Search engines have four functions: explore, create indexes, assess relevance and rankings, and present results. They browse your website and create an index for each page of the text they find there as well as the multitude of other data indicating the relationship of that page with other pages on the site and, in some cases, the all or part of the multimedia content accessible on the page. In short, the search engines aggregate all this information in the form of an index so that they can effectively present results in response to the requests made to them.
Search engines create these databases (or indexes) by periodically carrying out searches on the Web. They must establish the value of each page and the words that are displayed on those pages. Search engines develop secret algorithms (or mathematical formulas) to determine the value (or index) to assign to different elements, such as inbound and outbound links, keyword density and the positioning of words in the layout, all of which can affect your website’s ranking. Search engines have trouble indexing multimedia content, but there are alternatives that will be discussed later in this brochure.
The most recent trend observed with regard to search engines, and which is likely to apply in the future to search in general, is to abandon keyword research in order to turn to personalized conceptual search. So, when a user clicks on search results, search engines like Google and Bing record this information in order to know the tastes of the user and then personalize the search results he presents to him according to what he likes. This niche is still in the development stage, but it seems promising for the future to increase the relevance of research.
The following pages provide an overview of SEO services and techniques that will help you attract more visitors to your website.
1. Ask yourself the right questions
- Who are the people I want to attract to my website? Who is my target audience?
- Do I have the resources and knowledge within the company to optimize my website or do I need to hire the services of an SEO specialist?
- Who are my competitors?
- Who are my allies and associates who will help me rank my web pages better?
- How much can I allocate and how much time can I spend initially and later on optimizing my website?
2. Define your SEO objectives
The ultimate goal of SEO is to increase your revenue by getting people to visit your website. However, other objectives are also important:
Make yourself known as an expert in your field. Visibility on search engine results pages has a tacit ripple effect that makes searchers feel that the websites ranked at the top of the list are better, more relevant and more reliable.
Increase awareness of the product. It is preferable to attach an image or a video to the text in order to attract more Internet users’ attention.
Increase the number of potential customers. The goal is to attract well-targeted customers to your site by getting people to provide the information you need to build relationships with them in the future. Reduce the cost of each order. Free search engines will help you cut your advertising costs unlike other media. Encourage customers to return to your site. Referenced pages help your existing customers find other products or services more quickly and easily, which helps improve service and customer support. Profile Internet users. Research can help you understand where in the buying process your potential customer is, either at the initial stage or at a later stage. If you can paint a clear portrait of the intentions of Internet users, you will be able to more easily adjust your site according to their needs. When planning your SEO strategy, remember that even though many website owners are running for the top of the list, search engines rank sites according to those that are most valuable to them. Internet users. If not, don’t expect your website to be among the first. Be realistic when setting your goals.
3. Do it yourself
Many small business owners hire an SEO specialist to optimize their website. If you decide to do it yourself, you need to ask yourself a few questions first, including the following:
- Do I Really Have Time To Optimize My Website? Entrepreneurs have many responsibilities, and their website project may not be among their top priorities.
- Will I save by doing the SEO myself? The time you spend on a task cannot be used for any other purpose. Is the time you spend developing and referencing your website, rather than organizational planning, building relationships with customers, and solving problems among staff, risky, in the long run, to make you lose money.
- Do I have the skills to design a website? Be honest with yourself. SEO requires technical knowledge and marketing expertise. And marketing is a constantly evolving process.
If your answers satisfy you and you are still ready to do the SEO yourself, here are some guidelines:
- Define your target audience and think of key phrases applicable to your audience. Identify your competitors and conduct a competitive analysis using tools like compete.com or wordtracker.com, or review their website.
- Take official and unofficial surveys of your existing and potential customers or create a Google Webmaster Tools or Bing Webmaster Tools account to find out what keywords people are looking for in your field.
- Write relevant content using best practices related to keywords.
- Make sure you understand what SEO is about on a website. Know who to contact to make your ideas a reality or make sure you have the resources (software) and knowledge you need to do this work yourself.
- Spend enough time on sustained efforts.
- Use an appropriate evaluation method to examine and analyze your site in order to always improve your ranking.