As digital marketing practices continue to evolve, one of the questions being asked is whether Search Engine Optimization (aka SEO) is still relevant in 2024. The simple answer is yes. Search Engine Optimization is still relevant in 2024 and will continue to be so for at least the next few years. If you’re new to search engine optimization, you’re in the right place. This guide will walk you through the essentials you need to know to get started with SEO, helping you drive organic traffic to your website and grow your online presence.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of optimizing a website to increase its visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs), making it visible to the right people at the right time. By optimizing your site for search engines like Google, you can attract more organic (non-paid) traffic, which is essential for driving business growth. In today’s digital landscape, where consumers rely heavily on search engines to find information, products, and services, having a strong SEO strategy is critical to a business’s success.

Effective SEO can lead to increased web traffic, higher conversion rates, and ultimately, more revenue. At its core, SEO is about making your website accessible, relevant, and authoritative in the eyes of search engines, which will then put it in front of your target audience when they’re searching for a business like yours.

Before diving into SEO strategies, it’s crucial to understand where your site ranks in terms of keywords. Conducting a comprehensive SEO audit of your website will give you a clear picture of what’s working and what needs improvement. Here are some steps to get started:

Use tools like Google Analytics will help you to see where your traffic is coming from, which pages are performing well, and what keywords you’re currently ranking for. You can also use tools such as Domain Overview in SEMrush to see your organic traffic if you don’t have analytics set up yet. 

Tools like Google Search Console and SEMrush can help you identify any technical issues, such as broken links, slow page load times, or mobile usability problems. These are important because search engines give preference to responsive sites with faster loading times and fewer broken links.

Assess the quantity and quality of your backlinks. There are lots of tools available to analyze your backlink profile and identify opportunities for improvement. You can even check out your competitors’ backlinks and identify opportunities for growth that you may not have thought of.

By understanding your starting point, you can set a baseline and measure the impact of your SEO efforts over time.

Once you know where you’re at, you need to decide where you want to go. SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Setting realistic, achievable goals is essential to keep your efforts focused and measure success. Here are some tips:

Are you aiming to increase organic traffic, improve rankings for specific keywords, or grow online sales? Each of these objectives will result in a different SEO strategy so knowing what you’re trying to achieve is very important.

Use SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals to ensure clarity and track progress. For example, “Increase organic traffic by 20% in six months.”

Focus on high-impact activities that align with your goals. Prioritize tasks that will deliver the most significant results, such as optimizing high-traffic pages or improving site speed.

Understand that SEO is an inexact science and that your competitors are very likely going to be aiming for some of the same keywords as you are which could cause you to miss your targets. If that happens, try to find out as much as you can about why you didn’t hit your target and adjust your plans.

Keyword research is the cornerstone of any successful SEO strategy. It involves identifying the terms and phrases your target audience is using to search for products, services, or information related to your business so that you can incorporate them into your copy. Here’s how to do it:

Start with a list of relevant topics related to your business. Think about what your customers might be searching for.

Tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, and SEMrush can help you discover new keywords, understand search volume, and analyze competition. They can also help you determine if there are variants of your keywords that might be better suited for your business than the ones you are currently using. 

Look at what keywords your competitors are ranking for. This can provide valuable insights and help you identify gaps in your own strategy. SEMrush has a keyword gap tool that will allow you to find keywords up to 4 competitors are ranking for that you aren’t and then you can target those keywords.

Understand the intent behind the keywords. There are 4 types of search intents:

• • Navigational – The user is looking for a specific site such as Facebook or Amazon or even your business’ site. These searches are dominated by branded keywords (branded keywords are the names of a business or service).
  • Informational – The user is trying to find out information of some kind. These searches typically have question words like who, what, whe, where, why, or how.
  • Transactional – The user wants to complete a transaction of some kind. It may be making a purchase but it could also be something like making a dinner reservation or subscribing to a service.
  • Commercial – The user is doing research on a future purchase – this category is similar to the previous one except the user isn’t quite ready to make the purchase, however with a little more information they could be. Many keywords in this category will have words like best, review, compare, or versus.

Much of the success of an SEO strategy is determined by how it begins. If you have a clear understanding of what keywords your site is ranking for now, define clear objectives for success, and focus on relevant keywords with the correct intents for your goals, you can build a strong foundation for SEO success.

It is important to remember that SEO is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adjustment. It isn’t a set-and-forget strategy but one that needs to be checked on and updated regularly.

Look for part 2 of this series where we’ll discuss technical (on-page) SEO, the importance of backlinks, and why content is still the most important part of an SEO strategy.

As a full-service marketing agency, cHaus can help you with your SEO strategy and assist you every step of the way. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve your SEO goals.