The vast majority of brands, when they “enter the Internet”, start by starting their own website. It is almost always a sensible choice – your own piece of the Web allows you to present your brand, products or services to customers, offering freedom in form and content, without limiting the reach, as in social media.

When designing and publishing the brand’s official website on the web, it is difficult to do without SEO. SEO advertising is a long-term investment, but this marathon usually pays off! Moreover, it fits well with other online promotion methods such as Google Ads.

SEO as an advertising channel

But let’s start with what exactly is SEO advertising, otherwise known as website SEO. SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, i.e. website optimization in terms of their visibility in search engines.

Pages displayed in the search results of individual phrases in the engine (for example, Google or Bing) are not accidental – their set and order is the work of an advanced and constantly updated selection algorithm. It is based primarily on the so-called keywords, i.e. keywords. So when we enter any phrase, the engine returns a list of results that in theory best match a given query – that is, Google tries to limit the time spent by the user on searching and redirect him to the desired destination as quickly as possible.

On the part of the algorithm, such page ordering to actually shorten the search time to the absolute minimum is a huge challenge. The search engine has to “guess” what type of information the user is looking for – are these the products they want to buy? Or maybe he wants to broaden his knowledge on a given topic and collect specific data? Teaching the algorithm a sensible “understanding” of the user’s intentions is the greatest difficulty – and although the search system is still far from ideal, thanks to updates the algorithm becomes slightly better at fulfilling this function every day.

SEO – what it is all about

The algorithm largely takes into account the content placed on the page, i.e. its length, quality and presentation, but content is only one of over 200 factors analyzed by the algorithm. Below, we will describe the most important elements that make up the position of the website in search results – their refinement can, under favorable conditions, bring amazing results when it comes to SEO advertising.

However, before we get into the SEO advertising guidelines and rules, let’s start with how to prepare for SEO. The first step should always be an in-depth analysis of keywords – what phrases are entered by users into the search engine if they want to find products, services or data contained on competing websites? What keywords are related to the industry in which you operate?

Many programs and services that analyze key phrases and positions of specific pages come to the rescue. It is worth paying attention to free Google Trends and Google Keyword Planner, as well as various paid solutions: Ahrefs, Semstorm and Senuto, among others. In the case of positioning, your intuition must give way to the collected data – if you think that a certain keyword will attract valuable (i.e. converting) traffic to the website, but the analysis suggests something exactly the opposite, probably in 99% of cases the program will be right.

It is worth remembering that from the point of view of the business owner, the value is only the user who converts – buys a product or service or performs another action that we have planned (e.g. watching a video on the website or downloading a PDF file). This means that your keywords must be related to your image or sales goals. You can easily attract many users to your website, but the wrong choice of keywords will bring people who are not interested in the topic to the website, without having a positive impact on important business indicators.

Without meaningful keyword analysis, SEO is an internet wandering in complete darkness – sometimes you can attract a client, but you have no real chance of competing with someone with night vision. If you haven’t had anything to do with SEO before, perhaps in your case you should consider outsourcing an SEO audit to an SEO professional who will check the keywords with the greatest potential and suggest necessary changes to the website.

There are many tools on the web that allow you to perform an independent SEO audit. This is a good start to understanding what a page is missing and worth paying attention to. Automatic audit, however, will not replace an analysis made by a specialist, taking into account the specificity of the website, industry and other aspects that the machine is not able to properly develop.

SEO advertising starts with content

When adapting your website to the requirements of the algorithm, it is worth starting with the content. It has to be – of course – user-engaging and encouraging to buy, but also search engine-friendly. This means that the content should be:

– Full of keywords – so that it does not obstruct reading as much as possible and does not give an unnatural impression. The potential customer will reflect on the inauthentic and simply strange-sounding text. The same will be done by an algorithm that better and better recognizes “junk” content.
– Long enough to comprehensively describe the topic – the user can learn more (and your brand gains an expert image). It also enables collision-free interweaving of more keywords.
– Properly formatted – divided into paragraphs (nobody likes a compact wall of text – neither does the Google algorithm), decorated with graphics and written in a readable font. It is also good practice to include your title and subheadings, possibly with keywords, in the form of H1, H2 and H3 headings.

If you don’t have a site where you can post more content, it might be a good idea to start a corporate blog. This gives you basically unlimited possibilities – you can strengthen the expert image of the brand, show off your successes, present your know-how and specialists, and at the same time, thanks to the publication of content, attract valuable traffic from the search engine to the website.

On-site SEO

Content optimization is one of the elements that make up the so-called on-site SEO, i.e. activities that can be performed directly on a positioned website. In addition to refining the content, other important aspects of the website are also important for Google and it is worth bearing in mind for seo advertising to be as effective as possible.

Google also places great emphasis on technical issues, such as:

Page loading speed
The faster your site loads, the better – it’s obvious. If the entire process takes more than a few seconds, a large number of users simply give up their visit and turn to the next page in search results. Google knows this, so loading time is an important ranking factor. How can the waiting time be shortened? Actions include JavaScript minification, image compression, server migration with faster response times, and more. Google PageSpeed Insights can help you find out what you can improve on a page.

Responsiveness
Users browse pages on a variety of devices – desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, TVs and many more. This means that your website must display properly and allow comfortable viewing on multiple screen resolutions. The algorithm pays attention to, among other things, whether the text is readable (for example, whether individual characters do not extend beyond the screen).

SSL certificate
Encrypted communication is absolutely essential today – Google knows it too. The correct installation of the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is indicated by a green (or gray in some browsers) padlock next to the website address.

Friendly URL’s
The URL has a specific structure, but the form of the URL may vary depending on the administrator’s actions. Friendly addresses are much more intuitive for the user, and at the same time allow network bots to better “understand” the content of the subpage.

Internal links
We have devoted a separate section of this text to links, but it is worth mentioning internal links here. These are the links in which you redirect to subpages within your own domain, making it easier for both the user and the bot to navigate.

Picture descriptions
Each picture can be provided with a title and the so-called alt attribute, i.e. an alternative description. They are not usually visible at first glance, but they are in the code, which makes them well understood by web crawlers.

These are just some of the actions that should be performed on the website to improve its position in search results as part of on-site SEO. However, SEO is much more than just the methods presented above. In addition to other ideas for adapting the website to the requirements of the algorithm, it is also worth taking an interest in the second SEO department.

Off-site SEO – the power of linking

Off-site SEO can be simply called all activities that focus on obtaining links from other pages pointing to a given domain. This is largely what a page’s rank is based on – often referred to as (digital) social righteousness. The algorithm assumes that if many other pages of high “value” link to a given page, the linked page is also considered valuable – so it is probably worth raising its position.

However, it is not that simple. The key is getting quality links that will often be worth much more than a few hundred links from a zero-reputation microsite.

It is also worth paying attention to the attribute of a given link. There are several types, the most important of which at the initial stage are:
– Dofollow – a link that “opens the door” to a web crawler – encourages him to go to the linked page, ergo has a clear positioning value.
– Nofollow – a link that the bot theoretically does not pay attention to – i.e. sees it, but does not go any further. This includes links from social media such as Facebook or Twitter, as well as Wikipedia.

However, it is not that every nofollow link is meaningless from the point of view of SEO advertising, and each dofollow link will bring a specific value. The natural link profile is important for the algorithm – suspected spam may result in the imposition of a filter that will limit the website’s visibility in the search engine.

Where to get the links? Valuable content will organically diverge to some extent, but this is usually not enough. So you can arrange an exchange of links with the owner of another website or simply buy them. There are many websites on the Internet market that allow you to buy space for a given domain, but the selection of the “linking area” must be supported by thorough research – otherwise you can burn out the budget allocated for it, and in extreme situations, severely damage the painstakingly built position of the website.

SEO Advertising – What Should You Remember?

SEO of websites does not bring immediate results – you have to wait up to several months for the first noticeable changes. The power of SEO inertia is considerable, especially when compared to PPC systems (Google Ads or Facebook Ads), where a well-configured campaign brings profits right away. For this reason, positioning should be planned in the long term – only this approach provides meaningful results.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Positions in search results depend on many factors – Google’s algorithm takes into account over 200 issues, related to both content and technology, as well as links directing to the domain. In a nutshell, SEO can be divided into two sections:

– On-site SEO is activities that can be performed on the website itself. They come down to, among other things, updating and usually expanding the content on the website and saturating it with relevant keywords. Technical issues are also of great importance – loading speed, responsiveness, implementation of the SSL certificate or issues related to UX (SXO).

– Off-site SEO is based on building links that lead to a given domain. In theory, the more pages hyperlinked to a given site, the higher it is in search results – Google digitally applies its version of social proof of rightness to its rankings. Of course, the mechanics are a bit more complicated in the details – for example, it is important to diversify the link profile.

PageRank – Domain Strength Index

In the past, the indicative “power” of the domain could be easily checked using Google tools. It is the PageRank index, which uses a formula to calculate the “quality” of a domain on the basis of links to it and links placed on the website. Links taken into account by PR had to be provided with the dofollow parameter (the division into dofollow and nofollow was introduced in 2005 – previously the categorization did not exist, and the algorithm necessarily analyzed all links).

PageRank information was on the google toolbar, and small page owners often placed PR morning banners on their sites as an expression of digital prestige. Over time, PageRank was removed from Google Search Console and it was not possible to officially check the PR of a given page. Today, this result still has a significant impact on the page’s position in search results, but it is only one of many factors that the algorithm takes into account.

Domain authority and other indicators

With Google hiding PageRank in 2016, finding out about domain “strength” has become more complicated. Many SEO tools have developed their own algorithms to evaluate this value. Often in discussions, the issue of domain authority is raised – it is a ranking developed by the Moz company, which is based on the analysis of several factors. The result is indicated on a scale from 0 to 100, where the higher the number indicates the greater potential of the domain.

A similar tool, although of course based on its own value calculation system, is used by the popular Ahrefs service. This is called Domain Rating and is based on comparing the profile of links leading to the analyzed domain with other domains in Ahrefs database. As in the case of a domain rating, the score is given on a scale of 0 to 100.

Note – when using Ahrefs, do not confuse Domain Rating with URL Rating (UR) – the second indicator refers to quite similar mechanics (however, it uses a logarithmic scale), but not the entire domain is analyzed, but only a specific URL.

Domain authority and the Google algorithm

However, it is worth remembering that both domain authority and domain rating (as well as other similar indicators calculated by other tools) are not official Google data. This is only an approximate estimate and should only be taken as a guide, not a reliable factor. The Google algorithm remains a secret of the Mountain View group – all commercial tools trying to recreate it based on their own data are necessarily burdened with a large dose of presumptions or even randomness. Google admits the same in the words of John Mueller, an expert who has been dealing with the google algorithm for many years – “high authority of the linking domain does not guarantee high positions in the search engine.”

Ahrefs, Moz or Senuto are so useful services that no SEO specialist can ignore them – mastering such tools is the basis of an SEO engineer’s work. However, it cannot be denied that the key is the appropriate interpretation of the data they contain. Commercial crawlers may not reach all links. What’s more, they can be blocked from the level of the website administrator (meanwhile, Google crawlers will usually reach these subpages anyway). Many SEO agencies block the bots of tools such as Moz or Ahrefs so as not to reveal their back-end competitors. At the same time, this security and know-how protection strategy does not allow these tools to realistically assess the link profile. Domain authority is therefore only an estimated guideline and not a genuine value. DR can be a sensible indicator, but the analysis of each domain must be approached individually – only then will the SEO audit and subsequent positioning activities be able to draw the maximum potential from the website.

The SEO audit is unequal to the audit

The first step in SEO is always (or at least should be) a detailed, specialized website audit. During such an audit, each experienced specialist takes into account that despite the undeniable usefulness of the above-mentioned commercial tools, many indications may be burdened with various errors resulting from generalized statistical conclusions drawn by such tools. When analyzing a website’s link profile, it is important to consider first of all the results that link building generates – i.e. page positions in SERPs.

An effective website must effectively combine these two areas. You should take care not only to attract a potential customer, but also to encourage him to make a purchase, leave a contact, watch a webinar or other activity that has been planned and envisaged to achieve the business goal. SXO – Search Experience Optimization comes in handy, i.e. the concept of a comprehensive combination of SEO and UX, data analytics and conversion optimization. This means that thinking about positioning should take place simultaneously with remembering about building a positive user experience, based on web analytics, in order to optimize conversion on the website.

The first step in implementing good SXO practices is to conduct a comprehensive website audit in this regard. A professionally conducted SXO audit will show all the fields that are worth looking at to probably improve the website’s results.

But let’s start with a brief introduction to what user experience and website positioning are more specifically.

UX – User Experience

UX, or user experience, is what the user feels while browsing the site. It cannot be denied that even very similarly designed pages can evoke various impressions – UX deals with how to refine a website in such a way as to make browsing easier and more pleasant for the user, and at the same time increase the conversion rate. Due to the multifaceted nature of User Experience, it is in fact a mix of many areas – from psychology and its derivatives, through web testing, to issues related to technical optimization of the website.

A component of UX is UI – User Interface. These are all the elements of the website or application, along with their arrangement, by means of which the user communicates with the program. In this context, we most often talk about GUI – Graphic User Interface, i.e. a graphic representation of this communication.

When analyzing and designing UX, the user is put first – his needs, skills, habits and digital qualifications. The website addressed to teenagers will look and work differently, and differently to seniors – both in terms of the interface (color combinations, font selection, graphics), and in terms of the structure of the user path and shopping funnels.

SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Website positioning activities are aimed at making a given website appear higher in the search results of Google, Bing, Yahoo! and other search engines.

By entering a specific phrase into the search engine, we hope that we will find what we are looking for quickly. Regardless of whether we mean a specific product (preferably at the lowest available price), a service, information, contact details or a meme from years ago. We are committed to achieving our goal as quickly as possible. Recently, Google has become fixated on making its search engine “precisely execute the user’s intentions,” which means that the positioning algorithm is committed to delivering qualitative results. This was due to the fact that over 60% of Internet users do not find an answer to their question after first entering the website from the search results. Clickbaits only make things worse, and this is what Google is struggling with with almost daily algorithm updates.

The owner of the website counts on the fact that the website will be visited by Internet users, and then they will make purchases (e-commerce), leave leads (service industry) or read the materials contained therein (content websites). Good website positioning can significantly improve sales results. Often, the profitability of running a given business depends on the visibility in the search engine. Thus, the user hopes for quick access to the right content, the search engine hopes to ensure it, and the website owner hopes that his site will be found and visited.

The results of displaying in search engines are not set randomly – the constantly improved algorithm is responsible for the ranking. This one takes into account about 200 factors during the overall analysis of the website and direct links to it. What is it about?

On-site SEO

Google places great emphasis on content and its presentation. On-site SEO means changes that can be implemented directly on a positioned website. They can be divided into two categories – content modification and technical layer.

As mentioned above, Google wants pages placed high in search results to meet the user’s needs. Ideally, the content on the page is well optimized and contains specific keywords surrounded by intermediate words – long tails and LSI. However, it is not about a random juxtaposition of phrases, but about a substantive and structured text on a desired topic. In order to properly present a given issue, the content on the subpage must be properly organized – incl. divided into paragraphs and supplemented with headings (H1, H2, H3).

It is also very important how the text is displayed and how quickly the page loads. Most users, when they have to wait more than a few seconds, will simply go back to the search results and select a different page. Therefore, the website loading time cannot be overestimated. The algorithm also takes it into account and checks it in particular according to Core Web Vitals guidelines.

Gone are the days when the Internet was only browsed on computers. Today, web developers have to deal with thousands of different devices, technologies, designs and resolutions. The website must look good on every hardware, should not generate errors, and ensure the correct display of many fonts or graphics. The Google algorithm is able to detect errors in the presentation, therefore the correct responsiveness is one of the keys to positioning.

Internal linking is also important, i.e. placing links to other subpages of a given website. Correctly solved, it not only increases users’ engagement by encouraging them to click, but also significantly facilitates navigation for web robots. Another important aspect is the so-called canonical links, thanks to which, despite different real URLs (for example in online stores), Google robots see this as one variant. This prevents duplication of subpages.

Off-site SEO

Extensive, comprehensive on-page content and technical perfection are very important, but not enough to position your page for more popular, frequently searched phrases. The algorithm assumes that if a website has many links, it is valuable for users – after all, when we find interesting content, we sometimes share the link with friends ourselves. Off-site SEO involves gathering multiple links from other pages that Google determines to be strong. It is important that the link structure is appropriately varied – next to the dofollow links containing keywords, there should also be links without keywords and sometimes with the nofollow parameter. Link profile diversification is sometimes referred to as link pillowing.

SXO audit – what is it?

The first step to improving your SXO is to conduct a comprehensive SXO audit. Specialists will thoroughly analyze various aspects related to positioning and UX, draw conclusions and propose necessary changes on the website. Many of the nearly 200 ranking factors of Google’s SEO algorithm relate directly to the UX on the page – for example, building pop-ups.

SXO audit – what is analyzed as part of it? The scope of activities includes, among others:

SEO audit and recommendations
– domain history,
– website performance and construction,
– keywords and their potential,
– visibility against the competition,
– link profile,
– the current condition of SEO on the website,
– website mobility and usability,
– Core Web Vitals parameters,
– SEO content on the website,
– meta tags, snippets,
– Google My Business card,
– crawl budget,
– search engine analysis, filters and sorting,
– and other!

Analytics audit and GSC
– correct basic configuration,
– the impact of organic traffic on conversion,
– traffic quality, click-through rate.

SEO – recommendations of actions depending on the type of website and industry
– Meta tags (title & description),
– On-site and off-site linking,
– SEO content (including headers),
– Rich snippets,
– Positioning the Google business card,
– Website optimization,
– Monitoring and optimization of activities,
– Keyword research with potential,
– and other!

UX and CRO – actions
– Analysis of the purchase path and cart from listing to order fulfillment,
– Analysis of the contact form,
– UI & UX analysis of main subpages,
– Widget and pop-up analysis,
– Heatmaps of clicks and depth of scrolling,
– Payment system tests,
– Support for the SEO department in designing changes.