Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can also be referred to as natural search and organic search. It is the process of gaining website traffic by increasing the visibility of your webpage/site in the ‘natural’, ‘organic’ or ‘earned’ section of a search engine’s results page (SERP) through improving and promoting your website.
With Google holding just under 90% of UK search engine market share in 2014, its algorithm updates dictate the approach taken to SEO. Google’s algorithm is the formula used by Google for ranking the webpages most relevant to a search query, within the organic results in the SERP.
“The objective is not to ‘make your links appear natural’; the objective is that your links are natural.” – Matt Cutts
The natural search listings on Google are located in the main section of the SERP; often located under a couple of paid search ads identified by a small orange tag stating ‘Ads’.
At a basic level, SEO is broken in to two areas: on-page SEO and off-page SEO. On-page SEO is the optimisation of HTML, Architecture and Content. Off-page SEO is the creation of positive engagement with your content.
How do I know if I need SEO?
The California markets often rely on word of mouth, but there can still be place for SEO as your business expands. Firstly, you need to assess whether investing in
search engine marketing is a cost effective use of your marketing budget. Here are some scenarios in which SEO may be considered a beneficial marketing activity:
Growing your Business
An integrated search marketing strategy is required within which PPC generates instant results for a wide range of generic competitive terms and SEO can produce cost effective traffic through targeted keyword categories.
A study by Optify showed that the top ranking website has an average click-through rate of 37%, while 60% of the clicks go to the top three results. If you are looking to grow your business, your site needs to dominate the search listings for search terms relevant to your business.
Expanding to new territories
Optimising your web site through the creation and distribution of content relevant to the areas you wish to expand into e.g. offshore relocation services, is a cost effective and efficient way to create brand awareness.
“Optimisation is a cost effective and efficient way to create brand awareness…”
The right content-led strategy enables you to start engaging with potential customers prior to them completing an active search for your business. It places your brand in their conscience, which is proven to result in them thinking more favourably about your product and lead to greater brand loyalty when they do require your service.
Introducing new products & services
Your existing customers have already engaged with your brand, and having an integrated SEO and Social strategy in place enables you to utilise this audience to create awareness of new services and products.
A content-led strategy should consist of the distribution of relevant content that places your business in-front of potential customers searching for related product information online.
Creating brand awareness
Your existing customers have already engaged with your brand, and having an integrated SEO and Social strategy in place enables you to utilise this audience to create awareness of new services and products.
The research process required to produce a content-led strategy also provides valuable insights in to the way in which your products and services are searched for, the topics being discussed around your business and the way in which your customers are behaving online.
The benefits of SEO
SEO is a business investment. There are over 2 billion people online worldwide, 38 million online in the UK and 93% of these start their online experiences with a search engine (Forrester).
In addition, a study by Optify showed that the top ranking website has an average click-through rate of 37%, while 60% of the clicks go to the top three results. Your business needs to be ranking.
SEO should sit at the heart of your marketing. It benefits your business on a number of levels that include:
Efficient web site
The technical process of optimising your website is not just about making the search engines happy. It ensures that your site is easy to navigate, is responsive and contains the content that your customers want to read.
Business Growth
An effective SEO strategy encourages the ongoing production and distribution of relevant content, placing your business in-front of potential new customers and supporting the growth of your business.
Loyal customer base
Not only does SEO generate new customers, supporting customer acquisition, but it also encourages ongoing engagement with these customers, leading to a loyal customer base with a higher lifetime value.
Google updates such as Penguin and Panda, have seen the approach required to achieve SEO success become much more complex. The dominance of search engines within the purchase process means that search marketing must sit at the heart of your marketing and an effective SEO strategy is critical to marketing success.
“The approach required to achieve SEO success become much more complex…”
Managed in the right way, SEO goes beyond Google algorithms and is an invaluable customer led strategy that gets your business in-front of potential customers through the distribution of content that they want to engage with resulting in a growing, loyal customer base.
Our Approach to SEO
As search algorithms have evolved, so has the SEO industry and necessary approaches. Today search algorithms, in particular Google, are able to understand brands as entities and their relationships and attributes without reliance on links directly between websites. This means that today’s SEO strategies no longer involve link building, but are focused more on meaningful content tailored for a targeted audience and directed to an optimised web site
We marry technical and creative SEO capabilities with market insights to deliver effective on and off-site SEO strategies:
On-Site SEO
The first stage of on-site SEO is a technical audit of your existing web site to ensure it follows best practice and provides solids foundations for your ongoing SEO strategy.
If your web site is about to be developed, then this is the perfect time to involve SEO experts. We will advise on the structure, internal linking, title and meta descriptions, content and overall optimisation of your site to ensure that your web site design and build is optimised from the offset.
Following the implementation of these changes, Bridge Digital shall continue to provide technical monitoring and recommendations. Our experienced SEO team shall use Insights & Trends, Market Intelligence and Data & Analytics to inform your SEO strategy. This monitoring can vary from SEO industry changes such as algorithm updates and the best way to react to them, to monitoring real-time trends and making recommendations on resulting opportunities for your business.
Off-Site SEO
Off-site SEO accounts for the majority of page rank and as a result, developing an appropriate content strategy is fundamental for SEO success. A strategy needs to be closely focused on a brand’s objectives and direction.
Listening and Analysis
Off-site SEO accounts for the majority of page rank and as a result, developing an appropriate content strategy is fundamental for SEO success. A strategy needs to be closely focused on a brand’s objectives and direction. As a brand it is important to maintain content integrity, which ensures that subject matter remains within themes and highly targeted to the right demographic, but also importantly that it upholds a purpose.
The first stage in a content strategy requires defining the market through listening and analysis of relevant data. This data can come from industry trends, social networks, blogs and forums. Once this information has been analysed, meaningful insights will help form the basis of the content strategy, in terms of topics, formats and distribution channels.
Content Production
By identifying the target demographic, we are able to advise on the content to be produced and in which format for that audience, whether that be short form, long form, video, image or infographics. This approach ensures the right content is placed in front of the right people, at the right time.
“By identifying the target demographic, we are able to advise on the content to be produced…”
Content Distribution
Distribution of content is an important element of the strategy as it ensures that the correct audience are able to see, engage and share your content. We use market insights to identify where you audience are online, and the most effective distribution channels we need to utilise to reach them.