Facts and tips for better SEO

Leading digital agency Quba recently conducted a survey of businesses' experiences with search engine optimisation (SEO). The results are illuminating.

Fact

83 per cent of businesses surveyed were currently engaged in SEO activities. Five per cent had carried out SEO but had stopped, and 12 per cent had never done any.

Tip

You need to be optimising your website(s) for search engines. If you're not carrying out any SEO at the moment then you risk your competitors getting ahead of you. Your website could be your best sales person, you just need to get the right visitors to it.

Fact

Businesses using an external agency for their SEO gave them an average satisfaction rating of 4/5, compared to 3/5 for those resourcing SEO internally.

Tip

Work with experts. Regardless of whether you have an internal SEO expert or not, working with a digital agency will improve results. Choose an agency with a demonstrable track record of satisfied clients.

Fact

51 per cent of businesses polled were either satisfied or very satisfied with the results. The majority of satisfied businesses had set goals for what they wanted to gain from SEO.

Tip

Set specific, measurable and time-based performance benchmarks for your optimisation. Be realistic about them, as SEO can take time to generate results.

Fact

Businesses that had set 'increased sales' as a goal rated their SEO satisfaction level as 5/5. 'Additional traffic' scored 4/5 and 'keyword positions' 3/5.

Tip

Focus on what matters. When setting goals it's easy to get distracted by keyword positions. Keyword position is important, but it's not the final outcome. Focus on numbers of visitors, sales and leads generated.

Fact

71 per cent viewed SEO as an ongoing requirement. Of those, 52 per cent were carrying out the work themselves, while 48 per cent relied on agencies.

Tip

SEO is a journey, not a destination. There are no shortcuts. Success requires clear focus, expertise and hard work. The process needs to be ongoing to allow for changes in your business and markets, as well as to the search engines themselves.

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