SEO is the ultimate way to ensure your business gets the attention it deserves online.

Through carefully-planned keyword placement, strategic link-building, and on-page optimization, you can increase your chances of connecting with potential customers and update your revenue too. However, with algorithms and trends changing almost constantly, it can be difficult to keep your strategy up-to-date.

Here are 5 basics to help you have a great SEO strategy in place:

Keyword Strategy

Keywords are among the most important components of a solid SEO strategy. Remember, Google has to provide vast amounts of content every second, to countless users. If you’re not ranking for the right terms, then you could end up at the bottom of the pile. Start by auditing your current keyword strategy. Look at the terms that deliver the most return on investment in your social media, content, and PPC campaigns.

Content is King

Stay connected with your audience at every stage of the buyer journey. In other words, you’ll need to have content on your site that appeals to customers when they’re researching solutions to problems, checking out the competition, and making buyer decisions. The customer’s intent in the awareness stage is to learn, lure him to consider an offer, help him take a decision to buy.

Customer Experience

Experience is everything in today’s modern eCommerce marketplace. Deliver the best possible experiences for your audience, from start to finish. Experience affects SEO by influencing how many people visit your site, interact with it, and stick around. If you don’t have a very good website, more people will hit the back button, increasing your bounce rate. Your “time on page” metrics go down, and Google starts to think that you’re not the best person to help your audience. Strong UI, content and user experience keeps them engaged.

Link Strategy

SEO relies on keywords – but that’s not the only thing you’ll need to consider if you want to make your website stand out. Beyond the on-site CX optimization and content strategies, you’ll also need to make sure you have a solid link system in place too. Link building helps Google to understand the value and authority of your domain and page. Successful link building involves getting as many authoritative companies to link back to your website as possible. The more you associate your company with other credible businesses, the more Google will assume that you’re trustworthy too.

There are various ways that you can generate more links to your website, such as: Brand mentions, Directory sites, Sponsored articles, Resource page.

Secure your Site

If your customers don’t feel comfortable and safe on your website and if their private browsing habits and details are compromised by visiting your website, they will not return. A secure site will convince your audience to stay on your site for longer and potentially make purchases. It also means that you will avoid having your website classified as “not secure” by Google, which could scare people off.