What is SEO and why is it so important?

The simplest definition of SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is, the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial, or natural search results in search engines. In short, when someone searches the web for a product or service, SEO is the mechanics behind your website that push your website to the top of the search engine results.

Being at the top of the results is exactly where you want to be for one simple reason, 25% of of web users never click past the first search result. If you are not at the top of the search results you have lost 25% of your potential new business without even having had the chance to show off your services through your website.

Search Engine Optimisation increases your website visibility to potential customers. Your website visibility is directly related to your ‘ranking’. Before we get too technical, your website ranking is a score out of 100. The higher, the better.

There are several different ways to measure how your website ranks, we utilise a system called Domain Authority to measure this for members who have registered for SAIF Digital. In our analysis of those who have registered for a SAIF Digital audit to date, the average ranking is 19 out of 100.

To give this score some context against the nationwide funeral providers:

Funeral Partners 42

Dignity Plc 52

FuneralCare 68

The nationwide funeral providers recognised the importance of digital marketing some years ago, invested in their SEO and are reaping the benefits. From our analysis, it is clear that individually the independent sector need to do the same.

SAIF Digital provides a free service to members to examine your website ranking and provide guidance on your website, SEO and social media. If you have already done so, register today at www.saifdigital.co.uk.

The Key Elements of SEO Marketing

Keywords

It used to be the case that keywords, the text content of your website, determined your website search ranking, today the requirements are far broader but keywords are still crucial. The difference is that today, keywords must be well-researched, carefully chosen, and strategically placed in your content in order to be effective.

But what are keywords, exactly? Keywords are words and phrases that consumers use to find online content and services, in reverse, service providers use these keywords within their websites to connect with potential customers. A simple example of this would be for funeral directors to use the keywords, funeral, cremation and burial. These are the most obvious keywords for our profession but they key is to determine keywords that have high search rates and low competition to maximise the amount of consumers that find your website.

Content

Content is a vital part of SEO because it is the vehicle you use to reach and engage with families searching online for information about at-need or pre-need funerals.

A good example of this would be the increase in unattended cremation. To help you increase your visibility, you could publish a series of blogs about the option, what is included, the process and pricing. When a consumer is looking online for that information, in combination with some work on your SEO, your blog would list in search results and you would then become a contact point for that person to find out more information.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO involves external optimisation practices that happen away from your site rather than on it.

The main technique used for off-page SEO is backlink building since quality backlinks to your site from external sites tell search engines that your site is valuable and high-quality which helps to build authority.

There are many tactics to backlink building, and some of the current best practices include guest blogging, using infographics that will be highly shared, and using influencer marketing in your content. Some more straightforward examples would be to ensure that your website is linked to other websites such as your funeral plan provider, SAIF and other relevant funeral websites.

Local SEO

Local SEO is becoming increasingly important as more and more people use mobile devices for search. Last year, over 60% of all searches were performed on a mobile device, and almost 50% of those searches were for a local business or service.

As funeral directors we provide services to our local communities, this is where Local SEO is vital. By paying attention to your local SEO you are increasing the chances of families finding your business.

Search Engine Marketing

Search Engine Marketing refers to paid marketing and it includes Google AdWords, social media ads and pay-per-click (PPC).

Although Search Engine Marketing is not always a major component of a comprehensive SEO strategy, it does have its place as it can help you reach new and highly targeted audiences. You can also make your SEO and SEM work together.

Examples of SEM advertising activities include:

Paid and targeted campaigns

Keyword based copy that specifically relates to your business or product

Performance indicators such as click-through-rates (CTR) and cost-per-click (CPC)

There are other components to the SEO mix but the most important thing you can do is prioritise your digital marketing today, remember, it can take up to six months for the work you to today to take effect so now is the time.