Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the organic way of attracting your target audience and bringing customers to your business website through search engines.

Google regularly updates its search algorithms, which should influence how you're marketing and pitching your online content. Your content should be engaging, relevant and meeting the needs of your customers.

A good way to go about your SEO is to integrate it with your content marketing plan.

Use keyword research tools such as the Google Keyword Planner for insights into what your customers are searching for. And be aware of what questions your target audience are asking so you can provide answers and solutions to meet their needs.

Planning for SEO will increase your organic search rankings, so consider these tips to improve your efforts.

Write quality content

You need to create content that resonates with your audience and should be:

  • original
  • rich in substance
  • targeted

To help keep you in check, commit to writing a regular content publishing schedule and follow it strictly. Use our Content marketing plan template (XLSX 11.34 KB) XLSX icon to map out your ideas.

Make your website mobile-friendly

Having a responsive website that changes size automatically when your customers are using a tablet or mobile device can improve your SEO.

If you're unsure whether your website is mobile friendly, use the Google Mobile-Friendly Test tool to find out.

Having a content strategy in place ensures that you're meeting the behavioural needs of your customers who are using mobile devices or tablets.

For example, cafe customers are probably looking for an address, opening hours and menus when they're out and about.

The importance of social media

It's important to have a strong social media presence and strategy that makes it easy for people to share your content.

Google uses social media as a way of recognising 'human presence' so it can help determine your ranking. A good place to start is by making sure you've built your blog or website with the share function.

Write SEO-friendly URLs

If possible, avoid using special characters such as ! & ? in your URLs as it can appear to be spam.

Write and create URLs that are easy to read, short, sharp and correlate with the subject matter on the page – use the keywords people are typing into Google if they're relevant to the subject matter.

Optimise the user experience

This tip is closely related to writing quality content and creating a website that meets the needs of mobile customers.

The key to website success, and to further optimise the experience for your customers, make sure:

  • your site is easy to navigate
  • you have a clear 'call to action'
  • the information they're seeking is visible