If you’re not familiar with search engine optimization (SEO), it’s a complicated beast to understand, let alone implement into your business’s digital marketing strategy. Especially as Google’s ranking algorithm is constantly changing and the weight of certain factors is always in flux, this ever-changing element to digital marketing comes with its fair share of questions. Not to mention, it doesn’t make it easier to learn about SEO with hundreds of untrustworthy articles on this very topic littering the internet. Our experts sat down to answer your most important SEO-related questions. Read below to learn about the 10 most frequently asked questions about SEO and to discover truthful, reliable answers to each.
What is SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is the process of improving a website to increase visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant search queries. The more skilled your SEO implementation is, the better your website ranks, the more visibility your brand earns, and the more organic traffic you get to your website.
What are the different types of SEO?
SEO can be broken down into three different categories–on-page SEO, technical SEO, and off-page SEO. On-page SEO refers to the content that exists on your website and helps search engines understand what your website pages are about through extensive keyword research, content strategies optimized with the most relevant keywords for each page’s topic, and appropriate meta-descriptions.
Technical SEO refers to the non-content elements of your website and optimizes the backend of your website structure. Specifically, technical SEO improves your website’s readability and user experience through fast site speeds, indexing, crawlability, mobile responsiveness, and easy user navigation.
Off-page SEO improves your website’s relationship with and the impact it has on other similar websites across the internet. A high-quality backlinking plan elevates your off-page SEO efforts by linking your website to other reliable sources, which tells Google that your website is a trustworthy, authoritative, and credible source of information in your industry. The best SEO strategies incorporate each type of SEO for the most effective impact on your website’s visibility.
How does SEO work?
SEO is an extensive process that incorporates many different moving parts. Working with an experienced digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO, like Bearpaw Partners, is a powerful way to ensure your SEO strategy works the way it’s supposed to. All successful SEO strategies start with in-depth keyword research and the implementation of relevant, high-quality keywords throughout every page on the website with a thorough content marketing plan. With optimized on-page content, a business can then reorganize the site structure to improve the site’s technical SEO and implement an extensive linking strategy to enhance off-page SEO as well.
What are the most important ranking factors?
Today’s search engines prioritize certain SEO factors more than others, and every good SEO strategy should consider which aspects of SEO carry the most weight. Specifically, Google has 200 publicly known ranking factors, but aspects like optimized content, mobile-friendliness, search intent, and linking strategy have the most impact in determining a website’s rank on SERPs for relevant keywords.
How long does it take to see results from my SEO efforts?
In order to ensure your SEO strategy is successful, your brand must be willing to play the long game. Generally speaking, a company should start seeing tangible results after four to six months of skilled SEO implementation. However, the true timeline depends on how much SEO effort your brand has invested in your website. Additionally, earning a number one spot for a high-value keyword takes much longer depending on your brand’s current visibility and credibility.
How can I make SEO-friendly content?
Writing content with SEO in mind means that each piece of content your brand produces for your website is written around specific keywords that align with your overall keyword strategy. The best content is written with the goal of ranking for a certain search query and includes several on-page SEO factors without sacrificing the overall meaning and purpose of the page.
What is search intent?
Search intent is what the user has in mind when beginning a search query. This factor affects the success of your brand’s SEO strategy because it determines how well your webpage achieves a searcher’s goal. Each piece of content should be optimized with search intent in mind to ensure that your website delivers the information your target audiences are searching for and enhances the credibility and reputation of your brand.
What does E-A-T mean and what is its significance to SEO?
E-A-T is a popular acronym when referring to SEO and stands for “Expertise, Authority, and Trust,” which is the criteria used by Google’s quality raters who manually review and evaluate websites. While E-A-T is not a direct ranking factor, it contributes to the overall quality of your website and how credible Google views your business in your industry.
What is crawling and indexing and how does it affect SEO?
Before your website is recognized by Google and can appear on SERPs, it must be crawled and indexed. When Google crawls your website it explores all the web pages inside it and its contents. After your website is crawled, Google indexes your web pages to add them to Google search.
What is a site map and how does it affect SEO?
A site map is a file that provides information about the pages, videos, and other content on your brand’s website through a list of URLs. When you submit your business’s site map to Google Search Console, the search engine will prioritize these URLs in the crawling and indexing stage of your site. Additionally, a site map provides specific information, like when the page was last updated, how often the page is updated, and alternate language versions of the web page.
Looking to boost your brand’s SEO value in 2021? Bearpaw Partners is a top digital marketing agency located in Atlanta, GA. We specialize in SEO, content marketing, video production, web development, and more. Bearpaw Partners works closely with your brand to construct and execute exceptional digital marketing campaigns that make it easy for your customers to find you. Let’s work together. Contact us today or see our listing as one of the top Atlanta digital marketing companies.
