What is SEO?

 

SEO is the shorthand for ‘Search Engine Optimisation’. In a nutshell, it makes sure that when your potential customers type in certain words and phrases into Google (or any other search engine relevant to your industry), you show up at the top of the list. A great deal of it is technical work that happens at the back end of the website, and some of it is simply creating great content that provide value to your customers.

Implementing robust SEO benefits your business primarily in that your customers can find you. The more competitive your market, the more essential it is that you’re visible and credible.

What are the benefits of SEO to my business?

Great SEO is particularly important for businesses who sell products or services directly to their customers. However, given how much we all rely on Google and other search engines to solve all our problems, every business will benefit enormously from SEO.

Be where your customers are searching for you.

Attract relevant leads and traffic to your website.

Increase number of sales and enquiries from visitors.

Set yourself apart from competitors in your market.

Add value to your customers through great content.

Maximise any paid advertising (PPC) you do.

Track engagement to hone in on what works.

Enhance your brand's credibility and positioning.

What can I expect?

The journey we take with you depends on whether we have just designed and developed a website for you, or if you are coming to us with an already existing website. Either way, we can help you with your SEO, making sure that we’re aligned with your Brand Strategy and business goals every step of the way.

If you’ve just launched a site with us…

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1. SEO Foundations

Basic technical things so everything you need is set up for implementing an SEO strategy 

  • Setting up Yoast SEO plug-in and other technical infrastructures in the sites back-end. 
  • Inputting meta-data on images and other elements across all pages. 
  • Optimising the copy of each webpage to reflect relevant search terms for your industry 
  • Core web vitals check –  things like page load times, visual stability and interactivity on the website. 
  • Installing Google analytics so you can track traffic and engagement on your website
  • Schema-Markup Installation – providing Google with a code that lets the search enginge know what the company is about. 

We also include 1 month of ongoing support, during which time we monitor the site’s SEO daily, and adjust things as needed while Google starts ranking and cataloguing the website. 

2. Review Call

Review of your Brand Strategy. Specifically, we will revisit your Customer Journey Map, and make sure that we reach them wherever they are on the journey.

We also want to make sure that we stay aligned to the purpose, vision and values of your brand, and its core business objectives.

We will also review your Identity System, and make sure that any content we create for your is inline with your tone of voice and brand visuals.

If you’re coming to us with an existing website…

👇🏽

1. Initial Consultation

This would be an initial call to find out what you’re hoping to achieve with SEO activities. Perhaps you’re looking to engage with SEO work for the first time, or it may be that you’re looking to switch providers because you’re not getting the results you want.

Once we’re clear about your objectives, we will first do a website audit before agreeing any further scope of work. 

2. Website Audit

Sometimes, businesses approach us because they’re not getting the results as quickly as they want from their existing provider. Before agreeing to any further scope of work, we first do a thorough website audit. This gives us a clear insight into what SEO work has been done and how it’s been done. 

Often, we find that the previous SEO provider actually did a really good job. But for other external factors, Google simply isn’t ranking the pages as quickly as we’d like. 

A website audit is a good way for you to get a ‘second opinion’ without committing to any extra expense that you might not need. 

If you’ve just launched a site with us…

👇🏽

1. SEO Foundations

Basic technical things so everything you need is set up for implementing an SEO strategy 

  • Setting up Yoast SEO plug-in and other technical infrastructures in the sites back-end. 
  • Inputting meta-data on images and other elements across all pages. 
  • Optimising the copy of each webpage to reflect relevant search terms for your industry 
  • Core web vitals check –  things like page load times, visual stability and interactivity on the website. 
  • Installing Google analytics so you can track traffic and engagement on your website
  • Schema-Markup Installation – providing Google with a code that lets the search enginge know what the company is about. 

We also include 1 month of ongoing support, during which time we monitor the site’s SEO daily, and adjust things as needed while Google starts ranking and cataloguing the website. 

2. Review Call

Review of your Brand Strategy. Specifically, we will revisit your Customer Journey Map, and make sure that we reach them wherever they are on the journey.

We also want to make sure that we stay aligned to the purpose, vision and values of your brand, and its core business objectives.

We will also review your Identity System, and make sure that any content we create for your is inline with your tone of voice and brand visuals.

If you’re coming to us with an existing website…

1. Initial Consultation

This would be an initial call to find out what you’re hoping to achieve with SEO activities. Perhaps you’re looking to engage with SEO work for the first time, or it may be that you’re looking to switch providers because you’re not getting the results you want.

Once we’re clear about your objectives, we will first do a website audit before agreeing any further scope of work.

2. Website Audit

Sometimes, businesses approach us because they’re not getting the results as quickly as they want from their existing provider. Before agreeing to any further scope of work, we first do a thorough website audit. This gives us a clear insight into what SEO work has been done and how it’s been done. 

Often, we find that the previous SEO provider actually did a really good job. But for other external factors, Google simply isn’t ranking the pages as quickly as we’d like. 

A website audit is a good way for you to get a ‘second opinion’ without committing to any extra expense that you might not need. 

Once we’ve established the above, we begin the rest…

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3. Research

We will always do the basic technical research required so everything you need is set up for implementing an SEO strategy. 

 

  • Technical set up of back end
  • Meta data input and check
  • Optimising each page of the website
  • Core web vitals check (what Google looks for)
  • Google analytics
  • Plug installations as needed
  • Schema-markup installation (code to let Google know what the page and the company is about)
  • Includes 1 month of ongoing support to adjust as needed as Google starts ranging and cataloguing the website.
4. SEO Strategy

Our SEO Strategy will be meticulously aligned with your Brand Strategy and focus on the intricacies of your Customer Journey Map to resonate with your audience at every touchpoint. We know how customers behave online and can put you in front of them at the right time, encouraging them to act. 

Our work is never simply about raising visibility but about meaningful engagement. An increase in the wrong type or quality of organic traffic can damage your business. In developing an SEO strategy, we promise a cohesive and authentic online presence that works for you. 

5. Implementation

We plan each SEO tactic to carefully target audiences. Our commitment to aligning with your brand’s core values and objectives extends to implementation processes. 

As we create and share content, we continually check it reflects your brand’s unique tone, messaging and online identity. Successful SEO implementation does more than increase clicks, it fosters deeper connections with your audience. They are, after all, often the starting point of your customer journey. 

6. Ongoing SEO

SEO is not a one-trick pony.  The task is an ongoing one that needs to reflect changes in search engine algorithms, the behaviour of your competitors and customers’ wants and needs.  We focus on adaptability in the dynamic digital landscape and revisit and refine our work over time. Keeping you ahead in the ever-changing world of search engine optimisation means constant performance measurement and active changes in strategy. 

We are in the business of forming long-term partnerships, so you can be confident that we will be in it for the long haul. The proof SEO is working is growth month-on-month and year-on-year.

7. Content Writing

Writing strong content that appeals to your customers and search engine algorithms is a unique combination of literary skill and technical know-how. Our commitment to aligning with your brand’s purpose, vision, and values doesn’t end either. 

We ensure every content piece we create contributes to your online presence and attractiveness to browsers. There are no shortcuts or cheating involved. We have learned consistent quality, relevance and clarity are the secrets to strong SEO content. It helps that we continually review Google’s policies and principles to ensure we’re one step ahead of the curve. 

I just want to ask a few more things…

We’re all ears! 👂🏽…

We have put together some FAQs below, but if we haven’t answered your questions feel free to shoot us an email. 

How long until my website appears on Google?

For a brand new website, it could be between 6 months to year before it appears in at the top of Google searches. If you’re coming to us with an already existing website, we will tailor our approach to maximise on what you have. 

We recommend a minimum of 3 months’ ongoing SEO activity to collect enough meaningful data and see results. 

Does SEO work for other search engines like Bing or Brave?

We prioritise SEO based on Google searches and activity above any other search engines. Most people primarily use Google, and there are features such as ‘Google My Business’ other search engines don’t have. 

If for some reason your target audience is more likely to use Bing or Brave, we can look into tailoring SEO for those search sites. 

 

I heard SEO is expensive. What's the investment?

This depends on the size of your website, and how important SEO is for you to reach your audience. 

If you have a large website with loads of pages and content, it makes sense to maximise on all that copy by making sure it’s searchable on Google. However, it’s also more work to optimise all the pages, making it a larger investment. 

If your marketing model is primarily based on audience building or peer-to-peer networking, then it may be lower on your priority list. 

The key thing is that it’s an investment, which means we need to be clear about the appropriate return for your business. The best thing to do is book a call with us, and we can give you a more detailed response based on your unique circumstances. 

What is a 'black hat' SEO?

‘White Hat SEO’ is a process that follows the general rules and uses search engine algorithm’s fairly. 

‘Black Hat SEO’ is when you try to ‘hack’ the algorithm to get results fast. It can certainly be effective in driving traffic, but there are high risks. At worst websites can get de-listed, and content can get banned. This is hard to come back from, which means starting the whole process from your business name and brand assets all over again. At best, the traffic you build will be low-quality leads that ultimately won’t lead to sales. 

Simply, we don’t engage in anything other than ‘White Hat SEO’, since anything else carries risks we aren’t willing to put you in. 

What will happen if I don't engage in SEO?

In short, nothing. 

We do recommend at least the SEO foundations, which will set you up nicely for any given future that you do engage in SEO. 

But if you do nothing at all, your website simply wouldn’t be listed on any search engines, and you’ll have to drive traffic to your site via other means such as social media, email marketing or direct word of mouth. 

Do I have to do SEO as soon as my website is launched?

No. But, if you are launching a website with us we do recommend taking up the SEO Foundations setting you up for when you do engage in SEO further down the line. 

Will I be able to write my own content for my website?

Yes! In fact, we recommend this. Nobody else has your knowledge and insight that ultimately feeds your brand values.

However, we know that writing content is in itself a skill and it also takes time. We can support you with this activity. Depending on the amount of your own time and energy that you want to put into this activity, you can either:

  • Send us a draft, and we can edit the content according to your brand’s tone of voice, whilst simultaneously optimising it for SEO.
  • Engage in dialogue/conversation with us around this topic on a recording call. This allows us to tease out interesting aspects around the topic, and write several pieces of content on your behalf based on the conversation.

Are you ready to get started?

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Yes! When can we start?

Excellent! 🎉

Just book a call on the link below 😁. We’ll use the call to find out where you are in your journey, and make sure we’re aligned on how we can help you. 

No, this isn’t what I need.

Anything we can do? 👋🏼

You might not be ready for SEO yet, or you may have something else entirely in mind. Check our capabilities page below to see what services we offer, and if you need to check something just ping us an email.  💌 

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