Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) best practices

Updated September 8, 2020

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as exposure to the brand, through non-paid (also known as "organic") search engine results. SEO helps search engines better understand a site’s content so the site’s pages can rank better (and brands can achieve better visibility in search)!

SEO covers two audiences:

1. Search engines that review your page for content
2. Humans who read your page

Why is SEO important?

• 68% of online experiences begin with a search engine. (BrightEdge)
• 78% of Google searchers click on results from the second page. (Backlinko)
• 3% of all website traffic comes from organic search. (BrightEdge)
• SEO drives 1000%+ more traffic than organic social media. (BrightEdge)
• 7% of search queries contain four words or more. (Ahrefs)

Seven steps to successful SEO

1. Improve "crawl accessibility" so engines can read the website.
2. Create compelling content that answers the searcher’s query.
3. Ensure your site is keyword-optimised to attract searchers and engines.
4. Focus on great UX (user experience) including a fast-load speed.
5. Add share-worthy content that earns links, citations and amplification, as these make pages more attractive to search engines.
6. Use title, URL and description to draw high click through rates (CTR) in search engine rankings.
7. Consider snippet/schema markup to stand out in search engine results pages (SERPs).