5 Ways To Help Your Business Succeed With SEO Intent Updates

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a very popular marketing technique. 

Why? Because search engines are how your customers navigate the internet. People today are hunters and gathers online - something comes to mind and BOOM, straight onto their phone or computer to find an answer, a product or more information. 

If you do SEO well, you will get found at that exact moment of action!  

That’s SEO. It closes the gap between customers who are looking for solutions and businesses like yours who can provide them with exactly what they need. But it’s not as simple as it may seem. It’s worth it, but it takes work. 

It’s also changing rapidly. There are new SEO updates around search intent, voice search and much more.  

So, we’ve prepared an SEO guide to help your business succeed with search. 

---

Prefer to listen, rather than read? Here's the Podcast summary!

---

Through SEO, you can grow your presence on the web, establish your brand against competitors and deliver more value to a wide range of audiences. 

But Search Engine Optimisation is so much more than just adding a bunch of keywords into the text and hoping for the best. To earn great results, you have to understand how it improves user experience and what tole your website’s overall content plays. 

Let’s have a quick recap on SEO 

What is SEO? Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a marketing practise that enables your digital content to be discovered by and more appealing to both customers and search engines, such as Google, Bing, YouTube, Amazon, Yahoo and more.  

These search engines use sophisticated algorithms to identify, scan and assess website pages, blogs, articles and more, and then rank them according to how well they match a search query. The objective is to make your content tick as many favourable boxes as possible for the algorithm, so you climb up the rank and hopefully reach the top. 

The benefits of strong SEO 

• SEO grows your online presence – by being more visible online, SEO boosts the amount of traffic you receive organically because you appear as a search result option at the time when people are looking for you. 
  
  

• SEO establishes your brand authority – When your content is constantly ranking high in search engines, it raises brand awareness and people will deem your brand as more credible. 
  
  
• SEO improves user experience – By enhancing the UX layout of your website, your customers can access the content they want in a way that’s enjoyable and seamless. 
  
  
• SEO increases your conversion rate – As your search engine rank improves, more high-value customers will find your website. This gives you the opportunity to engage these people and encourage them along the buying journey. 
  
  
• SEO is a cost-effective marketing solution – SEO is a relatively inexpensive marketing practise. At most, you just have to hire experts who will help you achieve long-term positive results. 

For more information, read: 5 Aspects Of SEO You Need To Know 

What’s new: the latest SEO update you need to know 

Did you know that Google sealed the Natural Language Processing (NLP) deal with their BERT algorithm last year?  

So, what does this mean for you? 

BERT (or Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) utilises Natural Language Processing to understand searches better, giving Google a way to place queries into the right context. This is a significant upgrade! 

​Google’s new BERT algorithm allows it to  
understand search queries better than ever before.

For example, if a user searches “business permits Australia 2021”, BERT will direct them to relevant websites that inform them about the processes they need to undergo, rather than just leading them to blogs that have mentioned the words “business permits” more than once. 

This means that brands have to pay more attention to search intent when writing content to ensure they’re still being ranked through relevant materials. 

Check out: SEO Is Evolving: Here Are The Steps You Need To Keep Up 

Due to all of the benefits SEO offers, it has become a very competitive space, with brands clambering over each other for the top spot.  

So, here are some tips to get you ahead. 

SEO is not just a once-off. It’s an ongoing slow-burn process. It takes long-term commitment and consistent work. But it’s worth all the effort. 
​

5 tips to help your business succeed with SEO 

Since addressing search intent is now the key to ranking higher in search engine results, meeting your customers’ contextual needs is more important than ever.  

In an already crowded digital space, your SEO strategies must consider the ways you can effectively answer their queries and solve their pain points.  

Here are some SEO tips to do just that: 

1. Perform audience research 

Listening to customers is the best way to truly understand them. You can get insights online by checking different social media platforms and learning from their discussions. Conducting interviews and surveys can also be helpful in getting to know what they’re looking for. It’s also important to keep up to date with the latest trends, so you’ll understand what’s most relevant to your changing audiences. 

2. Build your website with customers in mind 

Your website is not for you. It’s for them. 

So, create your site according to what’s easiest and seamless for them. From the site structure and different web pages to the overall messaging and content, every element should be a reason for them to visit, stay and keep coming back. 

To learn more, see: Why Is UX Copywriting Essential For Your Business 

3. Take advantage of voice search 

Online searches have transformed from the typical typed queries into voice searches, all thanks to the different developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Many customers are taking full advantage of this technology because it’s convenient and faster for them. It makes sense, then, for your SEO strategies to consider the ways people use voice queries – that is, using questions, longer sentences and natural language. 

For more, read: How Voice Search Is Changing SEO – Hands Free Content Is On The Rise 

4. Optimise FAQs 

What’s the main reason why people use search engines? They have questions and are looking for accessible answers, fast.  

To get more visitors, you must provide them with what they need. Putting up FAQ pages can immediately answer common queries and provide quick solutions. With this question-and-answer format, there is a higher chance that search engines like Google will place your website on its featured snippet (called “position zero”). 

5. Write SEO-optimised content 

The best method to succeed with SEO still lies in creating valuable and enthralling content that informs, engages and entertains audiences. 

When you publish useful content and make it available, customers will be impressed. You’ll also get more traffic and backlinks from other websites that can improve your reach and further boost your SEO ranking. ​

How to create SEO-optimised content 

Creating SEO-optimised content isn’t simple. 

But nothing worthwhile is!  

To get you on the right track, we’ve compiled some helpful pointers you can apply as you create content for both search engines and online audiences. 

• Write content that corresponds with search intent. ​
  
  Some users need information on a particular topic (informational intent) – so tutorials, FAQs pages and how-to guides are the best for them.  
  
  For those who have navigational intent, on the other hand, About Us pages are more suitable.  
  
  Lastly, users who are ready to make transactions (transactional intent) must be targeted with landing pages, sales pages and reviews. 
  
  

• Make sure every keyword is suitable for each stage of the funnel. 
  
  ​To gain higher conversions, you need to meet the needs of decision-makers, depending on their current position in the funnel. 

When it comes to SEO:  

 - Top-of-the-funnel keywords are used for customers who want to be educated about their problems.
 
 - Middle-of-the-funnel keywords lead people closer to your products and services, including the benefits they’ll gain.  

 - Bottom-of-the-funnel keywords are used to attract people who are willing and ready to buy. 

For more information, visit: What are the 8 stages of the customer content journey?
​

• Target search queries with lower search volumes. 
  
  Using low search volume keywords that are less popular can help you rank higher via search engines because there’s less competition. These are also often bottom-of-the-funnel keywords, so they also allow you to focus on making a sale. 
  
  

• Add trustworthy links. 
  
  Embedding relevant hyperlinks from your website to more relevant content encourages users to stay longer and learn more about what you have to offer. By providing more information, you can also highlight your expertise and authority about a certain topic. 
  
  
• Get the help of experts. 
  
  Think of SEO marketing as an investment. You can potentially do it yourself, but to ensure great results and higher returns, it’s best to seek help from professionals who know exactly what to do.  
  
  Freelance copywriting experts can help your business succeed with SEO, saving you a lot of time while avoiding the mistakes. By empowering you with the right keywords and quality content creation services, SEO copywriting experts naturally keep your brand on your customers’ radar. 
  
  Just remember to choose the best copywriter for your requirements. 
  
  To learn more, see: SEO Copywriting Services 

How can Melotti Media help you?  

We understand that you want to reach more audience and achieve business success through SEO. However, you may find that you’re time-poor and spread thin or you still have a lot of unanswered questions.  

You don’t need to worry!  

At Melotti Media, we can assist with all your message marketing and copywriting needs while you focus on what matters most to you – growing your business.  

Let’s start earning the results your business deserves!  

To speak to your trusted message marketing copywriters, email us at enquire@melottimedia.com.au  

We can sharpen your words to achieve your goals today!