Here, I have accumulated answers to some frequently asked questions about SEO (Search engine optimization). I have been in this industry for the past decade, and over the years, I have found people asking me these questions when I explain to them about SEO services.
Finally, I found time to list all these questions in one place for you to find answers.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, means optimizing a website to improve its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) and drive organic (non-paid) traffic.
SEO involves various strategies and techniques for enhancing a website’s relevance, authority, and user experience to rank higher in search results.
For instance, consider a local bakery looking to attract more customers through online channels.
By implementing SEO strategies such as optimizing their website for relevant keywords like the best bakery in New York and improving their loading speed and mobile responsiveness, the bakery can increase its visibility on search engines like Google.
As a result, when someone in the area searches for local bakeries or the best bakery in New York, the bakery’s website is more likely to appear at the top of the search results, driving organic traffic and potential customers to their site.
Did you know?
According to a study by BrightEdge, organic search drives 53% of all website traffic, making SEO a crucial component of any digital marketing strategy.
Not every client is unaware of SEO, but most people often confuse SEO with Digital Marketing.
Coming straight to the point – SEO (Search engine optimization) is a part of digital marketing that is directly related to search engines.
SEO is the process that involves the improvement of the website’s traffic quality by ranking your website on top in the SERPs.
SERPs stands for search engine result pages. These are the results accumulated and displayed by search engines like Google.
According to a study by Chitika, the first organic search result on Google receives 32.5% of all search traffic, highlighting the importance of ranking at the top of search results.
Search engines use complex algorithms to determine the relevance and authority of web pages for specific search queries.
Hundreds of factors including, keywords, backlinks, website structure, and user experience, come together to deliver the most relevant results to users.
For instance:
When someone searches for “best Italian restaurants in Chicago,” search engines like Google analyze various factors to determine which websites should appear at the top of the search results.
They consider factors such as the presence of relevant keywords in the website’s content, the number and quality of backlinks pointing to the site, and the overall user experience provided by the website.
Did you know?
Google’s search algorithm uses over 200 factors to rank websites, making it essential for businesses to understand and optimize for a wide range of criteria.
Keywords are words or phrases that the users type into search engines to find information. They are essential in SEO because they help search engines understand the topic and relevance of a webpage.
By incorporating relevant keywords into website content, meta tags, and other on-page elements, businesses can increase their chances of ranking for those terms and attracting organic traffic.
Suppose you run a pet grooming business specializing in cats. Relevant keywords for your website might include phrases like “cat grooming services,” “professional cat groomers,” or “cat grooming tips.”
By strategically incorporating these keywords into your website’s content and meta tags, you can improve your chances of ranking higher in search results when someone searches for those terms.
According to a study by Ahrefs, long-tail keywords (keywords consisting of three or more words) account for 70% of all web searches, highlighting the importance of targeting specific, niche keywords in SEO strategies.
On-page SEO refers to optimization efforts made directly on the website, such as optimizing content, meta tags, and internal linking.
Off-page SEO, on the other hand, involves activities performed outside the website, such as link building and social media marketing. Both aspects are crucial for improving a website’s visibility and authority in search engine rankings.
For instance:
For on-page SEO, you might optimize your website’s content by incorporating relevant keywords, optimizing meta tags, and ensuring a user-friendly website structure.
Off-page SEO strategy includes:
Building high-quality backlinks from reputable websites
Engaging with your audience on social media
Participating in online communities relevant to your industry.
Did You Know?
According to Moz, off-page factors, particularly the quality and quantity of backlinks, account for more than 50% of the ranking factors considered by search engines.
Backlinks are links from external websites that point to your site. They are crucial for SEO because they serve as a vote of confidence from other sites, indicating the authority and relevance of your content. High-quality backlinks can improve your website’s ranking in search results and drive more organic traffic.
According to a study by Backlinko, websites with a high number of backlinks tend to rank higher in search results. Pages in the top three search results have an average of 3.8 times more backlinks than pages in positions 4-10.
According to Statista, mobile devices accounted for over 50% of global website traffic in 2021, underscoring the importance of mobile optimization for reaching a wider audience and improving SEO performance.
Mobile optimization involves designing and optimizing a website to ensure it performs well on mobile devices.
With the majority of internet users now accessing the web via mobile devices, mobile optimization is essential for providing a positive user experience and improving SEO rankings.
Mobile-friendly websites also benefit from Google’s mobile-first indexing, which prioritizes the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing.
Trust me, this is a popular question that I have come across over the years as a freelance digital marketer. SEO cost often varies depending on the scale you want to raise your business.
To explain it honestly, I would say that several SEO companies out in the market will charge you pennies for their services.
The catch, however, is that they tend to include only black hat tactics, which will deliver results only for a short span causing more harm to your website than benefits in the long run.
A good Search engine optimization professional like me would offer you a long-term result by providing white-hat SEO services that will cost you between $500 to $5000, depending on the type and scope of business.
The estimated time of getting any visible results is approximately 3-4 months.
However, there, is no particular time frame set to get the results because it completely depends on the keywords you are targeting. If you are targeting a set of keywords that have high competition, it would take much more time than others.
Whenever a client visits me with any SEO requirement, I first analyze their business, get a glance at the keywords they are willing to rank for, and then give them a tentative time frame for getting visible results.
According to most SEO professionals, targeting 3 to 4 keywords per page is a great way to start.
Remember, it is wise to target high-volume, low-competition keywords to get better results.
But, this does not mean leaving high-volume and high-competition keywords. Be smart about it and create a balanced set of keywords to target per page.
Yes, definitely. One must always target long-tail keywords commonly known as phrases.
Targeting long-tail keywords increases the chances of diverting good organic traffic on a website.
These are a few SEO FAQs that I thought were important to share with you.
I will keep adding questions to this list. Stay tuned for more…
Since I have been working on several SEO projects, especially the on-page part of it as a part of my content strategy service, I can assure you that SEO is the holy grail of getting organic traffic and business online.
Do you wish to know more or have any more questions that you would like me to answer, please feel free to reach me at vaishali@seogirl.in
