When a user searches for something online, there is an intent behind their action – they are looking for a service or product that can satisfy their needs. Think about queries like “best running shoes” or “warehouse fulfillment center Southern California”. The user behind the first search is comparing products before they decide which shoe to buy. The user behind the second query is looking for a logistics partner in a particular area. Because search engine queries are driven by intent, it is essential that your business shows up for a potential customer at the exact moment they need your product or service.
The average search query returns thousands or even millions of results. The first five results will typically get 67% of all clicks, while results that show up on the second page get less than 6% of all clicks. This illustrates exactly why SEO is such an important topic: being there as the need arises is vital in order to direct potential customers to your business.
There are many factors that play into your SEO ranking: some are related to the coding and structure of your website, while others depend on your site’s content and its quality. But when it comes to content, while the below factors are important, it’s critical not to lose sight of the main goal: creating content that delivers value and serves your target audience’s needs.
Here is a summary of key SEO factors that determine your site’s rank, and why they matter:
Technical SEO factors
- Site-wide or code-level factors such as HTML tags, meta descriptions, etc. By including your primary keyword as well as synonyms in tags and meta descriptions, you provide better signals to search engines that your content is relevant and extensive. Remember that the primary goal of a meta description is to entice a user to click on your link, so write them in an active voice, include specifics (numbers are clickable, vague language is not) as well as a call-to-action and your primary keywords. Make sure your meta description closely mirrors the content on the page (relevance is key!) and don’t use the same meta description more than once.
- Site performance and speed (page load time), mobile experience (responsiveness). Google looks for a positive user experience and prioritizes pages that are fully mobile responsive and fast loading.
- Behavioral metrics (bounce rate, etc.) Google also favors sites where users are engaged and don’t leave (bounce) immediately.
On-Page SEO factors
The quality and quantity of your content and how it is organized and mapped throughout your website. This Includes:
- Keywords. The best keyword strategy is one that is customer-centric. This requires that you walk a mile in your customers’ shoes before you ever sit down to do keyword research. Your goal should be to uncover the questions they’re asking, learn the language they’re using, and use that information to guide what content you create. How do they describe their problems? What words are they using to find or recommend your services? How does that differ from the messages you’re putting out into the world?
- Structured content and content length. Provide enough content so that the search engine will crawl it and gain enough insight as to what the text is saying and what queries would benefit from reading it. Frequent quality content that pertains to your business goals is key.
- Image tags. Written text isn’t the only thing that needs to be optimized. Describe your image to users who have images disabled or who use a screen reader. Many search engines also rely on alt text and image titles for providing relevant results, and, for that reason, it’s important to include your primary keyword (or closely related keywords) in each.
Off-Page SEO Factors
Inbound links. Link building from respected domains is a strong signal that your content has a good reputation. Credible third-parties (ie. those that receive many visits or those that rank well organically) can “vouch” for the quality of your content and vote with a backlink.
Conclusion
With the rising popularity of paid search and other pay-per-click (PPC) channels, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of strategically building your SEO according to your business goals. Today’s successful companies understand that a truly diverse digital marketing mix is necessary for short and long-term success.
In general, the more diverse your marketing channels are (where your traffic comes from) the more stable your business will be, especially as different platforms change their policies and popularity. Organic and paid search are changing—rapidly, and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to win “free” traffic. Leveraging insights from one channel to the next is key as paid and organic channels can work together to drive qualified traffic to your website.
