Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is one of the most important factors in successfully managing an online business and is a science that is regularly adapted. However, there are some rules which belong to the “must-have” to have any chance at all. I will explain these points to you in the course of this book with examples.
The importance of SEO
The basic principle of SEO can be briefly explained in one sentence: The optimization of the findability of a website in search engines according to the keyword with the highest turnover. This means that you need to focus on your top-selling keyword.
Web-Speed
You can compare the positioning of places in SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) with Formula 1. At the request, many opponents are preparing for the race. The goal of SEO is to reach the top position. But for this, you need the right techniques (here the right CMS – without errors), the right racer (you – with your unique content), and what also plays a big role is the speed (here the speed for building the page when it is called).
Many make the mistake and do not focus on the performance and quality of the appropriate web server. What is underestimated here is the required performance, PageSpeed, to be able to keep up with the top search engine rankings. So a website or a webshop must build up as fast as possible when the visitor calls it up.
Top performers do not even need a second to build the entire page. With such a performance, you can be sure that you won’t lose visitors due to the build time.
Speed-Control
These performance checks can be performed under Google Developers. Using the list you can see exactly at which file the server needs the longest time to display the web page. In the settings, you have to define the test location (for Europe Amsterdam).
With this tool, you already have your first sobering data, which shows you that you are on the right track. You can also use it to check which server provides which services. So you can take reference pages of the provider and check them. Of course, it also depends on the subscription, whether you now pay for example for Switzerland: CHF 10.- or CHF 150.-. per month.
You can even analyze your competition. You don’t even have to register or log in.
Google Indexing
As you surely know, Google regularly evaluates pages on which the spiders or robots of Google are allowed. Thus, a page that is not complete and has errors will be evaluated with a lower ranking.
Therefore, it is very important to forbid Google indexing (no index & no follow) while setting up the website. Thus, no ranking will be given and you will not get a bad rating. Also, you don’t want that while you are still building your website, so it doesn’t have any added value yet, it is already visited by customers. The first impression is one of the most important factors.
What you must not forget is the indexing before the GO-Live. Remember that Google sometimes needs up to 3 weeks for indexing. Include this period so that your customers can find you when they search for you.
Keyword
The selection of keywords is not to be underestimated, because based on your selection your page will be rated differently. For example, whether you use the keyword bicycle as the focus keyword for your target group in Switzerland or rather bicycle, can mean worlds for you as a store operator.
Search volume for Switzerland: bike with 8100 & bicycle with 4400 search queries per month.
A wrong selection can even lead to the failure of the whole project for you because little to no search queries appear. Therefore – focus on the right keyword.
The right keyword?
To find the right keyword or keyword set, I recommend you work with an Excel file and list all possible keywords that might fit. Give this list to two or three more people to complete. Make sure that at least one person is not from the industry of the target group – i.e. an ordinary user – and another person is from the industry in question.
After everyone has put in their “two cents”, you can analyze each keyword individually and see which keywords work for you.
Keyword Analysis
This is why we love online marketing – you can analyze everything on relatively short notice without having to consult anyone or spend money. Thanks to Google, every search query is saved.
For your keyword analysis, you can simply use the free Google Keyword Planner. For this, you need a Google Ads account, which you can also create quickly and easily. After logging in, open the “Tools” tab and then click on Keyword Planner.
“Search ideas for new keywords and ad groups”.
In the Keyword Planner, you have the option of using your keyword input to view more suggestions by clicking the “Search for new keywords using a word group, website, or category” tab. Here you will get more ideas about the industry and similar keywords with the corresponding search volume.
“Get search volume for keyword list or split keywords into ad groups”.
You can also analyze your selection from your already created list individually. To do this, open the tab “Retrieve search volume for keyword list or split keywords into ad groups”. You can easily upload and edit your list for this.
More analysis tools:
- Google Suggest
- Ubersuggest.org
- Google Trends
- Google Webmaster Tools
The keyword selection
After the analysis phase, it is up to you to evaluate which keywords are the most suitable for your project and which are not considered further. I recommend you use 3-5 keywords regularly. You should use the keywords that have the highest search volume to attract more visitors to your site.
In different analyses, it was found that visitors use between 2-3 keyword combinations on Google to find what they are looking for. Example: buy a car in Berlin, a TV 4K cheap, a short vacation beach in Croatia
From your surfing behavior, you can see how you search for products and services. For this reason, I recommend using long-tail keywords, i.e. keywords with more than just one word, to draw visitors’ attention to your products or services in a targeted manner and thus also achieve a higher SEO and SEA ranking.
SEO – Meta Title, Description & Keywords
Besides the whole content part, you are surely also familiar with the terms Meta-Title, Meta-Description & Meta-Keywords. Many know these terms, but do not know exactly why and how they are used.
If you don’t want Google & Co to compile and interpret anything from your texts, you can provide meta tags. This information is machine-readable and has a big influence on the rating of search engines.
Meta Title
The meta title is used as the post title on the SERP. This info serves as the title (headline) and should not contain more than four to six words. Use your most important keyword here as well, but don’t use too many repeated words.
Try to make this SEO title as inviting as possible, so that it appeals to your visitors and at the same time creates a high relevance with the search engines. Note that your sentence should not be too long, as it will be abbreviated by periods.
Meta Description
The meta description explains in more detail what the content of the target URL is about. Here you can explain in two to three meaningful and inviting sentences why visitors should click here. Show the added value in a tasty way.
Don’t forget that you have to use your keywords here as well. Keywords that are searched for and listed in your meta description are displayed in BOLD to indicate to the visitor that these words are in your description.
Meta Keywords
The meta keywords are no longer taken into account by Google. Nevertheless, other search engines use and evaluate this data. Therefore, add five to six keywords that you consider relevant.