Launching an SEO campaign? These are the components you should be focusing on!
Search Engine Optimization is one of the best ways businesses can grow and market their businesses online. But what exactly goes into an SEO campaign? There are several key elements to SEO, each one playing an important role in ranking higher and attracting users.
Keyword Research
Keywords are the core of most SEO campaigns, as they’re typically the primary goal. SEO campaigns are usually tailored to increase rankings on targeted keywords. Ranking for the right keywords is the first step to driving traffic, converting sales, raising brand awareness, and attracting users. And all of this starts with keyword research.
A good SEO agency will do extensive keyword research both before starting a campaign and throughout it. Keyword research includes things such as current rankings, search intent, keyword variations, competitor ranking analysis, and more.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization is everything you see when you visit a website. This includes the content, keywords, title tags, alt-text, images, meta tags, and more. This component of SEO is all about tailoring your website so that it is appealing to users and search engines.
While each new page or item added to your website will need to be optimized, luckily, once it’s done you probably won’t have to mess with it too often once you find what works. It’s still important to have your SEO team monitor on-page optimization, though, and keep up with it as new things are added!
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page optimization refers to everything that impacts a page’s SEO that isn’t necessarily tied to the page itself. This is a bit harder to manage, as it’s not always within the company or SEO agency’s control.
This component includes things such as citations, links from other websites, social engagement, domain authority, trustworthiness, and more. It’s a lot harder to put off-page optimization into easy-to-understand metrics, but it’s a super important part of SEO.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is all the behind-the-scenes action where the nitty-gritty work is done. This component deals with source code, HTTP, hosting, indexing, crawling, page speed, and more. Essentially, technical SEO is everything that keeps your website running!
People often argue about what the most important part of SEO is, and everyone’s answers differ. Technical SEO is definitely at the top, though. Without good technical SEO, none of the rest really matters. You can have the best content in the world, but if your website runs as slow as dial-up or crashes, no one will be able to see it!
Links
Backlinking has been a vital part of SEO since the beginning. It can be argued that its importance has faded a bit, especially since shady backlinking practices are a common black hat SEO tactic.
Links are still important, though, and include both internal linking (linking to pages within your website) and external linking (linking your page to other websites). When it comes to links, focus on quality over quantity. It’s better to have five high-quality links than 20 low-quality ones. Google definitely looks at the quality of links as a ranking factor and will even penalize websites that have too many sketchy backlinks.
Content
When it comes to SEO, many believe that content is king. The reason why is because content is the crux to all the other SEO components. Content is where target keywords live and help acquire links. It’s what drives traffic and engages users. Content can come in many different forms. It’s usually thought of as blogs or text articles, but it can also be videos, pictures, and infographics.
Not all content is equal, though. Spammy content that is stuffed with keywords or is inaccurate and uninformative can actually end up hurting you. That’s why it’s important to invest in quality content that resonates with your audience, attracts new users, is accurate and will be a good home to keywords and backlinks. Good content will have a lasting impact that can benefit your SEO campaign for years.
Local SEO
Many people often forget about local SEO when launching an SEO campaign. Local SEO doesn’t make sense for every business, but most benefit from it. This is essentially optimizing your website, both on and off it, for local users. This is especially important for small businesses or brands that want to target specific geographical regions. For example, if you want to rank for “best X in Toronto” or “Y near me,” you’ll have to engage in some local SEO.
Local SEO includes things like managing a Google My Business profile, local directories, and map searches. Local businesses can also benefit from imputing geographical keywords in their content and on-page optimization.
Social Media
Social media is a relatively new component of SEO but is a vital part of digital marketing these days. For better or worse, having social media profiles is key to having an online presence now. It’s not quite clear if social media actually impacts rankings, but it will impact your SEO campaign overall by increasing brand awareness, building links, spreading content, and driving traffic.
There are a few key things to keep in mind when it comes to social media, though. Businesses should only focus on social media platforms that benefit their brand. For example, it doesn’t really make sense for an accounting firm to have an Instagram account since there isn’t much visual content in that industry. It’s also important that brands post quality content on a consistent basis. Many businesses make the mistake of making a bunch of social media accounts then rarely posting on them. This signals to users that your brand isn’t very active, which is a bad look!
Want to start an SEO campaign and increase your website’s rankings? Contact us today! We’re one of the top SEO agencies in the GTA, and we’d be happy to help your brand grow through digital marketing.
