You have probably heard a hundred times that Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a vital digital marketing tool, but even if you have a basic understanding of what it entails, you may not have a solid grasp of its multiple aspects. 

SEO is made up of multiple components, and knowing what they are and how they work is key to understanding why SEO is so important. 

SEO is such a significant part of all online business as it makes your website more visible through search engines, which generates more traffic and more opportunities to convert prospects into customers. 

Below is everything you need to know about SEO and why it’s important in today’s digital world.

Keywords

Long gone are the days when keywords were the only SEO technique that mattered, this doesn’t mean they aren’t still crucial. In today’s world, the difference is keywords must be well-researched and carefully chosen to make your content stand out and be effective. What are Keywords? Keywords are words and phrases that help connect businesses and their prospective customers to find their products and services online.

Content

Content is a vital part of SEO as it’s the key to reaching and engaging with audiences. Today’s content must be educational but also relevant, engaging, and shareable. Content is shared in a variety of ways, including:

• Web page content

• Blogs

• Videos

• Social media posts

• Infographics

Local SEO

Local SEO is becoming more and more important as people use mobile devices for search. These days, roughly 60% of all searches are carried out from mobiles and tablets and half of those searches have local intent.  

An example of this would be, if you owned a restaurant, local SEO would ensure that when people in the area search for a restaurant locally, your site would appear for that hungry user. When using keywords, other local SEO best practices include creating location-specific pages for your website and claiming directory listings. 

Search Engine Marketing

Search engine marketing (SEM) refers to paid marketing efforts, and it includes things like native ads, Google AdWords, social media ads, and so much more.

SEM isn’t usually a key component of an SEO strategy, but it does hold a place as it can help reach new and targeted audiences. 

Business Growth

The ultimate reason SEO is so important and essential is that it can help you achieve many of your business goals. SEO can help you build a better relationship with prospects and improve the customer experience, increase and grow your business with more sales. 

Wrapping up

The above are only a few snippets of the techniques, tactics, and best practices required to undertake successful SEO. These best practices are always changing as the web user behaviour changes, and as search engines change their algorithms.