What is SEO?

Search engine optimisation, SEO, involves adjusting your website in certain ways so that search engines, such as Google and Bing, better understand and find the content on your website. With optimisation, you are more likely to rank higher in search engines, which also increases your chances of getting new customers.

5 SEO tips

Several factors have an impact on your website's online findability. SEO expert Jordy Noll shares the most important tips for ranking higher in search engines.

1. Know what your customers are looking for

Find out which keywords your customers are using in search engines to find your product.

Perform keyword research. Pay attention to the following points:

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Think about the questions they may ask the search engine about your product or service. You find out by asking yourself and your target audience: which problems does my product or service solve?
Write down all the words that you think may be relevant to your website or business.
Use a keyword planner like Google, AnswerThePublic, or Keywordtool.io (free version) to find related keywords. Unlike these keyword planners, Ubersuggest does show how often people search for these keywords.
Create groups of similar keywords, including synonyms. Look for the most important keywords in each group based on keyword volume (high) and competition (low).

2. Create a logical layout for your website

Create a website with a clear layout to ensure that your visitors find the information they are looking for. Think of your homepage, several product pages, and a contact page. Here is how you do it:

Each keyword group from step 1 should have its own page.
Use a logical structure on your website. For example: if you sell furniture, only use broad categories like 'sofas' and 'tables' in the main menu. On the underlying pages, you can provide information about, for example, 'two-seater sofas' or 'coffee tables'.
Make sure that all pages can be reached via at least 1 page on your website besides the main menu. In other words, if a visitor is looking at the page about 'sofas', make sure they can click through to an underlying page about 'two-seater sofas' via a hyperlink.
Ask friends and customers to test your website to see whether the layout makes sense and they can find everything they look for.

3. Use copy, metadata, and images

Search engines determine what your website is about by looking at the copy, metadata, and images on it. To optimise your website, make sure your main keywords (see tip 1) can be found in all 3 places. You do so using your content management system (CMS).

Copy

Search engines search the copy on your website. That way, they decide whether a website matches a keyword. Copy includes the information on the homepage, product pages, page titles, blogs, and the 'About us' page.

Metadata: meta title and meta description

You do not see the meta title on the page, but it is in the browser's tab. The meta title is also usually the clickable link in your search engine results. The meta title has a big influence on which keywords the page is found for.

The meta description is a short description of your website or page on the search results page of search engines. You often see this text below the clickable link in your search result. The content does not directly influence findability, but it can convince the user to click on your result. So, to attract right customers to your website, write concise and complete meta descriptions for each article, as well as for the landing pages.

Images

Images with an alt text (a text that explains what is in the image) and title make your page more relevant, so they will rank higher in searches. Alt texts and titles should always feature keywords.

4. Add hyperlinks

Hyperlinks to other pages allow your reader (and therefore search engines) to keep reading and visit other relevant pages. Use links sparingly: too many links make for difficult reading. Plus, irrelevant links lower your website's reliability.

Tips for using hyperlinks:

If you can, link to pages within your own site. The longer the visitor stays in your online shop, the bigger the chance they will buy.
Link only to websites you trust. You are referring a potential customer, after all. Only link to websites you would also refer customers to in a conversation.
Make sure that visitors can find new information on the linked page. For example, on the page 'how to clean your sofa', you could include a link to the website of the cleaning product manufacturer.

5. Ask for relevant hyperlinks (backlinks)

Have other websites link to your website. Ask your local business association to list your website on their website, for example. When other relevant, popular, high-quality websites refer to you, your authority grows, and more people will visit your website. It is important to find websites that offer information, products, or services that are relevant to your company. A link on a design blog will have more impact than a link on a car website if you want to sell furniture.

SEO: the pitfalls

Jordy Noll says there are also pitfalls that will have a negative impact on your website ranking and findability. These include:

A slow website
A slow website means potential customers may leave before your website fully loads. Check your website speed by using a tool like Google Pagespeed Tool, GT Metrix, or Test My Site.
AI-generated content
It is now very easy to generate texts, images, and even videos with AI (artificial intelligence). The problem for SEO is that these are based on other content and are therefore never actually unique. Are you planning to use AI to produce content? Then make sure it really adds value and do not just do it for SEO purposes.
An unsafe website
Where once you saw, website addresses starting with 'http'. the standard URL now begins with 'https'. The extra 's' stands for 'secure'. It tells your visitor that your website is safe to browse. If your url does not start with https, search engines will rank your website as less secure. Make your website more secure with Let’s Encrypt or Cloudflare. You can also ask your own hosting provider to arrange for an SSL certificate.
A website with no mobile version
Make sure your website works well on a mobile phone. Since most users visit mobile websites these days, search engines mainly evaluate the mobile version of your website.
Paid links
Do not pay others to post a link to your site. This goes against Google's guidelines. They can impose a penalty, like lowering your ranking or removing you from the search results.
A website that is not accessible
You rank better in Google when your website is accessible. You can check accessibility with the digital self-scan (in Dutch).

Do SEO yourself or outsource?

You can start with SEO yourself, But be aware that maintaining it and improving it takes a lot of time and knowledge. You may then want to outsource your SEO. There are a number of ways you can do this, for example:

• Hiring an SEO specialist
If you employ an in-house SEO specialist, you always have access to expertise. And there is always a focus on SEO. But it can be difficult to find someone with the right experience because there is a lot of competition in the market.

• Outsource to a freelancer
The advantage of an SEO freelancer is that you can use them very flexibly. They often have a lot of knowledge and can work independently. On the other hand, you also pay more money for this.

• Outsource to an agency
The advantage of an SEO agency is that they are always available and can often do a lot of work in a relatively short time. It can also be convenient to use the same agency for multiple (online) marketing services. However, using an agency can be very expensive, often costing more than hiring a freelancer.

The best option will depend on your company’s situation. This can also be a combination. For example, employing a junior person as an SEO specialist and hiring a freelancer or agency for the more complex issues.

Watch out for scammers

Search engine optimisation has become very popular in a short time. Because it is so specialised, the danger is that there are also people who do it the wrong way. This can be damaging to your business. So, pay attention to the following points when outsourcing:

• Guaranteed results
Results for SEO cannot be guaranteed. You depend on the search engine's algorithm and that changes regularly. Does someone guarantee results? Then they are often using techniques that are not allowed. This can cause your website to be removed from the search results.

• Fast results
Search engine optimisation takes time. Only in very specific cases are results possible within a few weeks. More often, it takes months or longer before results are visible. If a potential partner does promise you quick results, ask them to explain exactly how they will do this.

• Cut-price experts
Do not be tempted by ‘experts’ offering bargain prices. Real SEO expertise is not cheap. For example, a good SEO freelancer costs somewhere between €60 and €130 per hour, and an agency usually charges somewhere between €90 and €150 per hour.

When outsourcing, always ask about the approach. For example, have a step-by-step plan drawn up and try to get an idea of what is going to happen. Are you in doubt about this? Then bring in another expert for a second opinion.

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