Beginner Read Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation can be a valuable tool for boosting your organisation’s online presence. Read on to find out why.
In this article
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. In simple terms, it’s the process of improving your site to increase the chance that it will show up in relevant searches on search engines like Google.
If you’re using your site to answer questions or talk about important topics that hold value for your audiences, this will improve the exposure of your content and help your website appear in relevant searches.
In general, there are three types of SEO: on-page, off-page, and technical.
On-page SEO is all about the things you can do to the content on your website to make sure search engines can understand the value and relevance of your content.
Examples of on-page SEO are things like including searched-for terms in the content and headings of a page, making sure the images have alt tag descriptions to describe them, and including relevant links to other content on your site within the text.
Off-page SEO is all about gaining links to your content from other websites and social media. As Google is a link engine, this is something it looks at to make a judgment about the quality of your content.
Examples of off-page SEO are things like articles on other websites that share a similar target audience to your own and link back to content on your site within it, or social media posts linking to your website and brand mentions.
Technical SEO is all about the things you can do to improve the code and structure of your website.
Examples of technical SEO include making the pages of your website load faster by reducing image sizes, making sure the site is well coded and structured or making sure the site pages include special code that search engines can read and understand.
Here are some top-level statistics on the benefits of SEO:
When you search on Google you sometimes see extra information within the search results. This can include showtimes for cinemas, or opening times for shops, sometimes even statistics or other information.
This is because Google has rolled out an array of enhanced search results features called one-click searches. One-click search results enhance the way Google presents information from your website into the search results. You can use this technique to make your links stand out and appear even more engaging for your audiences.
Some good examples of enhanced search features are:
Before we get into how SEO works, we believe it’s important to understand how search engines work.
With this, there are 3 main activity types organisations can use to improve their SEO:
Google is always updating its ranking factors so that users have the best possible experience. It’s because of this that our learning about SEO will never stop, and nor will the opportunities to review how well our websites are working for us.
Here at the Digital Culture Network, we can help you and your team to understand what the best practices are, build a strategy, assess how effective your website is, and answer any questions that you have along the way.
The current Digital Culture Network Tech Champions for Search Engine Optimisation and Search Engine Marketing are Monica Thomas and Muhammad Momin.
This article has explained some of the basics of SEO. If you’re keen to learn more, check out the links below.
The Digital Culture Network is here to support you and your organisation. Our Tech Champions can provide free 1-2-1 support to all arts and cultural organisations who are in receipt of, or eligible for, Arts Council England funding. If you need help or would like to chat with us about any of the advice we have covered above, please get in touch. Sign up to our newsletter below and follow us on Twitter @ace_dcn for the latest updates.
Beginner Read Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation can be a valuable tool for boosting your organisation’s online presence. Read on to find out why.
Beginner Read Email Marketing
Email marketing is a powerful tool when it comes to building relationships with your audience. Read on to find out more about what it can do for your organisation.
Beginner Read Box Office and Ticketing Customer Relationship Management CRM
Understanding your audience data can be your ticket to success. Read on to find out how to make the most of what your customers tell you.
Beginner Read Social Media
Social media is a unique and powerful way to help your organisation thrive and engage with your audience. Read on to find out more.