IT is an industry that, at the moment, seems more resilient to global market turmoil. Indeed, in the age of the pandemic and a world threatened by an impending crisis, it seems that the broadly defined IT market is still branching out and greening up.
The demand for IT services and the relatively easy entry point into a semi-professional position (e.g., creating simple websites) generate intense competition. The software house sector seems to be particularly popular, with companies building websites and other solutions essential for running an online business, such as B2B and B2C applications, integrations, and modules for popular warehousing platforms, as well as those related to customer relationship management, sitting like sparrows on the roof. Intense competition requires investing more resources – both financial and time – to stand out and reach new potential customers more effectively than industry competitors.
SEO for Software House starting point for online business
Brand recognition and presence—regardless of the industry—are built using a comprehensive set of tools. Depending on our potential client, the dominant channel will be social media (Facebook, Instagram, and for younger audiences, TikTok) or search engines. In the following article, we'll focus on expanding your visibility in Google and SEO for software houses.
For a Software House, a website is not only a company's calling card, but for many potential clients, it's the first project in the company's portfolio. If the website is unrepresentative, unreliable, and not adapted to modern standards, using the old Polish adage "a shoemaker walks without shoes" as an excuse could result in losing the job. It's not just about the website's appearance, but also how the website behaves in browsers, how web crawlers perceive it, and, above all, whether it can be found in search engines.
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Does page position matter?
Why is presence in the SERPs so important? Just look at the statistics – over 93% of online experiences begin with a search engine . Unfortunately, simply appearing in search results for a keyword related to your industry isn't everything – the position your website occupies is also important. As the article mentioned above states, 95% of users choose to click on one of the first results, and the further away from the top position, the less likely they are to click.
Achieving a high ranking requires adapting not only to web design trends, but also adapting your website to the rules of the game imposed by Google, which are intended to make using the Internet easier for end users – men and women of Kowalski, who cannot always boast the fastest internet connection on the market.
A good position requires appropriate actions – technical optimization in line with Google guidelines and keyword optimization. This is where SEO comes into play – the foundation for building search engine rankings.
Step by step – define the goal of the SEO activities undertaken
Defining a measurable goal for your marketing efforts significantly simplifies their analysis. This allows you to determine whether the goal was met, which activities and solutions worked, and, in the case of less than expected results, pinpoint what didn't work as expected or what work needs to be deepened. While goals will vary from organization to organization, some of the goals a Software House brand can achieve with SEO include:
- Generating more website traffic – an increased number of search engine visits usually translates directly into more people interested in the offer and using the services offered.
- Building a brand and expert position – Internet users usually have a better opinion of companies that appear higher in search results, especially if they find answers to their questions on their websites.
- Gaining interest from a specific audience.
Defining your goal will facilitate the selection of resources that will help you achieve it. Defining your goal is especially useful when creating a basic list of keywords to consider in the SEO process. Establishing a more or less defined "finish line" for SEO activities will also allow you to select appropriate solutions. This is also important considering the budget the SEO specialist will have available during the collaboration. More on this in the following steps.
Step by step – keywords for software house
Once you have a goal in mind, you can initially determine the group of phrases you should focus on during your SEO activities.
Most people who choose SEO services would like to see their website rank in the top three for "short-tail" keywords, meaning one- or two-word phrases. These short phrases typically generate the most searches, making them highly competitive. However, in many industries, despite high search volume, these keywords don't convert well. Short keywords are usually too general and ambiguous to fit the user's search intent. An example for the IT industry:
When generating results for the query “website”, Google matches the answers related to the phrase, but each one is from a “different story” and may meet the user’s needs in a different way:
- 1st item – Wikipedia, definition;
- 2nd position – creator;
- 3rd position – website price;
- 4th position – creator;
- 5th item – guide on how to put it on;
- 6th position – definition;
- 7th position – creator;
- 8th position – creating websites;
- 9th position – creating websites;
- 10th position – creating websites;
By adapting to the specific needs of the user searching for information and addressing these needs in the page title and description, we increase the chances of reaching the top 5 results and attracting clicks. For this purpose, we use so-called "long-tail" keywords – phrases consisting of several words and relating to more specific topics. These phrases typically don't boast a huge search volume, but unlike short-tail phrases, they typically convert much better.
By entering a more specific query into the search engine, the customer can be immediately directed to the relevant section of our offer – in this case, information on the costs of building a WordPress-based website. The search results for this query also include guidance content, such as blog posts discussing pricing.
Long-Tail, or how to effectively reach those looking for it?
Queries from long-tail phrases are usually answered by product pages – with specific product specifications, or longer content – blog entries covering specific topics.
When choosing keywords for website positioning, it's worth focusing on what distinguishes your business from your competitors and leveraging this knowledge. When working with an SEO specialist, it's also worth referencing your experience and basing your keywords on questions asked by previous clients, such as prices for additional services, website troubleshooting, or installing additional solutions.
It's worth remembering that the actual number of keywords positioned throughout the entire process is much larger . These include phrases with a similar set of words but a different arrangement. The range of phrases can be changed during the contract period – expanding them to include words that will broaden the visibility of the new offer or removing words that don't satisfactorily meet the initial SEO goals.
Step by step website analysis
Defining the goals of your chosen marketing activities and selecting keywords is just the beginning of the journey toward achieving results in the form of website traffic and new customers. The next step is adapting your website to Google's search engine guidelines.
Google provides several documents that outline the elements to pay attention to . These include guidelines on how to make a website accessible to web crawlers. Google also places great emphasis on adapting a website to user needs – from site speed, through navigation, to intuitive operation. Among the elements important to the search engine are:
- blocking certain content in robots.txt;
- creating correct title and meta description;
- creating headings that follow the hierarchy;
- structured data markup;
- intuitive navigation;
- content;
- speed optimization
and others. At the beginning of the guide, Google calls these changes "minor modifications," but this isn't always true. Properly preparing the optimization, implementing it, and monitoring its effects is a task stretched over the entire period of SEO activities.
SEO – a mix of knowledge and experience
Implementing guidelines solely according to Google's manuals isn't always effective. The person implementing optimization must also consider current search engine trends and algorithm changes, which haven't yet been updated in the Google guide. Experience in this type of work also contributes to achieving high rankings and increased visibility. A developer whose primary task is to build a website and provide it with appropriate functionality will spend their time primarily on furthering their skills—searching for new CCS hacks or testing new libraries. A developer and an SEO specialist view a website from different perspectives. One's task is to deliver an aesthetically pleasing and functional website, while the other's is to adapt it to appear high in search results. Developing optimal solutions that satisfy both parties will undoubtedly allow you to increase your website's reach, thereby achieving one of your intended goals.
During the SEO process for software house websites, it is important to know the competition – the keywords mentioned above, the technical solutions they use, e.g. the schema tags they use, which enable the expansion of search results:
However, observing the industry isn't everything – it's also crucial to take care of your own website – primarily its speed and how it's perceived by web crawlers. By analyzing data collected by a range of tools, an SEO specialist will suggest solutions that will speed up your website without changing its functionality or appearance.
However, implementing optimization is only the beginning of the process of positioning your IT services. Monitoring, analyzing, and modifying implemented changes—keeping your finger on the pulse and aligned with your adopted strategy—is the best way to achieve and maintain high Google rankings in the IT industry.
Step by step – Blog and offsite activities
One of the goals of SEO can be to build a software house's image and position it as an expert. To achieve this, it's essential to include a blog within the domain. Regularly publishing expert content—written in specialized language but explaining the complexities of the IT world in a way that's accessible to potential customers—is also a good way to update the website and "invite" search engine crawlers. Posts can include descriptions of projects the company has tackled, creative problem-solving, reports from industry events, and how-to content addressing common website or application issues.
Readers eagerly share professional and engaging content – via social media or by linking to our site on their own websites. This also builds a natural link profile, which is valued by Google. Content with more high-quality links is ranked higher by search engine spiders and helps the site climb higher in rankings.
Building a valuable link profile also means ensuring the proper diversification of incoming links. This is another challenge worth outsourcing to SEO specialists. Obtaining the right links for your website from trusted and proven sources will allow you to take the next steps towards achieving your initial goal.
SEO – it's time to get online for good!
Developing a SEO strategy requires deep industry insight and understanding client expectations. It's worth basing your selection of tools to help you stand out from other software houses on the experience of search engine visibility specialists, which will allow you to achieve your desired results faster.
Planning to elevate your software house above the competition? Contact us – together we'll choose effective tactics and implement changes that will convince search engine spiders to rate your website highly. Fight for high rankings and effectively position your website with Verseo!
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- The importance of SEO for the development of IT businesses
- The technique of positioning long-tail phrases in SEO
