How can I optimise for SEO in my website? SEO tips to get ranking in 2024 

July 14, 2024

How do I effectively optimise for SEO in my website? Is the NUMBER ONE question any future forward business owner should be asking themselves in 2024 and beyond. SEO is the holy grail of digital marketing and, when done correctly, can blast 🚀 your online lead generation and sales through the roof. 

Key Takeaways

• SEO is one of the most powerful investments you can make for your business. It’s planting a fruit tree that, once watered and grown correctly (and with a little maintenance), continually bears fruit.
• PPC is a quick fire way to get results but can be costly. SEO is a great way for small businesses to get ahead at lower costs, especially when they choose effective keywords.
• Technical SEO is very important for your website if you’re wanting to rank on search engines, particularly in local search.
• Ai should be used with caution when it comes to content SEO. It’s a great tool but you could end up on the wrong side of Google if you’re not careful.
• Leave the lead generation to the experts. Hiring an SEO expert is a smart investment for small businesses, we use our knowledge and expertise to get you ranking whilst you put time into your business. 

Why should I consider SEO in my website?

Well, do you want to have to continually pay for advertising via pay-per-click (PPC) aka Google ads? If the answer is no, then investing in correct SEO implementation is essentially. SEO if done well can land you in the top spot on Google search organically. And organic fruit 🍊tastes so much better than anything else. Whats more is you’ll have grown a fruit tree that, once you’ve invested the time and effort into growing it properly, will keep reaping rewards for you for years to come. 

Should you promote your website through PPC or try ranking organically?

The truth is there’s merit in both. PPC can be considered a quick fix, and add a nice injection to your leads whenever you need it. When they hit the sweet spot for your customers, Google ads can be very effective. The downside is you pay per CLICK 💸 so it’s going to cost you, this strategy can be tough for small and medium sized business that may not have the budget for an effective PPC campaign, particularly in high competition sectors.  

Ranking organically through content SEO is a marathon and not a sprint, but it’s certainly a race thats worth running 🏆. It may take 3-6 months for your efforts to bear fruit, but whats better than landing that number one spot in SERPs (search engine results page results) without having to pay for the click?! Ranking organically with SEO is a longer lasting and more cost effective strategy for your business.  

Ever had an email saying “We can rank you number 1 on Google”?

Ah that old nutshell 🌰. First of all, there’s more to good keyword research than meets the eye, and you have to ensure that the keyword your trying to rank for is indeed a term that your desired customers are searching for.

There are many companies out there that will boast saying they can bag you that prime “number 1 spot on Google”. This could be true, but there could be a sneaky catch… What you need to know about keywords is they are not all created equal and ranking number 1 on Google is pretty easy for a keyword that’s not in demand. These companies/cowboys are often pulling the wool over your eyes and, yes you may get that number one spot, but the catch is – nobody is searching for it 💀. 

Good keyword research involves a deep knowledge of SEO, your company, and its customers. Thinkroom UK clients get an in-depth SEO analysis of their business and we implement an SEO strategy that gets you ranking for valuable keywords that aren’t necessarily what your competition are considering.

Content SEO vs Technical SEO = different SEO work 

Well, content SEO refers to all “on page” content you see. So thats descriptions, captions, FAQs etc. Anything a customer can see and read is content SEO.

Technical SEO on the other hand, or otherwise referred to as, “off page” is all to do with the technical aspects of your website, localisation coding, image sizes, alt image captions, site speed and many other factors. Getting your technical SEO in check is very important if you want a healthy website when it comes to SEO. 

Remember, a good website is more than a stunning design

Whats important to note is that not all web developers create websites with content or technical SEO in mind. You can hire a great web developer, that creates a fab looking site, but all it ends up being is decorative, not effective. And certainly not lead generating. Without considering SEO from the outset your website cannot function as it needs to if you want that Google ranking.  This is something worth considering, and worthwhile investing in.

At Thinkroom UK we develop websites with SEO and user experience at the heart, creating UX & UI designs that rank and then convert 💪. 

Can I use Ai to create content with SEO in my website?

So we’re going to break this down. First let’s talk DIY SEO…

Improve your SEO these starter tips 

Getting your SEO right can get your leads skyrocketing. If you want to have a go at SEO yourself here are our top tips:

• Research keywords for your business. Tools out there like SEMRush can help or you could simply look at your competitors.
• Place your Keyword in the H1 of your web page, a few times in your page and in your meta title.
• Have enough content on your page and make it valuable using other keywords for your industry.
• Tread carefully with Ai
• Get some quality backlinks

For smart SEO you can always give us a bell 🔔.

Nowadays most people know about Ai generators like ChatGTP and Midjourney. In 2024, Google now also have their own Ai software which they are integrating into search (you may now come across an Ai generated section at the top of your search results). Does this mean Google is completely onboard with the use of Ai? No, not exactly.

In October 2020, Google introduced BERT. No, not Mary Poppins’ ☂️trusty companion, BERT refers to Bidirectional Transformers for Language Understanding and it needs to be taken into account if you want a “practically perfect” ranking. BERT helps Google understand how language is used and the context of particular words within searches. The long and tall of it is that there needs to be a focus on creating natural, useful and high quality content for users.

Ai created content isn’t overly valuable. Yes, you can get ChatGTP to write you a blog in a few seconds, you can even ask it to include certain phrases or keywords if you like. The catch here is that with ChatGTP everyone’s an expert and by default nobody is. This doesn’t align with Googles values as a superior quality, highly trustworthy, search engine. Essentially Google can spot a blog written by a robot 🤖 and if you’re not providing anything of true value to your customers it will not rank you, and worse, could penalise you.

How to use Ai for SEO in my website

Taking the above into account here are a few things to keep in mind when using Ai:

• Use it as a TOOL, not as a replacement for expert SEO copywriters or industry experts.
• If you’re going to write using Ai – humanise it, use it as a base and then make it your own. The most important thing is to write for your audience. Entertain, educate and innovate.
• Bare in mind that the integrated Ai on platforms is working against you as well as with you. Google has now included Ai options when creating Ads. Remember these platforms are around to make money so the keywords it suggests may be excellent, but they could also be expensive ones. Performing your own clever keyword research is much better.

The BIG World of SEO – Why you should you consider an SEO Expert?

In the BIG wide world of search engine optimisation things can change with the snap of Googles fingers, and in late 2023 Google did just that. Their latest update “the HCU – The helpful content update” made SEO experts jump to attention and also wonder what Google was thinking. After much discussion, the takeaway is that if you want to rank above your competition, you need to do the following:

• Know the latest SEO techniques.
• Bring genuine value to the your customers.
• Keep your finger on the Google pulse.

As a business owner you already have a full time job – running your business. Keeping an sufficient eye on business AND the SEO world is a big task so hiring an expert could be the smartest choice for you to make 👓.

Conclusion on how to optimise your website in 2024

Spending time implementing correct SEO is one of the best investments you can make for your business, it’s cost effective in the long run and you can reap the rewards for years to come.

There are many layers of SEO to consider including content, technical and local SEO if you want to get your website in the best possible situation for search engine rankings. The truth is theres more to SEO than just writing content. SEO is a constantly changing field and you need to stay on the pulse of best SEO practice if you really want it to make a difference to your business.

At Thinkroom we put SEO at the heart of what we do, consider a Thinkroom partnership to get your web traffic sky-rocketing 🚀.