Why improving a companies SEO is like working out at the gym
Introduction
Okay, so you may have read through a hundred SEO articles by now, and they’ve all gone along the lines of “how to build backlinks” and “how you should be writing content marketing, as well as “why its important to “get your onsite SEO right”.
Now, don’t get us wrong, their great titles for a blog post, and we’ve written similar ourselves, it’s just, well, when a million SEO agencies are writing about the same thing, well, it can get rather boring to read.
So, we thought, instead of writing an overly technical SEO article, one that’s super confusing, with a lot or marketing jargon, that we should write one, that people can relate to, that’s to say, here in Bristol a lot of people, as part of their weekly routine attend a gym, or if your super posh, you may even have one in your own home.
And we think going to the gym, well, it has a lot in common with the work an SEO company, like ours does, now you might be scratching your head, thinking, what on earth is this business talking about, well, sit back, grab a brew, and let us explain:
You don’t see results overnight with going to the gym or organic seo
So, you’ve been watching your favourite action movie, and you see the six-packs, big arms and a strong back, and you think, right down with the doughnuts, I am off to the gym, yet on your drive over to the gym, well, you most certainly don’t expect to walk out the door on your first visit and have a transformed body.
You know that by going to the gym, well, its going to take many months of hard work to start seeing results.
The same can be said about improving your organic seo, some business owners sometimes think, that they can start a company in Bristol, and like a tap, that can be switched on, the owner thinks that overnight SEO can be improved.
However, this is not how things work, on the first page of Google, there are 10 businesses in the organic SERP’s, now as you can imagine, for most Bristol businesses, being on front page, well that’s hugely valuable.
It doesn’t matter if you run a hairdressing saloon, or you’re a used car dealer, most companies in Bristol want to be on the first page of Google, yet here’s the problem, those over businesses, well there not going to give up their place without a fight, then you have the flood of other businesses, who have also started investing in SEO.
So, as you can see, it’s a constant battle by most SEO agencies to get a business on the first page of Google, then you cant just rest, take a few months off when the business does reach the front page, that’s because if you do, well you could be knocked off by another up and coming business.
So, what’s this got to do with going to the gym?
Well, that’s simple, if you want to get your body in shape it takes a lot of hard work, and for this to be continuous, if you don’t want to turn back into being in un-fit.
So, this is the same with organic seo, that’s because to be ranked on the first page of Google, you need strong seo, and that only comes from hard work. Plus, if you don’t keep up the seo work, well your website can fall back.
So, it’s about hard work and also commitment.
Google’s algorithm
Google’s algorithm uses “Googlebot”- and this means that your website is regularly “crawled and indexed”– to see how well your seo is doing, or if it getting worse. This is kind of like a personal trainer who takes your weight each week, to see if you’re hitting your target.
So, for example if Googlebot crawls and indexes your website, and sees a really high-quality article, plus notices you have many do-follow quality backlinks, well, this can sometimes help to improve your SEO.
But here’s the thing, just as athletes constantly push themselves to reach new goals, well, so are your competitors also.
So, think of the worlds strongest man competition, really impressive athletes that are always working hard to lift bigger weights.
Well, you could compare this with SEO, meaning, even though you have 10 businesses on the first page of Google, this doesn’t mean those businesses are standing still, no, they are working on improving their standard.
That’s because as any good athlete knows, if you standstill, and don’t push yourself, well, your likely to be overtaken by a competitor, and this is exactly the same in regards to improving your companies seo.
That is, if a business does get onto the first page of Google’s SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages), well, this could change in a day, week or lets say a month, if the business fails to beat the standard of the competition below it.
So what does that mean?
Well, lets take the top 100 boiler repair companies in Bristol, and lets say 25% of them are investing in a SEO company like ours.
Now, at any one time only 10 boiler repair companies can be listed in the organic SERP’s, so as you can imagine, the rest will be working hard to get there.
This simply means, that often the businesses that are ranked on the first page of Google will sometimes change on a very regular basis , for example, a plumbing business might be ranked number 5 for “plumbers Bristol”- yet then a month later they might be on page 3.
The changes occur therefore to only ever have the top 10 businesses with the strongest seo on the first page.
So, this again is like going to the gym, if you miss a few weeks, well, your likely to fall behind on your fitness goals.
It all boils down to this, which businesses here in Bristol have the strongest ranking factors?
So, as we mentioned earlier, the way Google’s algorithm works is by using Googlebot to “crawl and index” a website, and to see how strong the companies ranking factors are?
Now what are ranking factors?
Well, there’s thought to be hundreds, here’s some you’ve most probably already heard of:
–Backlinks (do-follow and no-follow)
-Meta titles
So, there just some of the more ranking factors which often get mentioned, but there’s hundreds of others.
So, sure building quality backlinks, in a white hat way is important, but as any good digital marketing agency will know, you must have a rounded SEO strategy?
What do you mean by “rounded SEO strategy”?
Well, there’s no point in hiring Bristol seo agencies that just focus on one area of seo, let’s say building backlinks, as you need to focus also on optimising the other hundreds of ranking factors as well.
So, a good marketing agency, like Pack Digital, will see where the business has weaknesses in its SEO, and look to fix these, while also working hard to improve the seo generally.
So, for instance, a family law company may come to us, and want to be on the first page for “divorce solicitors”- the first thing our seo consultants will do is see what can we do to bring about the best SEO results in the shortest possible time.
Sometimes, the current website might be too slow, so we might switch hosting provider for the client, the website may not have enough “evergreen content marketing”- so we might add new pages, the website might not have internal backlinks in the right places, so we may add these.
So, as you can see, every business that comes to us in Bristol is different, yet we will look for ways that we can get quick improvements, yet, then normally the harder work starts, that is with organic seo is one long slog, meaning, businesses should only ever pay for organic seo, with the clear understanding that it’s a long term process.
Don’t concentrate on just one area like backlinks
So, if you were to hire say a good personal instructor at your gym, and you set out your fitness goals, your not going to want to stick to using one piece of equipment, such as a rowing machine.
First of all, its likely to get very boring, that is using one piece of equipment, and even though a rowing machine is a great piece of equipment, its not likely to provide you with the full workout you need.
For example, if you wanted to increase your biceps, well, yes a rowing machine can help, but your more than likely going to want to use free weights, and other gym equipment which will help you reach your goals.
So, this is the same with SEO, if your seo agency is focusing on improving just one area of SEO, well, this is a totally flawed marketing strategy.
That’s because “Googlebot” regularly crawls and indexes websites, and its not looking to see if one type of ranking factor has improved, nope, it looking at over 200 different ranking factors, to see which ones are stronger. This means that quite often, here in Bristol, the companies that are ranked on first page of Google’s SERP’s, well, they are in the top ten results on Google, because there ranking factors are very strong overall.
Have to do it right
Okay, so just like when someone visits a gym, to improve their fitness, they may find it hard work, so start to look for shortcuts.
Yet, as any good personal trainer will tell you, there is no shortcuts at all, it’s about consistent effort and also diet.
Well, this is the same with SEO in a way, in that there’s no short cuts, there’s so many businesses all over Bristol that have incurred a penalty from Google however, thats for completing SEO the wrong way, but why is that so?
Well, that’s because they haven’t followed the rules…
Well, the simple answer is they haven’t followed the rules, which are “Google’s Webmaster Guidelines”, and haven’t used “white hat” methods. This can result in a penalty.
An algorithmic or manual penalty will be bad news to your SEO, as you could severely drop down the ranks sometimes, or be removed from Google altogether, so make sure instead your SEO is top quality.
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines
It’s a marathon not sprint
So, our best advice is this, whichever Bristol seo companies that you do hire, you have to take this mindset, that is its not a sprint, with organic seo, it’s a long-term process, so don’t expect any results overnight, instead, you have to pay on a monthly basis.
Also, results massively depend on which agency you hire, some are simply very good at what they do, and are respected seo agencies, some are rubbish, and can damage your companies seo, so you do have to hire a top-quality, white hat agency, and an agency which follows Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
How we can help
Theres quite simply a ton of Bristol seo agencies to choose from, so quite literally, your spoilt for choice.
Yet with that said, many businesses, from law practices, through to construction firms, and cosmetic dentists, they all choose Pack Digital. That’s because we are an established Bristol company, we only offer quality white hat seo, that’s top quality. Plus, we always offer sensible prices.
So, if your on Google, looking for your next seo business, then why not call us?