SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) focuses on improving a website’s ranking in higher in the organic search results of Google and other search engines. To improve your SEO we focus on increasing the quantity and quality of your traffic. A website’s ranking dramatically impacts the volume of traffic which visits so you could be missing out on a lot of potential traffic. The first position of Google, for instance, receives 30 times the search traffic compared to the website in position 10. Therefore the higher you are the more traffic you will get and ultimately more clients and more sales.  

What underpins search engine optimization is the fact that search engines like Google aim to offer the maximum relevant answer to user's queries.  So that it will rank on page 1 of Google organically, you need to show how relevant and trusted is your web site. Several factors affect optimising your website for search engines like Google and Yahoo but mainly it comes down to on-page and off-page optimisation. Your ranking will also be determined by your competitors as remember that you are competing on your SEO compared to your competitor's SEO, so competitor research is also very important in your optimization.

SEO is a long term game, although you can get some early results. Our clients see ranking improvements within 1-6 months. Unfortunate truth is that quality search engine optimization takes time. Some companies may offer you quick results, but be careful with those promises as poor quality SEO work (especially black hat methods) can have negative effects long-term on your site performance and rankings.

For best results SEO needs to be an ongoing process, not just a once-off process as your competitors can continue to change the landscape.  There is also varying results between businesses as it’s entirely dependent on the complexity, popularity, and competitiveness of targeted keywords/phrases. 

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. This is the results page from the query entered by the user.

Backlinks are basically a link on another website that points to your website. If you get your websites linked to by a more authoritative domain then some of their authority rubs off on you. The more trusted the websites you have hosting a link to your website, the most trustworthy and credible you are in the eyes of Google – which leads to you moving up the search rankings.  A link can also point to another page within your website (internal links).  Every bit counts. 

Citations are usually from directories online listing your business’s name, address and phone number (often called NAP). Search engines use these these citations, to calculate the local authority of your business. They impact more on your local search rankings more than organic ranking, and help people find a local business that is legitimate.

Keywords are the words or phrases that people type in the search bar to discover your business. For example, if you own a wellness studio then “deep tissue massage” or “muscle strain” are examples of your keywords, so when someone searches for “deep tissue massage” your store’s website needs to have those keywords so it shows up. Your keywords will be shared by your competitors, which is why you need to use SEO to get ahead of them.

The first step is to work out the keyword list and then I suggest a keyword plan for all of my clients, prioritizing them and focussing on the ones that give you the opportunity to increase traffic.  These may not be the highest searched words/phrases but are ones that have low competition score or you can get a "long-tailed" keyword (a longer phrase with lower search volume) that once you start scoring well, will give you a higher chance at rating for the shorter version keyword.  But basically it is As many as you want, depending upon your budget and goals. As a starting point you may focus on 10 or 20 keywords at one time.

Domain authority is an Search engine optimization term that indicates the credibility of a website on the internet, calculated by Moz. There are lots of factors that go into its calculation, for example the longer a domain has existed, and the greater hyperlinks there are pointing to it, it will have higher authority. The Google Algorithms are not exposed but domain authority seems to equate with the higher up your ranking in searches. It is a score from 0-100 with 100 being the best score, and is logarithmic so it is easier to move from 10 -20 than from 60-70.

On-page optimization is when areas on your website (e.g. headings, subtitles, product descriptions) are improved for the purposes of SEO. To make your website as relevant as possible it also includes adding your keywords into areas of the text or in your titles.

Off-page optimization is when areas on your website that are not visible to the users are improved for the purposes of SEO (for example loading speed, backlinks and image alt text). Making your website load faster by removing large graphics and images, or optimizing their saved sizes can be very important as you want to at least have your page load in under 5 seconds (and preferably 2 seconds). This is having a big effect on mobile searches. Include your keywords in the image descriptions as another method of showing that your site is relevant to a search engine.

Local SEO focuses on when the the searches are for a local business. For example if you needed emergency dental assistance you want a dentist that is local so you would put in "dentist near me" or dentist with your suburb. In fact, Google can identify a lot of searches that are local and will help by trying to provide local businesses in those instances. So in my example, I could put emergency dentist and it will respond with Brisbane local businesses.  A lot of the time it will also show a map and 3 businesses on that map that have Google My Business listings. Local searches are very prominent on mobile searches. It is crucial for your local business to be found in places such as Google, Bing or Yahoo maps as well as in the organic search results. Interestingly a lot of businesses overlook this optimization.  

GMB stands for Google My Business, which is a free listing for businesses.  Items listed in Google My Business can show up on Google Maps.  It is very useful for local SEO and an underutilized opportunity by many companies.

As quality search engine optimization involves making changes on your website and creating backlinks to your website to boost your credibility, poor quality SEO can use loopholes and backdoor methods (known as black hat methods) which can lead to your site being considered as spammy and inferior. Given the entire methodology of SEO is to communicate trustworthiness, relevance and value to Search Engines in order to rank better; you might see fast improvements in the short-term but will likely be punished and lower your rank in the long-term. To ensure lasting impact then Quality SEO is the only way to go.

Yes, you could do the work yourselves but without the toolsets and experience that SEO professionals have, you will be flying blind, or at best putting in a lot of extra time to achieve the same or poorer result.  Wouldn't that time be better spent on your business?  Combine that with SEO professionals following best practices, knowing the bits that work well, and who have to keep up with the continually adjusting dynamic search engine algorithms.  Outsourcing to an experienced SEO professional can give you peace of mind that common errors in SEO will be avoided.  SEO can make such a difference in your traffic to your site, and in effect your prospective client numbers - it is important so you want it to be done right.   We are a Brisbane SEO company and focus on helping simplify the process for small businesses in Brisbane or beyond.  The beauty of this work is that we can help any small business in any country.

In Australia the average cost spent on SEO per month is $750 - $2000.  Generally, the higher the competition, the more you might need to pay.  But I've focused my packages on small business needs, honing in on the essential areas and I've tried to make them affordable SEO packages for small businesses.  I do suggest that you start with an initial project or revamp project to get your SEO planned out and organised.  And then follow with a monthly maintenance to ensure you keep competitive in your arena.   If you are new to SEO then consider my starter package which also spreads the initial project cost over the following 6 months.