Natural referencing
Position your site sustainably on search engines!
Is Google search engine optimization still a mystery to you? Here are the 21 questions that will tell you everything you need to know about SEO
of your website!
WHAT IS NATURAL REFERENCING?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) encompasses all the methods and techniques used to position your website’s pages in the first natural results of search engines (notably Google, but also Bing, Yahoo and others).
The aim is to improve the visibility of the pages in question, by applying a series of “rules” laid down by the search engines.
WHY IS SEO ESSENTIAL?
Because there are over 1 billion websites on the Internet, and Google has indexed some 30,000 billion pages.
When an Internet user searches the Web, the only way to make a page visible to them is to optimize it by applying the search engine’s rules.
You can have the most beautiful website in the world, but without Search Engine Optimization (SEO), it’s likely to remain invisible.
WHAT MAKES GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION THE NUMBER ONE LEVER FOR ACQUIRING DIGITAL TRAFFIC?
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) enables you to attract qualified traffic to your web pages, which can then be converted into leads and customers.
So optimizing your SEO will help you attract the attention of those who are really interested in the type of services/products you offer.
This traffic generated by Google referencing is sustainable over the long term. Unlike a traditional advertising campaign, whose effects stop as soon as you stop injecting money, SEO continues to attract traffic (and produce profits) even when you stop optimizing it.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION AND PAID SEARCH?
As the name suggests, the aim of SEO is to position pages in the so-called “natural” results, or “organic links”, of SERPs (search engine results pages).
This positioning is achieved without having to pay money to the search engine, unlike with paid search (SEA).
This involves buying keywords to place “sponsored links” at the top of the SERPs, for example by launching a Google AdWords campaign.
The difference between search engine optimization and paid search.
WHY DO WE NEED GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
Because Google is the world’s most widely used search engine. Its market share varies between 75% and 95% depending on the country: in France, over 93% of the Internet population use this search engine as a priority.
Working on your SEO means giving yourself every chance of making your web pages visible to Internet users.
HOW DOES THE GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE WORK?
Google indexes billions of pages every day and ranks them to position them in its results. Before indexing, there’s the crawl: the exploration of all web pages by Google’s robots.
If the conditions are met, a page is indexed – stored in the database. It will then be positioned in the results.
This positioning is based on the relevance of pages to queries formulated by web users. For example, if someone searches for “SEO agency” on Google, they’ll get the pages that best answer their query.
To decide which pages are relevant, and which are not, Google has set up several hundred criteria: these are the criteria that Google SEO aims to apply.
WHY DOES A SEO STRATEGY TAKE TIME?
With over 200 optimization criteria, Google SEO requires know-how, experience… and time!
A website SEO strategy only produces results over the long term: between the SEO audit, the definition of an action plan, the implementation, the work on the pages, the publication of content and netlinking, it takes an average of 6 months to start seeing positive effects. But after that, the effects are long-lasting.
In short, SEO is like a diesel engine: slow to start, but efficient over time!
HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE REFERENCING?
Optimizing your website’s SEO involves using a large number of levers (over 200) that correspond to the criteria set by Google.
To help webmasters get started, the search engine provides a Google SEO Guide – but don’t expect to find the secrets of successful optimization there! Above all, they are the basis for our work.
HOW TO CHOOSE KEYWORDS FOR YOUR GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
The choice of keywords depends on your industry and your needs.
Keywords are selected according to their popularity (the number of times they have been requested by web users) and their competitiveness.
If it’s difficult to position yourself on generic keywords in certain sectors (e.g. “SEO agency”), SEO on “long tail” keywords can be easier – and generate more qualified traffic.
Many tools are available to help you choose your keywords, including Google’s keyword planning tool.
WHY IS IT WORTH USING THE “LONG TAIL” IN SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
The “long tail” defines key expressions of more than 4 or 5 words. It enables us to position ourselves on more precise, more qualifying queries, such as “SEO agency located in Paris” rather than “SEO agency”.
These more specific keywords are not only less popular, but also less competitive, allowing for better positioning and a higher conversion rate.
Note that voice search, which is very much in vogue, favors “long tail” queries. Appropriate Google referencing is therefore recommended.
The “long tail SEO” brings in 80% of traffic and higher quality traffic.
HOW DO GOOGLE UPDATES WORK?
Google’s algorithms are programmed to provide users with the most relevant results. To this end, they are constantly evolving with Google updates. Some of these are minor (mobile compatibility, https protocol) and do not produce an earthquake in site positions. Others are considered major because they significantly change Google’s natural referencing and positioning criteria.
For example:
- Google Penguin for better quality netlinking;
- Google Panda for better consideration of web content quality ;
- Google Colibri, and more recently Google RankBrain, to better understand the intentions of users in order to offer them results that are increasingly in line with their queries;
- Google’s Mobile Friendly algorithm to promote the natural referencing of mobile-compatible sites. The search engine also provides a Google Mobile-Friendly Test to check your site’s level of compatibility.
These algorithms don’t just check the relevance of natural referencing. They are also designed to penalize sites that use abusive SEO techniques.
WHAT IS A GOOGLE SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION PENALTY?
Google SEO penalties are the result of algorithm updates. The Penguin penalty, for example, is a filter that penalizes sites with poor-quality backlinks.
The Panda penalty attacks sites whose content does not meet the expected quality standards (typically: keyword lists).
These penalties are not only algorithmic: they can also be manual, decided by Google engineers.
A penalized site can go from first position in the SERPs to 20th page in the blink of an eye, and languish in the depths until the problem is fixed! In its basic guidelines for webmasters, Google sets out a list of techniques to avoid being penalized.
HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOUR SITE HAS BEEN HIT BY A GOOGLE PENALTY?
How do you know if your site or some of your pages have been penalized for abusive Google referencing?
You’ll know:
- By receiving a message from Google Search Console
- If you notice a change in the positioning of your pages or a sudden drop in the traffic generated.
HOW MUCH DOES A SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION STRATEGY FOR YOUR WEBSITE COST?
The cost of referencing your website depends on many factors (sector of activity, needs, competition, objectives, size of site). The budget can only be determined after a thorough SEO analysis that takes all these factors into account.
SEO audit
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO MEASURE YOUR AUDIENCE?
Since the aim of SEO is to improve a website’s visibility in order to increase its traffic, it’s essential to be able to measure the volume of this traffic. This is the sine qua non for evaluating the effectiveness of your SEO campaigns and, if necessary, correcting any blocking points.
Preferred monitoring indicators include :
- Global traffic
- Most visited pages
- Pages that convert visitors into leads
- The sites and platforms from which visitors come
WHAT IS LOCAL REFERENCING?
A variation of Google’s natural search engine optimization (SEO), local SEO aims to position your site in response to a localized query, generally accompanied by the name of a town or city. For example: “agence référencement naturel Paris”.
The aim is to reach local customers when they are looking for information on a service or product.
Given that 25% of all Google searches are local, and that 88% of localized smartphone searches result in an action (phone call, physical visit) within 24 hours.
Google My Business offers a simple local Google listing, displaying the company’s contact details, opening hours and location via Google Maps.
WHY OUTSOURCE YOUR SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION?
Google search engine optimization requires specialized skills, specific know-how and constant monitoring of changes in the criteria laid down by search engines.
Unless you have an in-house SEO team, it’s more efficient and cost-effective to use an outside service provider (an SEO agency) for your website’s SEO.
