In the world of digital marketing, every click, every search and every website visit counts. If you’re an entrepreneur, a blogger or a marketer, you know how important it is to be at the top of Google search results. That’s where SEO, or search engine optimisation, comes in – a powerful web tool that can lift your website above the competition without spending a fortune on advertising.
In this blog post, we dive into the world of SEO to find out how website optimisation can help you outperform your competitors on Google for free. From keyword strategy to content creation, we’ll look at SEO basics that will help you reach the very people who are searching for your services or products. Whether your goal is to increase sales, build brand awareness, or gain more visibility online, SEO is here to stay. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from professionals to get the expected result.
The importance of SEO and its impact on the visibility of a website in search engines
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is a cornerstone of digital marketing. Its importance and impact is noticeable, especially when it comes to a website’s visibility and position in search engines. Most users start their web journey from a search engine, the most popular of which is still Google.
SEO is the part of a website that helps your website stand out in the infinite space of the internet. SEO is a combination of technology and creativity that involves optimising keywords, creating quality content and making technical improvements to your website to meet the sophisticated algorithms of search engines. Well-executed SEO means increased visibility and higher rankings in search results.
If your website is optimised for the search queries of your target audience, it is more likely to reach potential customers who are interested in the products or services you offer. So, SEO is not just about optimising a website. It is part of a business growth strategy. We also offer a separate seo service
What do you see in a Google search?
First of all, it is important to understand that Google is still a commercial company with the aim of generating revenue, and this is reflected in its search engine structure. In particular, it will display paid ads first, which can be bought by you, your competitors and even companies from other sectors for specific keywords. There is certainly a place for paid ads in marketing, but we will not get into that discussion today.
Typically, up to the first five search results are paid ads. These may be fewer if there are not so many competing advertisers for a given keyword. These are indicated by the keyword Sponsored displayed in the search result.
Only then will the organic search results come up. This is where SEO comes in, and while there is no objection to paid advertising, many users are sceptical and prefer organic results. Because of this, any effort to improve SEO is always worthwhile.
Overview of the main components of SEO and their impact
Understanding the key components to increase the success of a website on the internet is the basis of quality SEO. SEO work should consider keyword optimisation, quality content creation, technical SEO, user experience and link building.
Keyword optimisation ensures that the website responds to the target audience’s search queries, making the page easier for users to find. For example, if your website is about cleaning services, it’s worth using keywords such as ‘cleaning services’ and ‘cleaning services’, which are more specific than just ‘cleaning’. Quality content keeps visitors on the page for longer, reducing bounce rates and increasing engagement, which are important factors in search engine rankings.
Technical SEO, which includes things such as website speed, mobile-friendliness and data structure, ensures that search engines can index a page effectively. User experience is the most important aspect of a visitor’s on-page experience, as it has a direct impact on visitor satisfaction and translates into their purchasing decisions and brand recommendations. If a website does not load fast enough, or if the information is distributed between pages in an illogical way and the visitor cannot find the information they are looking for, it is quite likely that they will not reach your website with their query.
Finally, attention should also be paid to link building in order to increase the page’s ranking in search engines. Quality and relevant backlinks show search engines that the content on your page is trustworthy and valuable to visitors. While the first components are on-page SEO activities, backlinks can also be used for external SEO.
All of these components affect how your website ranks in search results. The more effective the SEO, the higher your visibility in search engines and the more potential traffic to your page.
SEO basics and keyword selection
Before you rush to fix everything on your website, you should slow down and carry out a website and keyword analysis. This analysis will show you what you can do to optimise your website. A keyword analysis will give you an overview of the keywords that users are searching for, and which you should use in your website content.
The keyword analysis produces a list of keywords that users can search for in your field. The higher the search volume for keywords, the higher the likelihood that people will reach your site if you have done SEO well. This will also give your competitors an incentive to improve their rankings, so SEO is an ongoing process and almost a battle. In addition, there are changes in search engine algorithms, which can also mean extra work for the website manager to ensure that the position is not lost.
How to choose effective keywords that increase traffic
Choosing keywords that work requires in-depth analysis and strategic planning. Keywords need to match what visitors are looking for, but also be relevant to the business. So how do you choose just the right keywords to get shoppers knocking on your door?
1. Understand your target audience – who are the people who buy your product or service? Try to think like your customer – what words would you use if you weren’t an industry expert.
2. Find out the keyword volume – use online tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush or Ahrefs to determine the search volume of your keywords. Google Trends can help identify changes and trends in keyword popularity.
3. Take competition into account – if your site is still new, it is best to avoid particularly competitive keywords, as the site’s other metrics are still too weak to perform strongly. Also, choose more specific, longer keywords that have less competition but are easier to drive targeted traffic to.
4. Use only relevant keywords – it’s certainly not a good idea to use popular keywords just because of their popularity if they don’t relate to your business. They are of no use if your target audience does not use them in a search engine to reach you. If you offer a cleaning service but don’t rent vacuum cleaners, it’s not worth misleading your customer and use the keyword ‘vacuum cleaner rental’.”
5. Test and adapt – test different keywords and track their impact on website traffic. Use Google Analytics and other analytics tools to monitor keyword performance and make changes where necessary.
Using the selected keywords, you can optimise your website texts, titles, meta data, website URLs and image alt texts. When optimising headings, it is worth remembering that you should use sub-headings of varying levels and when optimising URLs, it is best to keep them as short as possible.
Choosing effective keywords is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and adaptation to changing trends and user behaviour. By focusing on relevant and targeted keywords, you can increase your website’s visibility in search engines and capture more quality traffic.
Technical SEO and website optimisation
Website technical SEO is a process that focuses on optimising the structure and infrastructure of a website. This ensures that the website is better indexed and ranks higher in search engine results. Technical SEO involves a number of important elements that are necessary to make a page easier for search engines like Google to read and understand.
Website speed optimisation and other technical parameters
One of the main technical SEO aspects is the loading speed of a website. Fast loading pages provide a better user experience and are more appealing to search engines. Consumers are used to getting information quickly and easily, and as a result, no one bothers to wait for a website to load. Optimizing images, caching and efficient management of server resources can help speed up web pages.
More and more users prefer mobile devices to consume web content, and therefore can’t miss the mobile version of a website. The content and usability of the mobile version of a website influence its position in search results. It is therefore important that your website is fully optimised for mobile devices, providing a seamless user experience on smartphones and tablets.
Security is another important aspect of technical SEO. The use of the HTTPS protocol ensures that data is encrypted and increases the trustworthiness of the website in the eyes of both users and search engines. Properly structured HTML code helps search engines to better understand the content of a page. To do this, you need to use appropriate headings (H1, H2, etc.), add ALT text to images and create a logical URL structure.
Using the Robot.txt file and the XML sitemap helps search engines understand which pages to index. These files are essential to direct search engine robots to the right pages and avoid crawling irrelevant content. Error management and correct redirects from old URLs to new ones is also an important part of technical SEO. This ensures a smooth user experience and helps maintain the value of links.
Technical aspects such as meta-titles, descriptions and URL structure.
Website meta-titles, descriptions and URL structure are a slightly more creative part of technical SEO, as they also need to take into account the content of the website, keywords and users’ expectations of where to find information.
Meta titles are web page titles that appear in search engine results and in the browser header. Meta titles should be short (usually up to 60 characters) and contain the main keywords that describe the content of the page. A good meta-title is attractive and encourages the user to click, while providing a clear overview of the page content. For example, in the case of a cleaning service, the headline “Regular cleaning service by professional cleaners” is much more informative than the headline “Cleaning at home”.
Meta-descriptions are short snippets of text (around 160 characters) describing the content of a page and appear in search engine results under a meta title. Meta descriptions should be persuasive and informative, include relevant keywords and invite visitors to the page. Although meta descriptions do not directly affect the page’s ranking, they help the user decide whether or not to move to the page.
A clear and logical URL structure helps both users and search engines to understand the content of the page. A good URL is short, contains relevant keywords and follows a logical hierarchy. For example, the URL “www.näide.ee/blogi/10-nippi-ahju-puhastamiseks” is much more informative and user-friendly than “www.näide.ee/blogi/koristamine”.
How to create attractive, optimised content for visitors
While SEO can help increase the visibility of your site and drive traffic, it also needs to be high quality and relevant to attract customers. Any marketer will be able to assess what kind of content their website visitor expects and needs, and what kind of information will attract them to their website.
Consumers still like to be able to make their own purchasing decisions and feel that they are in no way influenced by the seller. Nobody wants to say that I fell victim to marketing or that a sneaky trader smeared something on my head. With this in mind, content should focus on the information that is relevant to the consumer – be it a tutorial on how to use the products, an overview of the pros and cons of the product/service, or a practical tutorial.
How to optimise content?
- Expand the text and use subheadings – it is difficult to read and follow a long text in one block. Blocked text is easier on the eyes and easier to understand. Using subheadings helps the reader to find the topic of interest more easily and also makes the content more friendly for search engine robots.
- Use lists – Lists and checklists help to distinguish important information and present it in a structured way.
- Don’t forget to include keywords in the content – optimised content assumes that the selected keyword is also used in the page content. In addition, it is a good idea to use keywords in the title, meta description and image descriptions.
- Add pictures and other visuals – any visual material can help illustrate and reinforce the information. Use examples, pictures and graphs to illustrate your content.
- Produce new content regularly – so your customers have more reason to come back again and again. Consider adding a blog or news section to your site to allow you to produce regular content. You can also include topics related to your own field that may be of interest to customers.
External SEO and link building
External SEO, including link building, is the part of search engine optimisation that you can do externally to your own site. These activities usually require more work and effort because they require the actions or approval of other parties. However, even this work should not be shied away from as the benefits can be significant.
External SEO includes activities such as creating backlinks, social media marketing, working with influencers and content marketing articles. Many of these activities are also closely linked to marketing materials, which illustrates how intertwined the different aspects of marketing are.
Creating quality backlinks
Link building is a process of actively seeking backlinks to a website. This is one of the most complex and important aspects of SEO. What is worth bearing in mind?
- Natural links: the best links are the ones that come organically when people share your content, because it’s useful to them and they expect that the people around them will too. Natural links are proof that the content on your page is valuable and interesting, which in turn increases the credibility and visibility of your website.
- Quality content: provide valuable, informative and engaging content that encourages other websites to link to your page. Content that offers unique information, research or opinions will naturally attract links from other websites.
- Use of directories and business directories: registering in the appropriate directories can help to get rebates. Choose directories that are relevant to your field and have a good reputation to ensure quality and relevance of links.
- Quality, not quantity: the aim is to generate quality links from trusted and relevant websites, not just a large number of links. These links are an important sign to search engines that your website is trustworthy and relevant to the domain.
Link building is a time-consuming and continuous process, but it is crucial for the SEO success of a website. Be sure to monitor how the links you create are performing and how they are affecting your website’s traffic and search engine rankings.
Dofollow vs nofollow links
This is where dofollow links and nofollow links come into play. Dofollow links are taken into account by search engines when indexing pages and help your website stand out from the competition. Dofollow links are content that add credibility to your website and provide valuable additional information to consumers. Nofollow links, on the other hand, are ignored by search engines and therefore have no impact on SEO.
Why such a difference? Back in the early 2000s, when SEO and search engines were still in their infancy, the smarter ones discovered that leaving their links in the comments sections of popular websites and blogs gave them a higher ranking in Google’s eyes. In order to reduce such spamming, search engines started to distinguish between ‘valuable’ and ‘non-valuable’ links in 2005. Nofollow links are not only links posted in comments, but also links that redirect out of Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit.
Where to place the links?
Search engines have many different rules for indexing pages. It’s not enough to have links on your page, you also need to think about their placement and anchor text.
It’s a good idea to place links in the main body of the webpage, and the higher the link, the better. It’s important for the search engine that the visitor notices the link, and the earlier the better. For example, many visitors won’t reach the bottom of the page at all, so a link placed at the end or footer of a blog post may get significantly less attention.
In addition to the link and its location, you also need to choose the specific words to link to. Search engines make sure that the anchor text clearly refers to the linked content. For example, the anchor text “10 tips for cleaning the oven” is a much more informative anchor text for both the visitor and the search engine than the anchor text “this blog post”. A good link will also have relevant and descriptive anchor text.
SEO marketing activities
It is also possible to improve the visibility of a website through various marketing activities. Simply put, it helps Google understand that real people are talking about the website and the products or services it offers.
From an SEO point of view, it is crucial to distribute your website content as much as possible. Social media also plays an important role. It’s not just a matter of posting about what’s going on in the company, but also of linking to the website. This is why it is a good idea to have an active blog on the website, with links that can be shared. This will encourage customers to visit the website more often.
In addition, it is possible to purchase content marketing articles for various news portals. This is an opportunity to reach a large audience with relevant information. You can also generate valuable backlinks through such articles, as news portals are reliable sources of information for search engines. Well-written and in-depth articles help to raise brand awareness and positioning in the field. This, in turn, increases credibility in the eyes of both users and search engines.
Monitoring and analysis
Once a website is optimised, the work doesn’t stop there, as the online environment is constantly changing, competitors are working to improve their sites and Google search rankings are constantly under threat. This makes it particularly important that SEO is taken as an ongoing process and that the state of the site is regularly measured and analysed.
Tools and methods to monitor SEO success
There are a number of tools to monitor SEO success. Using them is essential to ensure that you don’t lose out on hard-won results. Free tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console can be used for monitoring.
Google Analytics provides detailed information about visitor behaviour, traffic sources, page views and conversions. Google Search Console helps monitor the website’s visibility in Google search results by providing information on search queries, page positions, click-through-rate (CTR) and indexed pages.
Monitor how your chosen keywords perform in search engines using tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs. Keep up to date with changes in keyword rankings to understand how your SEO strategy is affecting your website’s visibility.
To analyse backlinks, use tools such as Moz Link Explorer or Ahrefs to monitor the backlinks you receive and assess their quality and relevance. A good backlink indicates a credible and relevant website, meets the dofollow criteria and ideally is the first time your website has been added. Dig into the dynamics of lost and new links to understand how they affect your website’s ranking.
Don’t forget to keep an eye on technical SEO, as platforms and plugins are constantly evolving and can affect your website. Google PageSpeed Insights allows you to monitor your page load speed and identify potential problems. Use the Google Mobile-Friendly Testto make sure your page is optimised for mobile devices.
If you want to go a step further and also provide your business with valuable insights into consumer behaviour, set up conversions in Google Analytics. These specific goals, such as newsletter subscriptions or product purchases, will help you measure the impact of your SEO strategy on business results.
Consistent monitoring and adjustment are essential in SEO. SEO is not a one-off activity, but an ongoing process. Regularly analyse the performance of your website and adjust your strategy according to changing trends and results.
Also do a competitor survey to identify potential opportunities and improve your strategy. Check out your competitors’ websites, analyse their content and don’t forget to check out their social media. You can always just do a Google search to see how and for which keywords your competitors are positioning in the search engine.
Tips to avoid mistakes
- Create enough quality content – it is difficult to optimise a website with very little content. Google will give higher rankings to pages with more content, assuming that the user will get more useful information.
- Keywords, keywords, keywords – keywords are only useful if they are used consistently. Don’t forget to use them in titles, meta descriptions and when optimising images. In the content, use keywords optimally. Overuse can also be overkill – it’s best not to squeeze a keyword into every sentence, as this will make the text look unnatural. Be sure to use the keyword in the very first paragraph.
- 301 redirects – 301 redirects help the search engine understand when a page address has changed, making it easier to index the new page. Invalid links also affect the user experience and can scare customers away from a page if it looks invalid.
- Style – make sure your style and language are reader-friendly and polite. Avoid the use of capital letters throughout, as this can come across as shouting online.
- Reduce the number of Javascript and CSS files – an excessive number of design files makes the website slower to load and the user experience more unpleasant.
- Image optimisation – review the volume of images uploaded to the page and optimise those that are too large for the web. Optimised images will result in improved page load speed.
FAQ or what we are asked most often?
1. How long does it take to optimise a website?
There is no single answer to this question, as it depends on the current state of your website – how extensive it is, how much preparatory work has already been done and what the goals are. To this end, we will analyse your site, identify the bottlenecks and draw up an action plan with a timetable.
2. How much does it cost to optimise a website?
Once again, there is no single answer, but optimisation of costs is entirely possible. Indeed, in the case of SEO, there is a lot of work that a site owner can do themselves and does not require the time of a technician. In such cases, we can simply carry out an analysis and draw up an action plan for the company to follow in optimising its own site. It is, of course, wise to keep the technical specialist informed, however, so that the work done has the best possible result. The technical specialist can also help with the post-work review of the SEO work.
3. How quickly will the results come?
Depending on the sequence of the work, the first signs of results can be seen after just a few months. However, this is a longer process and the first analysis of the results should not be done before 6 months.
Read more about how we carried out SEO optimization for the client and what results we achieved.
4. Do you guarantee the result?
However, no specific result can be guaranteed, as search engines and other websites are also constantly changing and updating. It is therefore one big living organism where you have to do your best to please the search engine. Nevertheless, SEO work is not a wasted effort, because none of us would spend hours improving and adding content if it didn’t produce results.
5. Why should I bother optimising my homepage when I can buy Google Ads paid ads and have them on the front page?
Consumers tend to be sceptical about all forms of advertising, and want to feel that their decisions are not influenced by the wiles of any marketer or advertiser. This has created a large group of people who, as a matter of principle, do not choose advertising brands. So it is still worthwhile to organically improve the position of your own site to show consumers that you are a trustworthy company.
Finally
n the end, optimising your website is one of the most important steps you can take to increase your website’s visibility and traffic. It’s an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring, analysis and adjustment. From keyword selection and content optimisation to technical SEO and link building, every step is important to ensure your website’s success in search engines.
Remember that SEO is not a quick fix, but a long-term investment in the future of your website. Commitment to creating quality content, providing a user-friendly design and ongoing technical improvements will help ensure that your website is not only search engine friendly, but also valuable to your target audience.
Don’t be afraid to use professional SEO tools and seek expert help if needed. The world of SEO is constantly changing, and in order to stay competitive, it’s important to keep up with the latest trends and best practices. By investing time and resources in optimising your website, you are investing in the growth and success of your business. But if you don’t have a website yet, we can help you create one, too, and we’ll take all the SEO features of a quality website into account right from the start.
