What Every Non-Technical Marketer Needs To Know About SEO

For many businesses, ranking on the first page of Google is a constant uphill battle. Digital marketers are constantly trying to get more exposure and drive traffic to their websites. The only problem is that staying on top of the latest trends and best practices can be difficult given the increasingly complexity and misinformation surrounding SEO and the constant changes in search algorithms. In this article, we’ll share the top five things every non-technical marketer needs to know about SEO.

#1: You will rank where you deserve to rank

It’s a common misconception that whenever Google releases a new update – be it Panda or Penguin – SEO becomes more complicated. In reality, the purpose of these updates is to remove the “tricks” and make SEO easier for everyone.

So, as a digital marketer, one of the first things you need to understand about SEO is that you will rank where you deserve to rank. If you’ve tried just about every trick in the book but your site still isn’t showing up on the first page of Google, it’s most probably because there’s still room for improvement.

Look at the sites that are currently ranking at the top. If your content isn’t objectively better for the keywords you’re trying to rank for, then it’s easy to understand that you probably don’t deserve to rank at the top. Analyze the content pieces that are outranking yours and ask yourself how you can make your content better.

#2: Not all keywords are created equal

If you’re trying to rank for a particular keyword query, perhaps the most important factor to be mindful of is searcher intent. There are four types of search intent:

• Informational: When users have a specific question or are looking for more information about a particular topic. For example, “how to make slime” or “why are dolphins so smart.”
• Navigational: Users with navigational intent are trying to find a particular website or page. For example, YouTube or Reddit.
• Transactional: These are search queries that indicate the user is looking to make a purchase. For example, “buy selfie ring light” or “order iphone xs.”
• Commercial: When users are in the decision phase, they’ll make commercial intent searches that indicate they’re researching products. For example, “best hair dryers for curly hair” or “best saas project management tools.”

Your goal should be to create landing pages that fit your target audience’s search intent. Think of it this way: If someone is looking for more information about your products, you wouldn’t want to lead them directly to your product page. Instead, you’d want the articles and blog posts you’ve written about the product to show up in search results.

On the flip side, if you try to rank for a keyword that doesn’t match the searcher’s intent, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Keep in mind that the most generic or highest volume keyword in your niche isn’t always the one that will convert the best. In other words, creating content that converts well (and thus ranks well) requires you to develop an understanding of what your target audience is searching for.

#3: The Field of Dreams approach doesn’t work

Many people seem to believe that if they create a brilliant piece of content, their target audience will rush to read it. If your site is a popular, established online magazine or blog, this may very well be the case. However, in reality this is far from how it happens.

The Field of Dreams approach – “build it and they will come” – doesn’t work on its own. You can’t simply create high-quality content, sit back, and hope your target audience finds it – you must also have a solid plan for promoting each piece of content you create.

In other words, you need a user-friendly website, quality content, and a well-thought-out plan for driving traffic to your content. Make sure you’re promoting your content on social media, sending out email newsletters, and engaging with your target audience through forums.

#4: Mobile is critical today

If your business website isn’t mobile-friendly, you will struggle to be found on Google. According to Statista, the number of mobile phone users is expected to reach 4.78 billion in 2020. And in March 2018, Google announced it would be indexing websites based on their mobile version (not their desktop version).

Considering Google’s mobile-first index, having a mobile-friendly website is absolutely necessary if you want to rank in search engine results pages (SERPs). This involves making sure your site uses text that can be read without zooming in, auto-adjusting content to fit the user’s screen, and making sure it’s easy to click links and buttons.

And that’s just the start. We recommend checking the mobile-friendliness of your site’s page using the Mobile-Friendly Test to get a better idea of what steps you need to take to improve your site’s ranking in SERPs.

#5: Site speed is also critical

You probably already know that optimizing your site’s page loading times is important for delivering a good user experience and preventing visitors from hitting the Back button. But did you also know that slow loading pages negatively affect your site’s SEO, specifically its indexation?

If search engines aren’t able to crawl your site for a few days, you’ll start to see a drop in your search engine rankings. The good news is that there are many ways to speed up your site and optimize it for performance. The obvious place to start is finding a good web host. Assuming your host is sound then you might consider compressing images, minifying JavaScript, and springing for a content delivery network (CDN). You can use tools like Load Impact and GTMetrix to analyze page loading times and identify issues that affect site performance.

Conclusion

SEO plays an integral role in building credibility and positioning your business as an industry leader. Even if you aren’t particularly technical, you should have a basic understanding of simple SEO techniques and what you can do to rank in SERPs. Instead of chasing after trendy SEO buzzwords, look for ways search engines can help you deliver more value to your target audience.