Google, as well as other search engines, uses a complex algorithm compiling hundreds of signals to determine the most relevant results to display. Based on what those signals are and as well as our experience, we believe that the four pillars of a good ethical SEO strategy are:
1. Technical optimization
For search engines bots to be able to crawl your website, the website’s content should be available and visible to bots. That means having a crawlable link structure, as few errors as possible (404 pages, server errors), providing a sitemap, an excellent site speed on both mobile and desktop and more. Getting these potential issues out of the way is the first step we take when we onboard a new client.
2. Keyword research & on-page optimization
Including the relevant keywords into the body content as well as into elements such as URL slugs, title tags, meta descriptions, H1 titles, and images’ Alt text, enables search engines to understand better what your website is about. Betting on the right keywords and including them in the right places is a tactic we strive to get right.
3. Content
High-quality content that helps online users find what they were searching for is an important ranking factor (in fact search engines’ goal is to provide the best possible results for what the searcher is seeking). Fresh and updated content signals a website stays up to date and relevant.
4. Link building
Every time another website links to yours, it signals to search engines that there is something authoritative or valuable on the page being linked to. The more links from high-quality sites, the more trustworthy your website will be deemed, hence more visibility in search results.
- The website’s content should be available and visible to search engine bots
- Does your website load faster than 3 seconds? Test it with Google Page Speed Insights
- Make sure your site is 100% secure – activate the SSL certificate
- Have a crawlable link structure, as few errors as possible (personalized 404 pages, 3xx, server errors, broken links) and provide sitemap & robots.txt files
- Including relevant keywords into the body content, URL slugs, title tags, meta descriptions, H1/H2/H3 titles, and images’ Alt text
- Fresh and updated high-quality content signals a website stays up to date and relevant
- The more links from high-quality websites, the more authoritative your website will be deemed, hence more visibility in search results.
Especially for newer businesses, ranking well on SERPs may prove to be difficult as more established companies have the benefit of being deemed more credible due to the website’s age. So for these businesses, in particular, getting your priorities in order and implementing the right tactics can make or break your SEO success.
