SEO – Search Engine Optimization
SEO (search engine optimization) is a process that involves working on a website to improve its visibility.
Of course, there are other forms of marketing and ways to enhance a website’s visibility, such as PPC (paid ads) or social media, but a well-executed SEO campaign will bring the highest-quality visitors to your site—those most interested in becoming clients or purchasing your product—and will continue to do so even after the campaign ends. This is not the case with a PPC campaign, for example, which delivers results only for as long as it runs.
What Is the Goal of SEO?
As we previously mentioned, the main goal of a good SEO campaign is to attract as many high-quality and targeted visitors as possible—people who are genuinely interested in your service or product.
Where do these visitors come from? Many people new to the world of internet marketing often forget that Google is “just” one of the search engines people use. Besides Google, there are also Yahoo, Bing, and DuckDuckGo… But is it worth trying to rank on these “alternative” search engines? In most cases, no—especially when targeting visitors from our region. That’s why we will focus exclusively on SEO campaigns for Google search in the following discussion.
In short, the primary goal of SEO, or search engine optimization, is to improve a website’s visibility, enhance its ranking in search results, attract a targeted audience, and ultimately convert that audience into customers.
So, the main goal of SEO, or search engine optimization, is to improve a website’s visibility, enhance its ranking in search results, attract a targeted audience to the site, and ultimately convert that audience into customers.
How Do We Do It?
SEO A campaign, as a process, involves working on:
- Competitor analysis
- On-page i
- Off-page Factors
We’ll start by talking about competitor analysis…
Competitor Analysis
The process of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors’ SEO is known as competitor analysis. For those conducting the analysis, the key is to recognize all the gaps and shortcomings in the competition, allowing us to determine what can be improved and how to rise above them
When it comes to the number of competitors, although there may be hundreds (or even thousands) on Google, our goal is to rank on the first page. Therefore, our analysis primarily includes competitors ranked in the top 3 (or top 5).
Once we identify the main competitors, we proceed with their analysis, primarily using tools that will be discussed in one of the following sections.
Some of the Key Metrics We Focus On
- Number of Website Visits
- Number of Pages/Keywords for Which the Competition is Currently Ranked on Google
- Relative Domain Authority (DR metric from Ahrefs.com)
- Number of Links Leading to the Website (and Individual Pages)
- Content Quality, etc.
Competitor analysis provides us with valuable insights that help us develop the right SEO strategy and assess the difficulty of improving a client’s website ranking.
Once we complete competitor analysis, we turn our attention to the client’s website and analyze the most important on-page factors.
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization includes all changes made directly on the website. These are the changes that have the greatest impact on ranking, and it is crucial to implement them correctly to establish a solid foundation for further SEO strategy steps.
However, before working on the site, it is necessary to research the main keywords (topics) that the site should rank for. If we are working with a plumber operating in Belgrade, our task is to identify all relevant keywords related to plumbing services. In this case, they might include:
- plumber Belgrade
- plumber New Belgrade
- plumber Belgrade prices
- plumber Belgrade price list
- cost of plumbing services
- plumber phone number
Now, our job is to optimize the website/pages based on these keywords. How do we do that? By strategically placing a single (or closely related) keyword in the most important areas of the site, such as:
- URL
- Website Title
- H Tags
- Meta Tags
- On-Site Content, etc.
Looking at these keywords, you may have noticed a “problem”—there are very few of them. In our specific case, we only have six. This is a consequence of the region we live in (in English-speaking countries, this number can range from dozens to hundreds of keywords).
So, what’s the issue here? If there are 200 plumbers in the Belgrade area, and they all use these keywords for SEO optimization, how does Google decide which website to prioritize?
The answer to this question lies in the next part of our article, which covers off-page optimization.
Off-Page Optimization
Off-page optimization is the process of generating (or facilitating the generation of) backlinks from other websites to yours. This is the missing piece in our discussion on on-page optimization. The number of links pointing to your website (and their quality) helps Google determine that your site is better compared to your competitors and, as such, deserves a higher ranking.
How to Acquire These Backlinks?
To gain backlinks, it’s advisable to collaborate with other bloggers and website owners.
There are several ways to achieve this:
- Writing articles for websites that cover the same or similar topics as yours
- Promotion on social media
- Promotion on partner websites and social organizations
- Collaboration with influencers
One crucial thing to understand from the start is that Google does not favor backlink acquisition practices, as it considers them manipulative techniques that artificially boost your website’s ranking.
Therefore, you must ensure that your backlink strategy is not overly aggressive and is primarily based on collaboration with others in your industry. This approach allows for the natural creation of backlinks through business relationships rather than engaging in spammy or low-quality link-building tactics (which are quite common).
Tracking Ranking Changes
Once you have completed both on-page and off-page optimization, your website’s ranking (and the rankings of its individual pages) will start to shift. How can you monitor these changes?
If you are tracking only two or three keywords, you can do it manually, although this is not recommended. However, if you are dealing with multiple keywords, you will need to choose a specialized tool for tracking rankings.
How to Best Track Your Website’s Position on Google?
Where you rank in Google search results directly affects the amount of organic traffic your website receives. Half of all clicks go to the top search result on Google, while every other result shares the remaining 50%.
So, it’s crucial to know where your website stands to determine whether your SEO efforts are effective or not.
Today, there are many tools available for tracking your site’s ranking. Some of the most popular ones include:
Serprobot
Serprobot is one of the simpler (and more affordable) solutions for tracking the position of your keywords:
For a monthly price of $5, you get 300 keyword searches per day. What does this mean exactly? It means that if you are tracking 100 keywords for your website, you can check their ranking three times a day.
Rank Ranger
Rank Ranger is a much more advanced (and consequently more expensive) tool that not only tracks your keyword positions but also supports integrations with various services such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Business Profile, and more. By using this tool, you can generate reports for your clients that are not only incredibly detailed but also visually appealing. Naturally, this tool comes at a significantly higher price.
Let me know if you want me to continue or refine anything! 😊
Ahrefs Rank Tracker
Ahrefs Rank Tracker is a relatively simple tool, but since it’s part of Ahrefs’ comprehensive SEO suite, it comes at a slightly higher price.
Top 7 Tips for an Effective SEO Strategy
Here are some key tips you can implement to improve your position on Google:
1. Remove Anything That Slows Down Your Website
Website speed is crucial for a positive user experience. A slow-loading page can lead to lost sales or engagement. Research shows that even a one-second delay in page loading time can result in up to a 7% drop in conversions (source), while 40% of people abandon a site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load (source).
2. Focus on Your Audience, Not Just Search Engines
It’s essential to provide valuable and engaging content for your audience so they return to your website. While SEO guidelines should be followed, always remember that your visitors are real people looking for solutions. Write content with the intent to help users, ensuring a positive user experience.
3. Encourage Established Websites to Link to You
Content marketing involves creating high-quality and engaging content that naturally encourages others to share it on social media or their websites. This method boosts organic traffic and is one of the best ways to build authority and trust.
4. Use a Simple URL Structure
Just like meta descriptions, URLs should be clear and understandable for both users and search engines. The best approach is to use hyphens (-) to separate words, making the URL easy to read and SEO-friendly.
Use Social Media
Although they are not part of an SEO strategy, social media can support your strategy and enhance its positive impact. They will help you build a community around your website/brand/product and make it easier to market your products.
Use the Right Keywords for Images
Although we haven’t mentioned them so far, the use of images plays a role in optimizing your website and in Google search results. When users search for specific images, they do so based on keywords. For this reason, you should use the right keywords in image names as well as in the rest of the text. However, even when it comes to keywords, you should avoid excessive use.
Ensure Your Content is Unique
Although the internet is flooded with a vast amount of information today, avoid using duplicate content. Writing completely original content is a challenge, but this very content will set you apart from the competition. Be consistent and unique when creating content for your audience, as this approach will also help you achieve a better ranking in search engines.
The Most Popular Tools Used by SEO Experts
SEO tools exist to assist with website SEO analysis, keyword research, finding websites for link building, and tracking your site’s position in search results. Reliable tools are essential for achieving better and more secure results.
Some of the most popular SEO tools used by many experts include:
In addition to the mentioned tools, SEO experts also use Google Sheets, which helps them track the project they are working on and assists in time management and task distribution within the team.
The Most Popular KPIs of a Successful SEO Campaign
Measuring and quantifying success is essential, and this is precisely what Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are used for. Whether your campaign was successful or not, KPIs provide feedback to help you improve and refine existing ideas. A company’s strategic goals are linked to KPIs, and these goals relate to finance, market positioning, processes, and people.
Indicators that provide insights into your success and help you identify and address issues in time include the following:
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- ROI – One of the most important success indicators is Return on Investment (ROI), which is calculated using the following formula:
ROI = (total revenue – campaign investment) / campaign investment
- Number of website visitors – Monitoring your website traffic is crucial. If the number of visits decreases, it may be time to implement changes.
- Keyword ranking on Google – Keywords are directly related to SEO success. Better keyword positioning leads to higher sales, more potential customers, and increased website traffic.
- Conversions – The goal is to turn conversions into sales. Any interaction with a potential customer, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a phone call, is considered a conversion.
- CTR – Click Through Rate – This metric represents the ratio of visitor clicks on an ad to the number of times the ad is displayed.
The Most Popular Global Blogs for Following SEO News
If you want to stay up to date with the latest developments in the SEO world, continuously learn new things, and improve your knowledge, SEO blogs are the perfect place to gather essential information. These resources will help you learn how to manage your website effectively and become an SEO expert. Since the internet is an endless source of information, there is plenty of material for everyone who wants to stay informed, regardless of their current knowledge level.
Websites for Following SEO News:
- Search Engine Land
- Search Engine Journal
- Google’s official blog: Google Search Blog
Websites for Learning SEO (Beginners):
Websites for Advanced SEO Professionals:
Should Blogging Be a Part of Your SEO Strategy?
One of the best ways to increase traffic to your website, attract more users or clients, and boost revenue is through blogging. Should blogging be a part of your SEO strategy?
Yes! Just like other SEO factors, blogging helps optimize your website to attract more visitors. The key is to provide value, share useful information, and ultimately convince readers to choose your business for their purchase or service needs.
And don’t forget—duplicate content is not something you want on your website. Every blog post or article should be unique. Readers appreciate effort and like to see that you genuinely want to help them. Studies show that 60% of people develop a positive opinion of a company only after reading its blog.
What Is the Cost of SEO Optimization?
Many factors influence the cost of SEO services. The price varies depending on the complexity of the work and the amount of time required to optimize a client’s website. To determine the exact cost, we first conduct a meeting with our clients. Once we create the most optimal plan and agreement for the project, we then define the final price.