When you do a search on Google or any other search engine, you will have noticed the amount of links it offers in the form of a list. However , we tend toclick on those that appear at the top of the list.
As a brand, getting lost in the multitude of pages full of links offered by Google will not help you connect with your potential customers. If you want to push your website to the top of the list and don't know where to start, keep reading this post .
what is SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) isthe set of techniques aimed at optimising web pages in order to be positioned at the top of the list that search engines offer users when they perform a specific search. SEO positioning techniques seek to position your brand in the top positions in a natural way, that is, without the use of an advertisement.
Although SEO positioning does not involve paying for advertising, it does require an effort on the part of the brand. To give you an idea, according to North Star Inbound, 45% of large companies and 20% of medium-sized companies invest more than 20,000 dollars a month in their SEO positioning.
However, you don't need to be a guru or spend thousands of dollars to know the basics that you can't overlook if you want your brand to be noticed by search engines.
5 key aspects of SEO positioning
1. KNOW YOUR GOOGLE USERS
Before you start publishing content, you need to know your target audience. We advise you to focus on Google because it is the favourite search engine of internet users. In 2020, Google accounted for around 70% of the world's desktop searches each month, and around 90% of searches from mobile devices.
Some facts to keep in mind are the following:
> 71'33% of searches end with a click on one of the links on the first page of results, with the first five organic results alone accounting for 67'60% of clicks.
> The second and third pages account for 5.59% of clicks, according to Zero Limit Web.
> Of the different searches that are performed on Google, only 3.4% end up clicking on a paid advertisement (those that usually go to the top of the list above the organic results).
2. STRUCTURE YOUR CONTENT CORRECTLY
According to a study by SEMRush, "39% of texts without any kind of structure perform poorly in terms of traffic and engagement. Some of the elements you need to take into account when structuring the structure of the articles you publish on your website are:
> Headline (H1) : this is the element that introduces the article. It will be the element that makes the reader stay to continue reading or, on the contrary, abandon it immediately. To choose an attractive headline, it is advisable to choose a question that is popular among users, or to present lists that solve a specific problem .
Also, it is recommended that it be between 10 and 69 characters maximum. According to SEMRush, headlines of between 10 and 13 words are ideal, as they drive twice as much traffic and are shared 1.5 times more than short headlines (less than 10 words).
> H2 and H3 tags : we recommend you not to limit your article to a single main title and to keep using headings as the user moves through the content. This way, you can segment the content into different sections that answer different questions. They will also help you to highlight what is important and help the reader to find what they are looking for.
In addition, it will be interesting to include elements such as photographs and videos within this structure, so that the information is presented in a more visual way and it will be easier for the reader to move through the article.
3. OPTIMAL LENGTH AND META DESCRIPTIONS
Long articles, i.e. those with more than 3,000 words tend to have better results than those with between 900 and 1,200 words. According to a study by SEMrush, long articles get 3 times more traffic and are shared 4 times more on social networks .
In addition, another key factor is the use of meta descriptions. A meta description is used to briefly describe the content of a web page. It is the small paragraph that appears below the title and URL of your page in Google's list of results.
In order for the search engine to make a meta description visible, it should be between 140 and 160 characters and it will be fundamental to increase or decrease the number of clicks to your page. In a couple of sentences, you must convince the user to visit your website, so we recommend you allude to emotion and do not forget to include keywords or possible calls to action .
4. BALANCE BETWEEN QUANTITY AND QUALITY
It is important that you publish regularly, yes, but not at any price. The content you offer must be of quality and should not be focused solely on the use of tags or keywords.
To succeed with your SEO strategy you must generate quantity of content that manages to generate interest, to turn your website into a place to go to solve doubts and satisfy needs. The key is to balance the balance between quantity and quality. It will be better to publish three posts a week that fully satisfy the needs of readers, than to publish several a day that do not meet their objectives.
5. PLANNING AND OBJECTIVES
As in everything that has to do with digital marketing, it is essential to establish specific objectives and draw up a plan based on them. The content you publish on your website or blog should respond to a previously prepared calendar .
This editorial calendar should include varied content focused on different users with specific doubts or objectives and should be designed to trigger an action, which could be, for example, filling out a form, returning to your blog to read more posts or following your brand on social networks.
However, don't forget that your content must be adapted to the theme of your website or blog. It will be difficult to position a post about children's books if it is published on a blog about horror books and films.
Set your goals and schedule the days and times when you will upload each content, then continuously analyse your results to see if you are on the right track.
6. COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR READERS AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT RRSS
Remember that you are writing to satisfy the specific needs of the users who visit your page, so being aware of their doubts and suggestions can benefit your positioning in search engines.
To do this, it is advisable to activate comments on your blog, open a section for questions and answers, or create a forum in which specific issues related to the subject matter of your website can be discussed. Through these channels you can find out what their doubts and interests are in order to create content based on them.
In addition, social networks can become a fundamental part of your positioning strategy. Being visible on platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin will mean being recognised by your potential customers. If they know you, it is easier for users to trust your content and access it when they find it on search engines.
Now you know that improving your web positioning on Google is within your reach. Start planning your strategy based on what you have learnt and you will soon notice the results.
