5 essential points to know what SEO is.

5 essential points to know what SEO is

Optimizing your natural referencing is essential to be visible on the web. You may have the most beautiful site in the world, but without SEO, you will be drowned among the 2.2 million queries made on Google.

So, propelling your site to the first page of Google can be the key to attracting quality prospects to visit your site. In this, SEO is a decisive element that our SEO agency deciphers during this guide.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization):

Definition:

This is the acronym for “Search Engine Optimization”. It is a set of techniques for positioning a website in search engines. The main goal is to increase the visibility of the site among Internet users.

Its other name is natural referencing.

Goals:

• Increase the quality and quantity of traffic to a website.
• Obtain non-paid organic search results.

Functioning:

• Unlike SEA (Search Engine Advertising), SEO does not rely on advertisements.
• Aims to respond to Internet users' queries in search results pages (SERP).
• Takes into account the needs of Internet users to provide them with the best possible response.

Internet in Switzerland: key figures and trends

• More than 95% of Swiss aged 15 to 88 use the Internet.
• 87.7% of Swiss people connect to the Internet daily.
• Increase of 2.7% compared to 2019.
• Network coverage constantly improving.
• Increasingly intelligent terminals.
• Booming streaming.
• Internet services used in all age groups.
• Smartphones: main support for accessing the Web (42.05%).
• Desktop computers: still widely used in Switzerland (55.34%).
• Differences with global trends:
• World: Smartphones > 59%.
• World: Desktops < 38%.

The history of SEO and Google in a few key dates:

• 1994: Appearance of the first search engines and directories.
• 1997: Birth of Google.
• Early 2000s: Google creates Pagerank.
• 2005: Launch of Google Analytics.
• 2006: Updated the Google algorithm to improve user experience.
• 2008: Launch of Google Suggest.
• 2011: Panda update against poor quality content.
• 2012: Penguin update against low quality links.
• 2013: New algorithm for conversational and semantic queries.
• 2015: Prioritization of mobile sites.
• 2016: The RankBrain algorithm values content as much as netlinking.
• 2018: Speed Update: Page speed becomes a ranking factor for mobile searches.
• March 2019: Core Update: penalizes over-optimized sites and promotes excellent content.
• June 2019: Core Update: promotes under-rewarded sites and emphasizes the quality of content.
• December 2019: International deployment of the BERT algorithm.
• June - August 2021: Page Experience Update Mobile: favors sites with good UX and fast loading times.
• August 2022: Google Helpful Content Update: rewards content for Internet users and penalizes those for SEO.

Google March Core Update 2024 (SEO): Summary in a few short sentences

Major Google Algorithm Update:

• More complex and innovative than the previous ones.
• Modifies several fundamental systems.
• Depends less on a single signal or system.
• Integrates innovative signals and approaches.
• Deployed over one month (compared to two weeks usually).

3 new areas of combat against SPAM:

• Abuse of expired domains
• Large-Scale Content Abuse
• Site Reputation Abuse

Implications for Site Owners:

• Sites breaking the rules = penalization or exclusion from results.
• Notifications via Search Console.
• Possibility of requesting a re-evaluation after correcting the problems.

Q&A from Google:

• No single system for identifying useful content.
• Using AI to manipulate results is spam.
• The new policy targets large-scale content created to manipulate rankings.

SEO has evolved with Google to emphasize user experience and content quality. Adapting to algorithm updates is crucial for an effective SEO strategy.

Increase your online visibility

The advantages of SEO:

• Increase the visibility of your website: Increase the number of qualified visitors and potential customers by appearing in the first search results.

• Develop your notoriety: Demonstrate your expertise and credibility in your field by positioning yourself as a reliable reference.

• Improve your brand image: strengthen Internet users' trust in your company by offering an optimal user experience.

• Generate leads and sales: Increase the number of leads and potential customers by attracting relevant traffic to your site.

• Get a return on your investment: SEO is a long-term strategy that offers an excellent return on investment (ROI) compared to other marketing channels.

Steps to follow for SEO to work properly

SEO is based on three fundamental pillars:

1. Technical SEO:

• Optimize the architecture and structure of your website to make it accessible to Google robots.
• Improve the loading speed of your pages for a better user experience.
• Correct technical errors and guarantee the security of your site.

2. The contents:

• Create quality content that is unique, relevant and optimized for targeted keywords.
• Structure your web pages clearly and effectively for better understanding by Google robots.
• Regularly update your content to maintain the interest of Internet users and search engines.

3. Popularity (Netlinking):

• Obtain quality links to your website from other relevant and influential sites.
• Develop an effective netlinking strategy to increase the authority and credibility of your site.
• Diversify the sources of your links to avoid Google penalties.

Google SEO criteria:

Google uses over 200 criteria to rank websites in its search results. Among the most important:

• The relevance of the content in relation to the Internet user's request.
• The quality and freshness of the content.
• The structure and organization of the website.
• The popularity of the website (number and quality of incoming links).
• User experience (loading speed, ergonomics, etc.).

4 essential rules for effective SEO:

1. Define your target:

• Understand the needs and expectations of your potential customers.
• Identify the keywords they are likely to use in their searches.
• Adapt your content and your SEO strategy to their profile.

2. Research and prioritize strategic keywords:

• Identify keywords that are relevant to your business and have high search potential.
• Analyze the competition on these keywords.
• Choose the keywords best suited to your objectives and your audience.

3. Define your SEO objectives:

• Determine clear and measurable objectives.
• Set KPIs to monitor the evolution of your performance.
• Adapt your SEO strategy according to your results.

4. Establish an SEO strategy:

• Implement a concrete action plan to achieve your goals.
• Define the resources necessary to carry out your strategy.
• Monitor and analyze your results to continuously optimize your strategy.

Tips for an optimal SEO strategy:

• Call on an SEO expert: An SEO consultant can help you define and implement an effective SEO strategy.
• Measure and analyze your results: Monitoring your performance is essential to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your SEO strategy.
• Stay up to date with the latest trends: The Google algorithm is constantly evolving, so it is important to stay up to date with the latest updates and best practices.

In conclusion:

SEO is a crucial investment for any business wishing to increase its online visibility, generate qualified traffic and grow its business.

Sources:

hostpoint.ch

leptidigital.fr

blog.google