Why is SEO Marketing important? Or more importantly what is the significance of ranking in search engines for locally matched geographical Sydney based keywords? The answer is quite simple: to reach the people you want to do business with!

Of course we are talking about Search Engine Optimisation, a marketing term. Ranking for local searches requires you to use targeted keywords that are likely to be used in internet searches by people who are located within your primary customer base.

Let’s say you own a plumbing company located on the outer edge of Sydney’s central business district. The geo-matched keywords you would use are: ‘Plumber Sydney’, ‘24hr Plumber Sydney’, and ‘Plumbing Services Sydney’.

The reason you would choose this geo is because of its high search traffic! Google recognises Sydney as a major geographical area and the majority of your customer base will be searching from the greater Sydney area.

This does not mean that targeting Sydney restricts your results to appearing only for people searching from or searching for Sydney CBD businesses! If a customer is searching in say Chatswood or Manly, Google understands the close proximity of this area to Sydney and can still pick your website up in its results if it is not satisfied with the local results available.

Picking a geo to optimise towards

Picking a geo to optimise towards really depends on your business objectives and how significant the location is, search wise. If you only want customers in Manly and you don’t want to travel to the CBD, then there is no point geo-matching Sydney. You would focus all your content and keywords on Manly as the prime location. However, if your business is that localised, it’s still important to pick a location that is well known and has a high rate of search traffic. If you only want customers in Crows Nest, you would still use your closest major city, which is Sydney, to optimise your keywords towards. If a customer searches ‘Plumber Crows Nest’ they are likely to get a combination of plumbers directly located in Crows Nest as well as highly optimised sites using Sydney as a geo.

Components of a successful SEO campaign

SEO is not just about geo optimisation. It is the first of five key components that ensure ongoing traffic to your website and more business for you:

1. Keywords and geo – Start with 1-2 main geo-locations and 5-6 keywords you want to focus on. 
2. Optimising your website – Updating the content on all major landing pages to be the correct length and contain mentions of your selected keywords/locations. Then the back end of the site will need to be updated, fixing metadata and any broken or missing links, tags & labels. 
3. Blogging – The key to a Google friendly website is fresh, updated and regular content. A blog page is the best and easiest way to host and promote content about your organisation. You will then consider a range of mediums such as email and social media to bring consumers to your site where they will see what you offer.
4. Content – Once you have a blog, you need good, strategic content. Content should be interesting, well written, and relevant to your services/products or programs. Pages should be optimal in length, contain 1 or 2 of your target keywords, include a geographical location and have links to your website and reputable external sites as sources of valid information. 
5. Back-linking – These are incoming links to a webpage. When a web page links to any other page, it’s called a backlink. In the past, backlinks were the major metric for the ranking of a web page. A page with a lot of backlinks tends to rank higher with all major search engines, including Google. 

The ongoing management of SEO

Google, the most common internet search engine used by consumers, regularly changes the rules about how they rank websites. Their job is to optimise search results for internet users and eliminate spamming sites that find loopholes. Hence, their algorithms are designed to punish unethical tactics and reward business that have good products, genuine services, and information that meets the needs of consumers.

This makes monitoring and adapting to the online environment a reality for any business with a presence on the web. It’s an ongoing process that requires a proactive, strategic approach and expertise.

Social Impact Institute services are available throughout Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and regional areas. Call us on 1800 822 763 to have a chat and book your consultation. 

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