereby enterprise SEO platforms are key. These types of tools are designed to collate the different elements of SEO, automate some of the process, and assist with brand visibility as a whole. Building an online brand is essential, and brand recognition is important in helping a portfolio of sites to rank well in the SERPs. This page helps to understand what to look for in an SEO enterprise platform, and indeed some of the benefits that such tools can bring to a site’s overall performance in the search engines.
Automation is a fundamental aspect of holistic SEO – there are simply too many elements to account for if everything is undertaken individually. A brand with a large array of sites targeting different terms can be grouped under one umbrella with enterprise SEO, with building overall brand visibility, automating the process, and reporting as a group fundamental in success.
SEO has changed as the years have gone on and as such, our approach should be equally as agile.
