We recently hosted an SEO webinar as part of our free webinar series. It was a massive hit - and we’re not surprised. SEO is arguably one of the most mysterious and confusing aspects of owning an online business, so we had a lot of attendees eager to gain expert advice.

If you did miss our SEO webinar, you can read on to learn the main takeaways. Alternatively, give the WEBPRO SEO experts a call to discuss your individual situation. 

#1: The basics – what is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It is all about optimising website pages to become more visible on Google when people use it to search for information, products or services. The ultimate goal of SEO is to put your website pages as close as possible to the top of Google’s first page results, which will then result in more clicks, website traffic and likely more sales. SEO is known as a type of organic marketing, compared to paid-for marketing like Google Ads. 

#2: What Google is looking for

Google indexes website pages (not whole websites!) so they appear in a certain order when specific search terms or questions are entered into its search engine. Google creates this priority order based on providing the best possible outcome for the search engine user.

For Google to provide the best value to its users, it will index the most relevant pages at the top of the search results. This will ensure the user doesn’t have to spend more time trying to find what they need. But relevancy isn’t the only thing Google looks for. It will also prioritise pages that load quickly, works well on mobile devices and even base its order on reviews. 

#3: The value of SEO to businesses

SEO is of paramount importance to any modern business. If your website pages, products and services cannot be seen when your target audience makes a relevant internet search, they will not know about you. SEO makes a business and its offerings increasingly visible to attract more website traffic and significantly more opportunities to make sales and build brand recognition.

It’s also worth noting that SEO is a long-term strategy. Unlike paid-for marketing methods that can put you straight to the top, the progress you see with SEO takes time. But if you do manage to make it close to the top of search engine pages, the result can be long-term website traction and sales. This also adds stability to your business’s profitability, compared to somewhat of a fragile position created by non-organic marketing. 

#4: The four elements of SEO

SEO is made up of four main elements, namely the technical performance of a website, website structure and content, website links (internal and external) and reviews (genuine, not paid for!). It’s advisable to focus on the first two elements before tackling the rest, which we explain further below.

The first element concerns itself with how well your website performs for the user, including its loading times and whether it's free from errors, etc. More recently, websites that perform best on mobile devices are given a small boost up the ladder.

Website content and structure are the second important elements and are all about providing highly relevant and clear info that incorporates terms that internet users search for the most, also known as SEO keyphrases. Nowadays, it’s advisable to create a network of structured content that links together as part of a series or to create a website journey that Google can recognise. 

#5: Monitoring SEO performance

SEO performance should be monitored to identify areas of improvement. This is best achieved by using the data available from tools like Google Analytics. You should be able to identify an upward trend of website visitors across optimised pages over time. Remember, Google indexes single pages rather than entire websites, so you could see improvements on some pages but not others. Don’t expect to see short-term results with SEO services as this is very much a valuable long-term strategy. 

Consider WEBPRO for proven SEO services

WEBPRO has an in-house team of SEO experts offering a wide range of on-page and off-page SEO services. To know more about these services or to get an accurate quote, don’t hesitate to contact WEBPRO today.

And don’t forget to register for our next free webinar where we’ll be taking a look at Google Ads. By joining us for this webinar, you’ll receive free tips and know-how that you don’t usually get for free. Sign up via our events page now!