SEO – Search Engine Optimization – is the process of adapting the content of a website to increase its visibility to users of search engines.
But like many other aspects of society, times of change also affect how people behave on the Web. How can you respond to find opportunities and take the right actions to meet your business objectives?
Why pay close attention to SEO?
SEO helps to identify the search terms that people use most often and to ensure that your website becomes as visible as possible in the online search results for those keywords. This is commonly referred to as referencing or ranking. Ultimately, you want to be in the top results of high-volume searches to drive as much traffic as possible to your content.
Web traffic is a similar concept to car traffic, although we would rather have a higher volume of Web traffic. It is measured by the number of visitors on the website, but also by the number of times those visitors come to the website. Traffic is then cross-analysed by looking at the length of time spent on the website and the “route” it takes to navigate between the different pages. We are looking, of course, for an optimal flow!
In the case of a website, the goal is to eventually convert this traffic into business leads and opportunities. Therefore, it is essential to know your audience and the content they are interested in, because you want to make sure to direct your traffic to the appropriate content.
Adapting SEO in times of change
Optimizing a website is a constantly evolving task. What was effective a few months ago may not be effective now. Search engine algorithms, which analyze the relevance of your website as it pertains to searches, are regularly renewed, and new platforms are constantly changing the game.
For example, social media allows information to be relayed quickly and is often a source of considerable traffic to websites. It is now as necessary to optimize one’s website for better sharing on social platforms as it is for search engines. This reality was much less obvious a few years ago.
That being said, a period of drastic changes, such as what we have experienced during the height of the 2020 pandemic, affects people’s habits. The great majority of us have changed the way we shop and entertain ourselves. It has transformed our daily routines, our priorities and concerns.
A lot of businesses have changed their managing and working processes, and some have even changed their business model entirely.
Needless to say, their internet activity also had to change, and the search terms they used before had to be altered significantly.
If you use your website to communicate with consumers or other businesses, it is important to be aware of these new trends, and to align your goals to them. This will enable you to communicate your messages on the Web effectively and optimize your presence for your target audience.
Revisit your SEO through keywords in 4 basic steps
Improving the referencing of a website can be done through the technical aspect of the site (programming and performance) and its popularity (incoming traffic and mentions – backlinking). However, the content of a site (texts and media) is another pillar of SEO and the one on which it is often the easiest to have an impact.
Rethinking the content of a website to optimize it for search engines that use keywords is a fairly simple task when you have the right tools, but it requires good judgment and a fair knowledge of the habits of your audience. Here are the basic steps to follow to improve your SEO.
It starts with how well you know your offering and your target audience. There are different SEO tools available to help you find related keywords that can bring you a good volume of traffic.
By finding the most relevant keywords and those with a high search volume, you contribute to increased organic (unpaid) traffic to your website. It is important to identify stable keywords, but also those that fluctuate periodically.
In times of change, a keen eye in SEO can help you identify periodic trends or those that seem to be here to stay.
While keeping in mind that your website must be attractive and easy to navigate, you can integrate your keywords into your website’s content. Some pages will be more optimal for certain keywords than others.
Among the areas that have the most impact on search engines are links, URLs, titles and subtitles, and page and media metadata.
It is important to check regularly the performance of your website according to the chosen keywords, in order to adapt your content and optimize your efforts. As mentioned earlier, optimizing a website is a recurring and constantly evolving task!
Optimize your site
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