Most business owners and digital marketers have one common KPI or business objective, and it is to appear among the top 10 on search engine result pages. Unfortunately, most of them are not aware of how to achieve that. While they know that search engine optimization is the key to rank higher on search results, they are often ignorant of the crucial pillars of SEO.
To learn more about the subject, we consulted some experts from an SEO company in Toronto called The Best Media. These experts specialize in using current White hat SEO techniques to increase targeted organic traffic to websites.
They have worked for a lot of local businesses and help them achieve the marketing KPIs and objectives. Here is what we learned about the fundamental pillars of SEO that should be part of any digital marketing strategy.
Technical SEO
Most people think that content is the king when it comes to SEO. But content cannot win at SEO unless supported by a well-optimized website. Therefore, digital marketers need to create websites that have a strong technical SEO foundation. It will optimize the user experience by allowing visitors to find what they want with ease.
Technical SEO also makes it easier for search engine bots to crawl easily through the web pages to rank the content appropriately. Digital marketers may need to take a closer look at the HTML coding and overall architecture of their website. These are some of the technical SEO aspects that digital marketers should look into for optimum ranking.
- Search bots should be able to crawl easily through all the pages on the website.
- The website should perform equally on all kinds of devices, including smartphones.
- The website should have an optimum loading speed.
- The URLs must be structured so that web crawlers can read them easily.
- The website should use HTTPS to offer optimum security to visitors.
- The robot.txt files should provide the site map for the website.
- There should be XML site maps for large websites with a lot of pages and URLs.
- Canonical tags should be there to direct SEO juice to appropriate places in case of similar inquiries.
- The website should ideally offer server-side rendering for better search crawling.
Digital marketers can use tools like Google Search Console or Google PageSpeed Insights to find out if their existing parameters are optimal for SEO.
Content
Content is an indispensable part of any SEO strategy. Digital marketers need to optimize content to appear among the top-ranking results on search engines by including keywords, anchor links, and backlinks. Digital marketers also need to keep in mind that Google keeps changing its algorithms all the time, which means they need to adjust their strategy accordingly.
Content creators should realize that Google wants to optimize the user experience through all of these updates. Therefore, marketers should concentrate their efforts on creating content meant for users rather than search bots that can match the search intent for queries.
Link Building
Link building or backlinks has been an integral part of SEO since the beginning. However, their nature and uses have evolved significantly over time. Backlinks are used by digital marketers and content creators to build business credibility and to support the expertise claimed by the brand.
In other words, backlinks work as a recommendation for the content on the website. That is why it is crucial to obtain backings from reputable and authoritative websites with high domain authority. That way, the content can claim to have business expertise on a particular subject and reinforce this claim from other websites.
User Metrics
A website may have sound technical SEO, high-quality content, and authoritative backlinks. But it will not rank high on search engines unless it is easy to navigate and offers a pleasant on-site experience. Website performance and loading speed are just the starting parameters that measure user experience from a website.
Visitors should also be able to navigate through the pages and menu to find products or content that they are looking for on the site. The website design should also look professional to invite confidence and trust in the brand from the visitors. The only way to quantify all of these aspects is to measure the user metrics.
Digital marketers can use tools like Google Analytics to gather data on these aspects to take the necessary action. Google Analytics can also provide crucial information regarding online traffic and sources to measure the success of their efforts. Digital marketers also need to use the appropriate tools to measure the Core Web Vitals for the website, as these metrics will become official ranking parameters from May 2021.
Online Reputation
None of the SEO efforts would matter if the business does not have a sound online reputation. Google wants to suggest products or services that users will find reliable. That is because educated consumers would always check the online reviews on the business website, social media, and other platforms to see what other customers have to say about the brand.
That is why any business that wants to create a sound presence online should always ensure that they have enough positive online reviews to establish a good brand reputation. They should set up a Google My Business account and social media pages to attract reviews from existing customers. But above all, they need to ensure that they provide quality products and services that guarantee customer satisfaction.
Every business owner and digital marketer wants to ace search optimization techniques for better ranking on result pages. However, they cannot aim to achieve that without adequate knowledge about the pillars of SEO. We hope that this information proves useful for those who wish to include SEO in their digital marketing strategy.
