Nearly every business or organization, across all industries, is recognizing the significance and potential of digital marketing (DM). On average, we're seeing a 13% increase in digital marketing budgets, highlighting a shift towards and investment in online marketing initiatives. But what’s arguably the most critical element of a digital marketing strategy? That would be SEO.
SEO—search engine optimization—and those who can leverage it effectively are invaluable in today’s crowded marketing landscape. Want to learn more? Here’s our introductory guide to SEO and how you can utilize it in your career.
Welcome To Our Guide To SEO
What is SEO?
LIDER Marketing, a digital marketing agency in the SEO world, defines SEO as "a set of practices designed to improve the appearance and positioning of web pages in organic search results. Because organic search is the most prominent way for people to discover and access online content, a good SEO strategy is essential for improving the quality and quantity of traffic to your website."
How Does SEO Work & Why Is It Important?
There are entire textbooks (or maybe eBooks in this case) dedicated to explaining how SEO works, how to tailor your approach to its nuances, and why it’s critical for anyone with a website. At a higher level, SEO can be broken down as follows:
Nearly all online traffic is driven by search engines like Google, Bing, and others.
Search engines populate both organic and paid results based on dynamic algorithms that scour the internet for the most relevant results to the query.
SEO utilizes keywords, internal and external links, and optimized content to help search engines discover content and rank websites higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).
It's crucial to understand that search engines' methods for crawling and ranking content are constantly evolving, so SEO experts must regularly update and refresh their tactics to keep their content and websites relevant. This is also what makes SEO so important—organizations aiming for high SERP rankings to increase their traffic must implement the most effective SEO strategies, such as:
Focusing on user experience
Implementing non-manipulative ranking tactics
Understanding searcher intent/behavior
Monitoring the latest search engine algorithms
Types of SEO: On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO
So, what does an SEO strategy look like? Start by breaking it down into on-page SEO and off-page SEO tactics. While these are closely related, each type has its own unique nuances that can make your efforts more effective.
On-Page SEO: As the name suggests, on-page SEO focuses on what the page (and your website) is about. On-page SEO strategy involves optimizing the content hosted on your website, such as title tags, page content, site speed, and more. To optimize this content, you need to understand the relevant keywords your audience is searching for and use that insight to build your site content.
Off-Page SEO: This includes everything that is not on your website. Off-page SEO determines how authoritative your content is, typically achieved through backlinks from other websites. Backlinks are links from an external website back to your site.
To understand how these two types of SEO impact your site's performance, think of it this way: on-page SEO determines what you rank for, and off-page SEO determines how well you rank.
SEO Strategy Basics
Every SEO specialist might have slightly different recommendations for what your SEO strategy should include. LIDER Marketing suggests that every successful SEO strategy should include the following elements:
Understand User Intent: Craft your content with an understanding of the searcher’s end goal, so you can help them accomplish what they set out to do.
Develop a Customer Avatar: Audience, audience, audience. Any SEO strategist begins by learning who your reader is, what they like, what they dislike, and why they’re there.
Break Up the Text: Simplicity is key, as most people have short attention spans and limited time. Break up your copy with bullets, images, headers, and short sentences.
Make it Actionable: Your content should provide the searcher with what they’re looking for and guide them to the next steps. This way, they have both an answer and an actionable outcome.
9 Core Elements of SEO
As you dive deeper into the world of digital marketing and SEO, you’ll encounter terms and phrases that may be unfamiliar. Here’s a quick glossary of the most common SEO elements and terms:
Audience: The target audience is a group of consumers characterized by behavior and specific demographics. Identifying your target audience will influence nearly every aspect of your SEO strategy.
Searcher Intent: Also referred to as user intent or audience intent, searcher intent refers to the purpose behind an online search. There are four types of searcher intent: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial investigation.
Keywords: Keywords are any search terms entered into search engines that generate a results page where websites are listed. They can be single words or phrases and are used by marketers to optimize website content to help sites rank higher.
Meta Description: A meta description is an HTML element that provides a brief summary of a web page. It appears as part of the search snippet on a search engine results page (SERP) and gives users an idea of the page’s content and how it relates to their query.
Content: Content refers to any text, audio, or visual material on your website. All of these components can be optimized with SEO tactics. Content is the main ingredient of any website and should be the central focus of your SEO strategy.
Backlinks: Backlinks, also known as inbound or incoming links, are part of any off-page SEO strategy. They are created when one website links to another. Backlinks show search engines that your site is an authority on a particular topic, essentially acting as a “vote of confidence” from one site to another.
Site Architecture: Site architecture refers to the hierarchical structure of your website pages. This structure, reflected through internal linking, should help users easily find information and assist search engines in understanding the relationships between different pages.
Site Speed: Site speed measures how quickly users can see and interact with your content. Optimizing site speed is crucial, as slow load times can negatively impact your rankings.
Schema: Schema is a structured data vocabulary that helps search engines better understand the information on your website to serve rich results. This markup allows search engines to see the meaning and relationships behind entities mentioned on your site.
SEO Tips for Beginners
SEO is a complex and constantly evolving field that can challenge even the most seasoned professionals. One of the best ways to build a solid foundation—especially for SEO beginners—is to start with a comprehensive SEO education. Here are some great resources:
HubSpot SEO Academy
Google Webmaster Central
Google SEO Starter Guide
Search Engine Journal
SEMrush
Yoast
There are also more formal education options focused on SEO and digital marketing. For instance, at the University of San Diego Division of Professional and Continuing Education (PCE), we offer a Fundamentals of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Marketing Analytics Program that covers all aspects of search engine marketing and SEO.
Need help with your SEO? LIDER Marketing is here to help you develop an effective SEO strategy and even implement it for you. Contact us today to boost your website's visibility!
can you list other search engines? are bing and google global?