SEO marketing is one of the most popular advertising activities undertaken by companies running websites and seeking opportunities to acquire more customers online. SEO attracts interest from both experienced marketers and business owners who are intimately familiar with the online marketing market, as well as those just taking their first steps in this world. It's worth noting from the outset that although it's one of the most popular channels, it won't always work for everyone, nor will it be the first online marketing channel. When and for whom will SEO marketing be profitable? What results can you expect? Learn more in the following article!
- SEO Marketing is a process whose goal is to constantly increase the position of a website in search engines.
- This is a good solution for both service and corporate websites. online storesHowever, the SEO strategy in each of these cases will differ.
- SEO Marketing is the cheapest long-term method of acquiring customers on the Internet.
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SEO Marketing – what is it?
SEO Marketing is the process of undertaking planned activities that will help a website be found more effectively in search engines, meaning it will achieve better rankings for specific keywords. As a result of SEO activities, websites become more visible to web crawlers.
The term SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. The most common term for these activities is website positioning or website optimization.
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We divide SEO optimization into two basic areas
- technical – we can mention here, among others, code optimization, website speed, bug fixes, etc.,
- content – here we highlight, for example, expanding text content, optimizing headings, etc.
Website positioning should be an ethical and fair process, both for competitors and website users, and therefore consistent with Google's webmaster guidelines. For example, acquiring artificial links and automated linking are inappropriate, as they unnaturally inflate a website's search engine rankings. SEO, however, should include link building activities aimed at acquiring links from other websites. Thanks to these links, the promoted website is more likely to be visited by search engine crawlers and ranked higher than those of competitors.
SEO Marketing, therefore, is a combination of optimization activities and link building. Both activities should be conducted coherently. When designing a strategy for SEO Marketing services, it's always important to consider user benefits and needs, business goals, and the operation of algorithms and additional guidelines.
SEO Marketing – what does it consist of?
SEO marketing assumes a comprehensive approach to website visibility in search results. SEO and link building are part of a broad spectrum of activities. Beyond these, optimization also includes monitoring and eliminating potential threats to SEO results, as well as identifying and implementing beneficial solutions.
More than half of the work required to achieve the success of most SEO-friendly websites is spent analyzing, preparing, and implementing optimization changes. Link building complements thoughtful optimization.
Example of work breakdown within the SEO service at VerseoOn-site activities – these are all the activities we carry out within our website, i.e. technical optimization of the website, content enrichment, internal linking.
Off-site activities include linking to the website from external websites (backends, blogs, internet forums, sponsored articles, domain takeovers).
SEO Marketing – for whom?
Both local and regional businesses advertising their services via their websites and online store owners can benefit from SEO marketing. SEO marketing allows them to gain a competitive advantage by appearing higher in search results. Furthermore, it also allows them to gain customer trust and enhance the effectiveness of other marketing activities, such as Google Ads campaigns , social media advertising, and offline marketing. How can specific types of businesses benefit from SEO marketing?
- Service companies, running their local businesses. Such companies mainly care about positioning for local phrasesto attract new customers from their regions, for example, those searching for "hairdresser Skórzewo," "plumber Swarzędz," or "tailor Murowana Goślina." For these companies, it will be particularly important to obtain traffic from searches in the regions where they operate.
- Internet shops, which expect long-term results and aim to achieve high search results for both branded and non-branded keywords, as well as long-tail keywords. These companies cover much larger territories, often operating nationwide. Local keyword optimization doesn't work here. Keywords are often more specific, unique, and more complex.
How to measure effects in SEO marketing?
The effectiveness of SEO marketing activities depends on the market environment and changing Google algorithms. Therefore, it's crucial that SEO work is a long-term process that is continuously monitored. Its effectiveness is also influenced by constant factors, independent of market conditions and algorithm changes.
The constant factors influencing the effectiveness of SEO Marketing include:
- activities related to the posted content (texts on the website, guides, articles),
- implementing new pages, subpages or products,
- reconstruction or relocation of the website,
- supporting and complementary advertising activities.
When developing an SEO strategy , it's also worth planning a method for evaluating work results and analyzing periodic monitoring reports, which can be used to objectively assess the implemented and monitored activities. The effectiveness of SEO work is guaranteed by continuous optimization processes and consistent streamlining of all necessary areas related to website operation.
The effectiveness of SEO Marketing will be determined by, among others, previously established KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). The most commonly used KPIs in SEO include:
- Increase in website traffic in a given period by a predetermined number of unique users,
- Increase in the number of brand phrases in TOP100, TOP50, TOP10 and TOP3,
- Increase in the number of non-branded phrases in TOP100, TOP50, TOP10 and TOP3,
- Ultimately, an increase in conversions (sales of specific products, inquiries, submitted contact forms, material downloads, etc.) from organic traffic.
How long do you have to wait for the effects?
There's no definitive answer to the question of when we'll see the first results of SEO efforts . Most experts say it depends on many factors, including those described above. However, we can assume that websites or online stores that have never used any SEO techniques or undertaken any optimization before should see growth within the first six months. Often, implementing the initial recommendations from an SEO specialist is enough to see a positive impact on the website's user experience, and consequently, on web crawlers.
Beginning SEO collaboration involves relatively high upfront costs and no immediate return on investment. However, over the next few months, rankings for targeted keywords increase, translating into increased website traffic. As a result, the number of customers acquired through SEO is steadily increasing.
For established websites that have already been positioned and optimized, we can achieve significant initial growth based on a long-term strategy. Take, for example, the website of one of our clients, whose SEO Marketing efforts resulted in a 394% increase in traffic over three years. Importantly, when assessing the effectiveness of SEO efforts, we should also consider whether these increases are relatively consistent, and whether revenue and other KPIs are also increasing.
What does cooperation with an agency in the field of SEO Marketing activities look like?
When deciding to entrust SEO Marketing activities to an agency, it's important to understand the need to implement all proposals and changes signaled during the SEO process. A SEO specialist's knowledge is backed by extensive experience, and their priority is to recommend changes to the client that will deliver measurable, i.e., the best possible results. Collaboration between two entities, whose shared interest is the best possible website optimization, is only effective when the SEO specialist can count on the client's trust in their efforts to streamline the website.
What if the proposed changes cannot be implemented?
If implementing changes proves difficult due to, for example, limitations arising from the website's engine's insufficient functionality, it may be recommended to change the software responsible for website operation. Each case is considered individually, and major changes requiring website preparation and planning for SEO and optimization activities are always agreed upon with the client.
During SEO collaboration , changes to the website are continually being implemented, errors are being eliminated, and less important elements are being optimized. It's worth noting, once again 😊, that website optimization is an ongoing process. After implementing changes, the actions are analyzed to determine how they impacted the website's visibility in search results. Based on the conclusions drawn, subsequent optimization steps are implemented.
The latest trends in SEO Marketing
Website positioning itself has been a well-known term for many years, and numerous companies have invested in its activities. However, it's impossible to discern certain trends that have, to a greater or lesser extent, influenced the environment and practice of SEO specialists.
User Experience
In recent years, we've been talking more and more about users, including their on-site experience (UX) and the crucial role it plays in website positioning and optimization. Why is this so important? Why does SEO marketing need to consider UX?
the role of UX on the website A website is now a powerful online advertising tool. It's tempting to say, "If your business doesn't have a website, it doesn't exist." A website serves as a company's online presence, presenting your offerings and portfolio, and enabling direct contact with your company. Website designs are becoming increasingly sophisticated, allowing for high-quality images, fast payment methods, and the presentation of thousands of products. For these features to truly serve users and drive better business results, they should be tailored to the needs of potential customers.
SEO marketing must also take these guidelines into account. Therefore, when determining an SEO strategy for a given business, it's also worth considering the following aspects:
- visual – related to the ease of reading messages by the user, the simplicity of navigation on the website and its readability,
- user-friendly – including the speed of loading the page and its adaptation to various devices (mobile, tablet, desktop), have a simple purchase and payment process,
- business – the primary goal is to sell/acquire more customers. Therefore, pages should include a clear CTA (call-to-action), contact options, a customer service chat window, etc.
User Intent
Increasingly, attention is being paid to tailoring website positioning efforts to user intent. Google is increasingly understanding what users mean when they enter a given phrase and what search results they expect. If it's possible to provide a simple solution in the top 3 or top 10, the page will appear there. It doesn't matter how richly we load our content with keywords. The algorithm will prioritize whether the content is truly valuable to the user and whether they found an answer to their query after entering our site.
FAQs about SEO Marketing
This process aims to consistently grow and maintain a website's high ranking in organic (unpaid) search engine results. In the long run, it's one of the cheapest and most effective methods of acquiring new customers online.
Effective positioning is based on two fundamental pillars:
- Technical: This includes optimizing your code, improving your site's loading speed, making it mobile-friendly, and fixing technical errors that make it difficult for Google's crawlers to read your page.
- Content: It involves developing text content (e.g. by running a blog), thoughtfully filling texts with keywords and appropriately optimizing headlines and descriptions.
It's a coherent combination of the optimization activities discussed above (on the page itself) with the process of acquiring links from other websites (link building). Furthermore, the entire strategy must take into account Google's current algorithms, the company's business goals, and, most importantly, the intentions and needs of users themselves.
SEO Marketing is an excellent investment for:
- Online stores (e-commerce): Expecting long-term sales results and wanting visibility for both general categories and precise long-tail product phrases.
- Service companies and local businesses: Looking for a consistent, predictable source of new customers in their city or region.
Measuring results primarily involves tracking increasing website visibility and increased organic traffic. These effects are a direct result of, among other things, the publication of new, expert guides and articles, proper website redesign or relocation, and the implementation of new, optimized service and product tabs.
Summary
The above article covers the following topics:
- SEO Marketing is a website optimization process that includes technical, content, and link building activities, divided into on-site and off-site, effective for local businesses and online stores.
- Effectiveness is measured by KPIs such as traffic growth and phrase positioning; the first results are visible after approximately 6 months, and long-term success requires continuous optimization, taking into account user experience and search intent.
