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How to succeed on search engines

Ensuring that your website is ranked favourably within search engine results pages takes a concerted effort. Picture Shutterstock
Ensuring that your website is ranked favourably within search engine results pages takes a concerted effort. Picture Shutterstock

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Succeeding on different search engines - that is to say, ensuring that your website is ranked favourably within search engine results pages - takes a concerted effort. It also involves using proactive and applied techniques to influence search engine rankings. In the digital world, this practice has commonly become known as Search Engine Optimisation or SEO.

Of course, there are various types of Search Engine Optimisation techniques. Some of these include Off-Page SEO methods, which include external backlinking and link building. On-Page SEO technique, on the other hand, focuses more on internal website content production, such as producing keyword-optimised and targeted copy. Lastly, there is Technical SEO, which is something else entirely!

For more information on each of these SEO techniques, and how they can help your website succeed on different search engines, just read on.

Off-page SEO: External backlinking and link building

Perhaps the most important element of off-page SEO is the creation of external backlinks. Also known as the process of link building, this involves having other websites link to your page. If you're unsure how to do this, SEO agencies in Australia can assist with link building in Melbourne.

As part of a link-building service, SEO experts will first endeavour to understand the products and services advertised client's website. Next, the client will be presented with a prospect list of external websites.

Once an external prospect has been selected, the next step is for the SEO agency experts to match copywriting topics to the external prospect's website. For example, if the article is about cybersecurity in the business world, and the external prospect website is a business entrepreneur blog, the copywriting topic will likely be related to each of these elements.

Now, once the copywriting topic has been established, the next step is for a copywriter to complete the written content. This task is often known as the production of an outreach guest post.

This term has been coined as essentially, the SEO agency copywriter is acting as a guest blogger on the external prospect's page. Finally, once the outreach guest post has been written by a copywriter, and edited to standard, it is then sent to the selected prospect website to be posted on their page.

Of course, the most important element of an outreach guest post is to ensure that it links back to the client's business website. Hence, his process of building an external link to your website is called back linking, or link building. Importantly, if a website has a high number of external links pointing and referring to it, it appears - in the eyes of a search engine - to be a site of authority.

It also boosts the websites' credibility as a reputable and trustworthy information source - one that is worth ranking favourably in search engine results pages or SERPs. And of course, the end goal of Search Engine Optimisation is to ensure that the client's website is ranked as highly as possible. Being listed on the first page of Google results for your search term is an optimal, ideal, and highly desirable result!

On-page SEO: Keyword optimisation and content production

Another branch of Search Engine Optimisation is on-page SEO. This differs from off-page SEO in that the SEO techniques are applied directly to the website in question. As such, the on-page SEO methods involve producing internal content which can be posted to the client's website directly. A big part of this process is keyword optimisation and targeting, which influences the direction in which internal website copy and content are produced.

To do this effectively, keyword research must be performed. But, what is SEO keyword research, and how do you do it? Essentially, an SEO specialist needs to be able to utilise keyword research to identify which search terms are trending for a client's business offering. They can then use this process to narrow down which keywords should be targeted in website content, thus enabling copywriters to produce a keyword-optimised copy.

Technical search engine optimisation or SEO

Another element of on-page SEO is the application of technical SEO techniques. This involves meeting the specific technical characteristics stipulated by search engines such as Google. For example, if a website has a fast page loading speed, stable internal linking and easy navigability, it will be preferred by Google.

Providing a positive user experience or UX to page visitors will in turn cause your page to be ranked higher in search engine results pages. To achieve this, SEO experts can use popular applications and programs - such as 'Screaming Frog', for example - to ensure that a website meets Google's preferred technical specifications.

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There are many elements to succeeding in search engine results rankings. As discussed, however, by applying tried and tested SEO techniques - such as on-page content production, and off-page link building, as well as technical SEO - an optimal ranking can be yours!