Frequently asked questions

What is SEO and why is it important?

 

Search engine optimisation or SEO is a catch all term for the process of improving a
website's’ search engine results page (SERP) for a given keyword phrase or
collection of phrases.
 
To make things interesting for business owners and website consultants alike the
process by which this is successfully completed changes frequently. This change
occurs as the main search engines alter their “algorithms”.
 
The algorithms are are a collection of factors which determine your website’s
placement in the SERPs. The actual factors are a closely guarded secret, a bit like
a chef’s secret recipe, however clues are abound and over the years certain methods
have been tried and tested and stood the test of time….and algorithm updates!
 
Why would search engines change their secret recipe? Mainly to stop overzealous
website owners and SEO consultants taking advantage of perceived weaknesses in the
algorithms and in essence “cheat” their way to the top.
 
So what are these SEO Signals <http://www.superbdigital.co.uk/5-seo-signals/> and
how can they be optimised? Generally speaking they can be divided into 5 categories.
Content
Technology
Backlinks
Social Signals
User Signals
 
Before one can start influencing these signals one needs to to know what you’ll be
influencing them for as this will vary from website to website, business to
business.
 
The first place to start would be with understanding what keywords and phrases you
want to rank for. These will be the words that your target audience would use to
discover the kinds of products or services that you offer.
 
These words and phrases can then be cross referenced against their perceived
competitiveness and projected search volumes.
 
The competitiveness usually determines the amount of effort required to “rank” for a
term, whilst the projected search volumes will help you determine the kind of return
you are likely to receive. There are a number of other factors that go into
determining your return on investment (ROI) such as click through rate (CTR), client
lifetime value and conversion rate to name but a few.
 
Once you have your keywords it’s then a case of creating quality content that your
audience wants to read and link to, hence creating backlinks to your website. These
backlinks are seen as a recommendation of your website, the more you get the more of
an authority you become and the higher up the SERPs you will climb.
 
When it comes to backlinks quality is definitely preferable over sheer quantity.
 
Technology is influenced by ensuring the coding of your website meets current
standards, that is loads quickly and more recently that it is optimised for mobile
users.
 
Social and User Signals are more recent developments and they are focussed on
understanding your influence within your target audience and actual user feedback
from interactions with your listing and website, such as click through rate, bounce
rate and time spent on site.
 
If you get the mix right, SEO can be a powerful force that can propel your business
growth. It’s not a case of a one time optimisation as you need to be regularly
analysing your website and digital footprint spotting opportunities for improvement.
Even with the goal posts changing, focussing on the 5 key signals will ensure you
long term success.
 
Superb Digital are an SEO company in Bristol . You
can read the full article “The  5 SEO signals that drive your website’s success
” from their blog.Search engine optimisation or SEO is a catch all term for the process of improving a
website's’ search engine results page (SERP) for a given keyword phrase or
collection of phrases.
 
To make things interesting for business owners and website consultants alike the
process by which this is successfully completed changes frequently. This change
occurs as the main search engines alter their “algorithms”.
 
The algorithms are are a collection of factors which determine your website’s
placement in the SERPs. The actual factors are a closely guarded secret, a bit like
a chef’s secret recipe, however clues are abound and over the years certain methods
have been tried and tested and stood the test of time….and algorithm updates!
 
Why would search engines change their secret recipe? Mainly to stop overzealous
website owners and SEO consultants taking advantage of perceived weaknesses in the
algorithms and in essence “cheat” their way to the top.
 
So what are these SEO Signals <http://www.superbdigital.co.uk/5-seo-signals/> and
how can they be optimised? Generally speaking they can be divided into 5 categories.
Content
Technology
Backlinks
Social Signals
User Signals
 
Before one can start influencing these signals one needs to to know what you’ll be
influencing them for as this will vary from website to website, business to
business.
 
The first place to start would be with understanding what keywords and phrases you
want to rank for. These will be the words that your target audience would use to
discover the kinds of products or services that you offer.
 
These words and phrases can then be cross referenced against their perceived
competitiveness and projected search volumes.
 
The competitiveness usually determines the amount of effort required to “rank” for a
term, whilst the projected search volumes will help you determine the kind of return
you are likely to receive. There are a number of other factors that go into
determining your return on investment (ROI) such as click through rate (CTR), client
lifetime value and conversion rate to name but a few.
 
Once you have your keywords it’s then a case of creating quality content that your
audience wants to read and link to, hence creating backlinks to your website. These
backlinks are seen as a recommendation of your website, the more you get the more of
an authority you become and the higher up the SERPs you will climb.
 
When it comes to backlinks quality is definitely preferable over sheer quantity.
 
Technology is influenced by ensuring the coding of your website meets current
standards, that is loads quickly and more recently that it is optimised for mobile
users.
 
Social and User Signals are more recent developments and they are focussed on
understanding your influence within your target audience and actual user feedback
from interactions with your listing and website, such as click through rate, bounce
rate and time spent on site.
 
If you get the mix right, SEO can be a powerful force that can propel your business
growth. It’s not a case of a one time optimisation as you need to be regularly
analysing your website and digital footprint spotting opportunities for improvement.
Even with the goal posts changing, focussing on the 5 key signals will ensure you
long term success.
 
Superb Digital are an SEO company in Bristol <http://www.superbdigital.co.uk/>. You
can read the full article “The  5 SEO signals that drive your website’s success

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