Search Engine Optimisation: The Periodic Table of SEO Factors

 

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation had become an integral part in the growth and success of companies in the 21st century. Had I written this article 15 years ago you'd be forgiven for not knowing a thing about it, yet these days marketers need to be over familiar with every last aspect of SEO. Although the use and relevance of SEO has become focused on more recently, some argue that SEO began with the launch of the first website in 1991, it is widely regarded that SEO officially begins later around the mark of 1997.

In 1996 Larry Page and Sergey Brin built Backrub, a search engine that ranked sites based on the inbound traffic it received. Backrub by the following year would become Google and on the 15th of September 1997, Google.com was registered. Essentially Googles algorithm theory was essentially "if people are talking about you, you must be important." Throughout 1997 until 2000 without going in to too much detail what is often regarded as one of the worst strategic moves of all time, Yahoo thrust Google into the spotlight and began what is known as 'The Google Revolution" and thus due to Google's algorithm SEO was now extremely important.

With over 3.5 Billion searches per day on Google, it is absolutely paramount that your business is at least on the first page of searches, let alone the top 3 results. The average CTR or (Click Through Rate) for the first organic result from a google search is 28.5%. Compare this to the CTR of results on the second page of Google being <1%, not exactly ideal hey? So what can businesses do to ensure they are ranked at the top of their fields? There is a vast array of factors to be considered to improve your SEO ranking. Below is a fantastic table showcasing some of these factors, as the print is very small you can view the full size image here as well;

At first glance this periodic table of SEO factors may be look confronting and confusing but if you take the time to read it closely it states and lists every key factor you should do and what factors can be harmful to improving your SEO. It also lists the weight ranking, description and the category. Whilst over time you should strive to implement every element in the periodic table here are 5 beginner steps to start you off.

1. Improve Title Tags

Research has suggested that for ecommerce pages, category pages conduct up to 32% more organic search traffic than regular product pages. An easy improvement for your title tags is to make them more specific and relevant. For example; changing the default page titles your website has. (Women's - 'Your site' to Woman's Shoes)

 

2. Master Keyword Research

It's crucial for marketers to ensure that they use keywords consumers would use rather than the jargon they use personally. It's important to do your research on what consumers search for. A simple way to find out what keywords consumers are entering is by using Google Keyword Planner. It is a free to use research tool, but the most useful data can only be accessed if you have an active Google Ads campaign.

 

3. Understand Your Competition

You may think your retail competition is your only organic-search competitor however, any result that takes up room on the results page are your competitors. Study their social media and customer reviews for information that could improve users experience on your site. Identify:

• What your competitors are doing well in their organic searches.

• How they have structured their website to use valuable keywords.

• What methods do they use to engage and attract customers?

4. Keyword Mapping

Understand what your consumers want and the way the word their searches. Include longer keyword themes that generally have fewer searches and are more specific. Include these in pages like frequently asked questions and product pages. 

 

5. Build Your Social Media Network

The primary purpose of social media was to bring people closer together and as a business it allows you to connect with your consumers. The connections you make with your consumers ensures that they will recommend or speak of your business highly to potential consumers. Maintaining healthy social media connections also increase the exposure of your content and helps it reach wider audiences.

I hope these useful tips have helped you understand the history of SEO a little more and have helped the SEO of your business. What do you think the most crucial factors of SEO are? and what did you think of the SEO Periodic table? let me know in the comments!