Introduction.
In 2021, we set aside quality time to evaluate our SEO processes. With fewer businesses able to open their physical doors due to COVID-19, it’s been even more important than ever to have visibility in search engines.
We have been working to integrate the SEO even more seamlessly into our web development and design processes to ensure each new website has the best chance of ranking well in organic search. This can only happen when SEO is factored into every stage of the process. From the wireframe to the on-page copy and image optimization, there is plenty to do after the launch, too. Our process takes all essential ‘off-page’ and ‘on-page’ SEO elements into account to ensure your site’s authority doesn’t suffer as a result of a redesign or rebuild, and, in most cases, we aim to surpass the old site’s overall authority.
What is SEO?
For anyone unfamiliar with SEO, it simply stands for “search engine optimization.” It’s the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic through search engines. SEO also allows you to improve your brand exposure through non-paid (also known as “organic”) search engine results.
Why your website needs Search Engine Optimization.
Although SEO focuses on improving your ‘organic’ rankings (below the ads), there is actually a great deal of work that can be done behind the scenes to improve your visibility. Unfortunately, it won’t just happen on its own. For instance, you can utilize content marketing to earn relevant links from external sites to show Google you are respected in your field.
So why is SEO important for your site?
Strong SEO means a better user experience. Although user experience is vital to everything we design at Sansarahub, SEO takes that UX one step further. Crawling your website for ‘SEO issues’ can also reveal issues that may be detrimental to the user experience on your site. Google’s algorithms have even learned to interpret an unfavorable user experience, and a positive one has become a pivotal element in a website’s success in organic search.
More clicks and conversions. In most cases, you will generate more relevant traffic from a highly placed organic listing than from a highly placed paid ad. Research shows that 70% to 80% of users focus exclusively on organic results and ignore paid listings. What’s more, some 28% of those searches convert, resulting in a purchase.
SEO is sustainable. Organic search is one of the few online marketing channels that, when set up and maintained correctly, can remain beneficial over time. If you produce a solid piece of content that deserves to rank for the right keywords, your traffic can snowball over time. In contrast, online advertising requires continuous funding to drive traffic to your site.
Helps Google find and understand your content. Above all, by optimizing your website content through SEO, you’ll help major search engines, such as Google, better understand your site. While search engines are definitely getting smarter, they still need our help.
Optimizing your site will help deliver clearer signals to search engines, enabling your content to be properly indexed and displayed in search results.
Our Process.
1. Kick-off meeting
Before and during our integral kick-off meeting, we gather all the crucial information to optimize your new site and attract the right traffic. We believe that increasing traffic for its own sake is pointless, especially if users bounce immediately. It’s important to attract the right users who engage with your brand and ultimately convert. The more we understand about you and your brand, the more accurately we can optimize your site as a whole, presenting it in the best light in search engines.
2. Content audit
Once we have access to Google Analytics and Search Console, we can assess which pages on your site are most important. This process involves identifying which pages have the strongest backlinks and are key to driving traffic to your site. Through this exercise, we can easily identify the priority pages to maintain in the wireframe for your new site. We will also thoroughly crawl your site to identify which pages are detrimental to your SEO and ensure they are not carried over or repeated on the new site.
3. Design and web development considerations
As we said earlier, SEO will not work if it’s an afterthought. At Sansarahub, we think about SEO at every stage of the site build. Our SEO experts work with our designers and devs to ensure your new website is SEO-friendly in every way possible. For instance, we make sure the information architecture of your site is user-friendly and that your content includes meaningful anchor text, which helps users and search engines navigate your site.
4. Keyword and competitor research
Before any SEO can happen, we must conduct proper research (Luckily, we are huge fans of data here at Sansarahub). Research is crucial for any SEO campaign to ensure a clear understanding of the target market. It’s important for our digital experts to fully wrap their heads around how your prospective clients search for your offering and brand, so the site and its content are optimized accordingly.
In this research, we examine how your competitors achieve high rankings. Our learnings from this will impact our overall strategy. We also look at what specific areas users want to know under the umbrella of your core products and services. Do they want to know how your software can be integrated into their existing tools? This exercise will help us determine whether there is a need for additional content that explains your company’s approach and the technical aspects of your products.
Although much of this information on your brand may be obvious to you as someone ‘inside’ the business, prospective customers may need clarification on certain areas of your offering. Having content that answers these queries well will allow you to rank for these terms.
5. Content optimization
Once we have assessed which target keywords will deliver the most relevant traffic, we work with you to optimize your new page content. We will also provide you with SEO-friendly meta tags to help Google understand your key pages.
6. Redirect strategy
In any successful site migration, there needs to be a solid redirect strategy. This is where all your old content is matched to your new content, ensuring the old site’s authority carries over to your new one and helping Google understand that your new content has a new home.
7. Post-launch – Sitecore
After a website goes live, we always recommend our Sitecore package to ensure optimum performance. If you decide to become our long-term partner, our developers will ensure that no technical update negatively impacts your website. Moreover, in our monthly reports, you’ll be able to see how much traffic and conversions you’re receiving from organic search.
For clients who need ongoing SEO support, we’re always happy to create a bespoke SEO strategy that can include content writing, link building, and more, depending on your needs.
Conclusion.
SEO can be hugely successful for your business if executed properly from the very beginning. The closer we can collaborate with our clients, the more successful our SEO efforts will be.
