Now that we know what SEO is, and some dos and don’ts it’s time to look at the how – How to do SEO marketing?  In case if you don’t know what is SEO marketing, you can read it here.
But, when working with SEO you need to understand – changes cannot be made overnight. To see good results, you need to take action daily with a long-term goal in mind.

1) Content:

In 1996 Bill Gates made a prediction, ‘Content is King.’ And that is still true.
Why?
Because when a reader or customer is happy with their search engine results, then the search engine is happy. When the search engine is happy, your website has the right customers coming in, which makes your business grow.
Let’s go back to the example of the ‘customized phone covers’. Now, to improve your brand visibility, you add a few DIY ideas that your customers can use to create their phone covers at home.
So, when a person searches for DIY phone covers, if you have the right SEO or search engine optimization in place, Google will put all its energy into pushing your blogs or vlogs to the forefront.
This means that with any search engine optimization, your priority will be to produce GOOD CONTENT!
Without good content that describes your products or services, or brings out the benefits of your products to potential customers, SEO marketing will not work.
But, a question that comes to mind when looking at content for SEO marketing is – Are there specific elements to look into when planning your content for SEO marketing? 
Yes, there are!
Here are some important elements you need to concentrate on when creating quality content:

• Quality –

Previously, posting a piece of content with several keywords was the standard norm. But, now you need to create quality content that not only has keywords but also solves the problem of the potential customer.
Now, here’s the main issue – coming up with great content is not easy. But, you can always piggyback off of what others have written but simply make it more in-depth and detailed.
Bottom line – you need to make sure that your content solves a problem. If it does not, then in most cases people will move away from the page. This will, in turn, showcase to Google that your content is not solving any problem. And your search engine ranking will plummet.

• Intent – 

All search engines emphasized intent. This helps the bot understand what the searcher is looking for when they type something into the search bar. It could be something they are thinking of buying or trying to buy or some information they want.

As a content and SEO creator, you need to understand this also. You cannot just piece together any content and expect it to work. The content must reflect on your brand, on the products/services offered, and must also answer any question that a customer may have.
Only then can you rank better in search engines.

• Fresh Content – 

When creating new content there are plenty of ways to get your content to rank. One of the biggest ways is by adding fresh content.

Or, you could always spruce up your old ones.
Check your previous content, go through the links to see if there are any broken links, refresh old statistics, and even add more points to make the post relevant to the present scenario. This will show search engines that your blogs are still relevant and should rank on page one.

2) Research and Selecting the Right Keywords:

When it comes to keyword research, you need to determine which keywords are appropriate for your brand.
These keywords will help you plan everything from link building to strategies, to choosing the right plans for your brand content.
But, you need to make sure that you do not stop.
Your keyword research and selection need to be constant.
With every article, every webpage, every ad creation – your keywords need to keep evolving in the right direction.
Keyword research is primarily done for 2 reasons –

1. Rank on search engines
2. Create relevant content

Keyword research is the best way to understand what your customers want, and just how you can connect with them. But, there is a lot involved when it comes to choosing the right keywords for your business. It isn’t just about picking a tool, adding a competitor link or a keyword you find, and then uploading the list.
Here are some points that will help you choose the right keywords for your business:

• Base your keywords on the products/services you offer: 

Let’s go back to the example of ‘customized phone covers.’ If that is what you sell, then adding the word ‘free’ to your keywords, will not help you reach the right audience. Make sure that the keywords you use not only link your brand and your products/services – but also what the customer should expect from your brand.

• Adding a Competitor Analysis: 

Let’s say that you have a list of keywords prepared, so what’s the next step?
A competitor analysis of course!
So, you use a tool like SemRush and check some related keywords that your competitors use. Obviously, you gravitate towards those with a high search volume.
But, here’s what’s wrong with that strategy – Your competitors may be in the game for years and may have a much bigger ad budget than you.
Would you want to compete with the big leagues?
Even though a keyword may have over 50,000 searches a month, it takes hundreds of backlinks and a few years to reach that position. And for each keyword, you may have hundreds of brands competing. Google knows these brands, knows that they have a strong reputation online and that people recognize the brand. That’s why they rank in the top 3.
So, if you want to outrank them, you need to have a hefty budget.

• Search intent of customers: 

All search engines let us know just how important search intent is.
Most marketers will focus on keywords. But, that’s not the only thing you need to focus on when building content.
You should also work towards identifying your target audience, their pain/pressure points, and the best way to connect with them.
You could always use Google or Bing to see what people are searching for – the search bar will give you options related to keywords.

• HTML Code:

Another important part of the SEO puzzle is HTML. Without the right tags, descriptions, and headers, no search engine will be able to figure out what your content is about.
But, HTML, codes, and programming are not everyone’s cup of tea.
No need to overstress about this – there is very little coding involved. For the most part, all you need to do is mostly copy and paste the content in the code.
Let’s look at some factors you need to consider when planning your technical SEO aspect:

• Title Tags: 

One point of contention for all SEO strategists is title tags and H1 tags. They are not the same thing. The title tag is what is shown in the tab at the top of your browser and is what appears when people use the keyword to search in Google.
While the H1 tag is important, your title tag is what holds center-stage. So, you need to make sure that you add the right keywords, and make the heading as interesting as possible. But, don’t forget that it needs to be within a specific number of letters. Creating a long and elaborate title tag will get it cut by Google.

• Meta Descriptions: 

The meta description is just one step below the title tags. Here you have a chance to add some more information about the content to let customers know what it’s about. Think of it as a short snippet like in a book.
It is important to optimize the keywords used in this section, and that it is not longer than 160 characters. That way the content will fit into both desktop and mobile screens.

• Adding the Right Subheadings: 

Remember we just spoke about H1 tags?
That is a part of your subheadings.
This is your article title and is added at the top. This is what a reader sees when they first visit your page. So, you want to use your primary keyword here, to push the reader to read on. But, you should not stuff the title with keywords, Google will penalize your page for over stuffing.

• Adding Schema: 

Schema tags are the result of a collaboration of all several search engines. It is a subset of specific HTML tags that help improve the way SERPs are displayed for your content.
When you add the schema tags, make sure that you run thorough checks to see that everything is firing smoothly.

• URL Slugs: 

`A URL slug is the part of the URL that tells the search engine what the content is based on. This is important as it helps search engines rank your page based on the keyword used and the explanation included.

3) Architecture of the Website:

What differentiates a good site architecture from a great one, is SEO marketing. If your site has the right Search Engine Optimization in place, and the right site architecture like fast loading time, mobile-friendly design, and a safe connection – your website is good to go with search engines.
Ideally, you need to map out your site architecture with your design and development team even before you buy the domain. This allows you to first connect with the target audience, see what they want, and then work backward to perfect the User Experience.
Here are some ways you can improve your site architecture:

• Easy Crawling: 

You would’ve noticed the word ‘crawl’ or ‘crawling’ used at least a dozen times in this article. Crawling means when a search engine scrolls through your website to try and figure out what it is that you sell. Google identifies important keywords, tags, descriptions, snippets, and others, to determine your global rank.
Depending on how crawlable your website is, it makes the work of the search engines easier and in turn, helps in ranking. If your website is not crawlable, then you will have a hard time ranking as the search engine AI will not be able to pick up the keywords used.
So, you could always make it easier for Google and other search engines by adding a simple plugin, if you use WordPress or an online XML sitemap generator.

• Content Duplicity: 

There is a lot of information about content duplication online – mostly do’s and don’ts. But here’s the fact, search engines don’t penalize for duplicate content. It is frowned upon, but if you repost your content on other platforms, or get your guest posts republished, it’s not wrong.
But, you need to make sure that your content is a little different. Otherwise, you may face canonical issues.
Let’s say that you post your articles on your website, and copy the same to Medium. There’s a chance that it might hurt your website ranking, as Medium is a better-ranked domain.
Now, there are a few loopholes in duplicating content especially when it comes to Google.
Let’s say you have an article posted on your website and have an intro about the article in a sidebar – Google considers that duplicate content.
Another great example of duplicate content is content syndication. Content syndication is when an article or content is reposted somewhere else. Just like the previous example of posting an article on Medium. As long as you have the rights from the author, Google will not penalize you.

• Mobile-friendly website: 

Google indexes content for mobile before it does for desktop. So, you need to make sure that your website performs not only well on desktop but also mobile. If you go to Google Search Console, you can see just what Google thinks of your website.
Now that you know the issues, you can fix them to make sure your website is SEO-friendly.

• SSL Certification and Https: 

We all know that Google is very strict when it comes to spammy websites. So, you need to make sure that your website is safe and secure for your potential customers.
One simple way is to add the right SSL certificates and use HTTPS instead of HTTP. These are simple to set up and can give your URL the right trust signal when potential customers visit your site.
Note: Although this is not an SEO tactic, it is important for your overall website performance.

4) Adding Trust to your Website:

The Google PageRank algorithm invented by Google is not the only measure taken when a website ranks in the top 10 search results.
The Trust factor is getting increasingly important, especially with the present pandemic situation. People are now shopping online more than ever before. So, if you want to continue growing your brand, you need to make sure that Google trusts you.
One way to grow your trust factor is by getting quality backlinks from authoritative sources like government agencies, or .edu sites.
Here are some ways to improve your website’s Trust factor:

• Authority: 

Google will determine your websites overall trustworthiness by a mix of 2 kinds of authority you build:

1. Page authority – based on your content on your website
2. Domain authority – based on the domain name

• Bounce Rate:

 A website bounce rate indicates the number of people who view only one page and the time it takes for them to leave the page.
A lot of factors determine a bounce rate – content, site speed, the usability of the content, and the right audience. The equation is simple –
Right Content + Fast Site + Right Audience = Good Bounce Rate
When it comes to the content aspect, you need to make sure that you deliver what you promise. No one wants to receive a hotdog when they order a pizza. The same goes for content.

• Domain Age: 

Google and other search engines trust those sites that have been around for some time and have produced good content consistently. These websites will always rank better because they have experience on their side. So, rather than trying to compete with a guru in that practice, it is better to look at the nearest competitor and compete with them.

5) Link Building:

A good website will always have the best links. That is one of the factors Google considers when ranking websites.
But, most SEO marketing strategies and websites fail to do it right. Getting hundreds of unwanted links will never help your site rank properly. This is why link building is a long-term strategy that requires, if not years but months of detailed work.
Here are some ways you can look into link building:

• Quality of the Links: 

Link building may be on the lower spectrum of SEO marketing, but the quality of links still matter. When building backlinks, you need to make sure that you reach out to the right resources, and offer a point of value for a good link.
But, you may ask, is the quality so important, if we have hundreds of backlinks?
Yes, it is. Because:

1. Search engines tend to ignore those links which appear to be spammy or have low-quality
2. Adding the same links over and over again from the existing website can cause a certain amount of repetition
3. Links from outside sources are of higher value than linking from one page to another

But how do you sniff out the good links from the bad?
Google knows!
If you buy links over Fivver or get people to guest post for you from sites like SitePoint or Creately, then Google will know as the links are not relevant to your niche. Google does not like it when people use underhanded means to upgrade their website.
Your goal should be to show Google that your brand is good enough to get the right traffic, and the right links without any underhanded means.

• Number of links: 

We just spoke about quality over quantity. But honestly, quantity does matter. To an extent.
Having just 1 backlink is not going to help your brand. You need to steadily increase your backlinking options. But, again, keep in mind that quality links take precedence over quantity. If you get even 2-3 quality links every month, then by the end of the year you will have at least 25-30 backlinks. And that’s a good number.

• Anchor Text: 

The Anchor text is a clickable text that appears in a hyperlink. In other words, it’s the title of the link.
You need to make sure that you have a variety of anchor texts.
Why?
Because they each have their place in the world of SEO marketing.
Just think of it this way – if after every link in your content you have a ‘click here’ text, how would it look?
Definitely, Not appealing!
So, you need to make sure that your anchor text not only connects with the customer but also gives a little information about the link. Also, it helps search engines know what people will see when they click on the link.
The next factor that comes into play when answering the age-old question ‘what is SEO in digital marketing?’ is Personal SEO.

6) Personal SEO:

Personal SEO does not mean taking a look at your internal SEO marketing plan, it’s more of a look into our audience and their location.
Let’s say your target audience is in the USA. Then your SEO efforts should be inclined towards the way the audience communicates with emphasis on spellings, jargon, and keywords.
But, when dealing with Personal SEO you need to remember – there is no ‘One-For-All’ option.
Lastly, let’s take a look at the Social factors that can influence your SEO marketing strategy.

7) Social Media SEO:

Social media marketing is a great way to improve your website ranking. Whether it is through direct or indirect methods, you can always boost your website with the right push.
Now, 2 main factors influence social media for SEO:

• Share Quality: 

All digital marketers, content creators, and SEO strategists know that Search Engine Optimization and social media management go hand-in-hand.
Because the end goal is to tell search engines just how great your brand is. So, if people are sharing your website on social media, or are backlinking to your content, then what does that tell Google?
It tells them that your brand has what the people want. And Google loves this type of content.

• Total Number of Shares: 

Another factor that influences your SEO marketing aspect is the number of shares on a social media platform.
Landing just one viral hit is a little overrated now.
You need to make sure that you keep churning out quality content that adds value to people’s lives.
But, this may mean different things to different businesses, customers, and social media as well.
Let’s say your brand is into the tech industry, then creating long content is your best bet. But, if your brand is a k-pop gossip magazine. It would be better for you to create videos that have a lot of drama or secrets or some juicy pieces of information.
So, to make sure that you are on your SEO A-game, you need to understand what your audience wants and work on that.

Conclusion

Now you have all the information required to start your SEO journey. While it can be a bit overwhelming, it is best to tackle one issue at a time, then jump in headfirst. One thing you need to remember with SEO is that – There Are No Shortcuts!
You need to do certain things in the right way to get where you want your website to go. If anyone tells you that SEO is just ‘do-it-once-and-let-it-run’ then it’s a bluff. To make your website rank at the top, keep adding relevant content, update old content regularly and continue to stay on top of it. That’s the only way to rank in the Top 10.
Now, don’t worry, it is pretty overwhelming for everyone when it comes to planning their SEO marketing strategy.
If you need any help with SEO or want to know more about how you can improve your own website’s SEO score, connect with us support@sunnyday.com!