SEO Handbook
SEO Introduction
SEO (search engine optimisation) is the process of optimising a website, or a specific page/product to rank on search engines for specific keywords. The goal is to optimise the site as well as possible to bring traffic to the website from ranking as high as possible for keywords and phrases that potential customers would be searching for.
Keywords/Keyphrases
Keywords or key phrases are essentially what you want that specific site to rank for when people are searching for what they are looking for on search engines e.g. Digital Agency Cardiff, CGI Companies Cardiff etc.
To find out what Keywords we should be using, we can conduct keyword research. There are a couple of keyword research tools that can be used for this and often you can get a good idea by asking the client who their competitors are, or what they think they’re customers would be searching for.
Generally, we would put together a hierarchy of search terms for the keywords chosen. Broad terms at the top, with more specific terms underneath. E.g. ‘Marketing Agency’ would be a nationwide broad keyword, ‘Marketing Agency Cardiff’ would be a broad local search term. Then underneath these, we would target more specific keywords like ‘social media marketing agency cardiff’ and so on.
Some keywords are more difficult to rank for than others because for broader terms there are naturally more businesses competing for the same keywords. The more competitive the keyword, the more difficult it takes to rank.
Types of SEO
SEO services are generally split into three main types, however for a site to really start ranking for competitive ‘keywords’ then it is absolutely necessary to work on all three aspects. Some of these types have some crossovers, so essentially they all need to form part of the overall strategy.
Domain Authority
You’ll probably hear the term Domain Authority used a fair amount when researching or discussing SEO. Domain Authority, often called DA, is essentially the score a domain has been given by search engines about a certain topic.
All of the factors above play a part in this and also includes things like number and quality of links, social links, site longevity and domain name.
Optimisation & Analytics
SEO as with any other digital marketing activity is about constant ongoing optimisation. This means constantly updating content, tracking keywords and trends to make sure the site and it’s content is optimised accordingly.
You can use SEO tools such as SEMRush, Google Analytics, Search Console to track trends and performance and then site SEO tools such as Yoast or RankMath to analyse your site content.
Monitoring, analysing and optimising is a key part of SEO and should form part of the monthly packages.
Monthly Packages
Monthly packages are the best option for the client as SEO is an ongoing and lengthy process. It requires constant monitoring and optimisation, which isn’t possible without monthly work.
We recommend offering a few tiers of packages and you can include everything discussed above, plus monthly reports that give the clients updates on their keyword ranking progress, links progress and overall site performance.
We also offer content writing for blogs/articles here either as part of the packages or maybe even an additional upgrade as well.
One-Time Packages
Those that don’t want a monthly package, we offer one-time packages that offer things such as overall site optimisation as it is, or a one-time keyword research and implementation package. We also offer a one-time consultation or ‘site audit’.
