As the most successful and prominent SEO agency in South Africa, this is a question we get a lot. Many business owners have heard of SEO, but aren’t sure how, or if, SEO will benefit them. Let’s give you a peek behind the curtain!

SEO drives the right traffic to your website

As you add content to your website, you’re increasing your chances of ranking for certain terms without even thinking about it. Unfortunately, you might not be attracting the kind of traffic that results in conversions. Publishing lots of highly informative content is a great idea – but you also need to create content with your end goal in mind.

Usually, that’s getting a potential customer to buy from you – and that means (among many other things) using keywords and search terms that a person who’s ready to buy will be using. This sounds simple, but it’s only the beginning of a winning SEO strategy. You also need to consider how much competition there is for different search terms, where, how, and why your competitors are outranking you, and then craft an SEO campaign that’s designed to beat them.

Every move Banda Media makes in an SEO campaign is deliberate, considered, and purposeful.

Understanding SEO and the buying cycle

Most of our clients, whether they’re a world-class hotel or an IT company, are selling a product, service, or experience of some kind. As a consumer yourself, you already understand how potential customers research and compare products and services before they buy them.

You probably start with a pretty broad search term, and then narrow down your search until you find the option that’s right for you. Ideally, your SEO strategy should attract visitors to your website in every stage of this decision-making process.

Let’s consider someone looking for a luxury overseas holiday, for instance. They might start by reading a few travel blogs online. They may decide the idea of an African safari sounds appealing. At this point, they’ll start comparing options in different countries and with different activities on offer.

Bringing them to your website at each stage of this journey takes careful planning and strategy. For our hospitality clients, for example, we ensure they’re represented on international travel websites and blogs on the broadest end of the spectrum, and that they outrank their competitors on the narrower end. Finally, once a potential guest has landed on their website, we make sure it offers an amazing user experience that entices them to make a booking right away.

SEO is not a magic bullet, and there are no shortcuts

The world’s leading search engines got where they are today by delivering helpful, relevant results to their users. They’re extremely good at doing this, and there’s no way (or need) to try and fool them into ranking you in a position you don’t deserve. We’re about helping you earn that top spot.

This takes time and effort. It’s important not to have unrealistic expectations, and we’re always upfront and honest with our clients about this.

Consider just a few of the 200+ factors a search engine like Google takes into account when ranking a website:

• Backlink profile and quality
• Page load speed
• Mobile friendliness and responsiveness
• Domain Security
• Content relevancy, structure, and depth
• Feedback and user experience metrics from previous visitors such as bounce rate and time spent on site
• Schema markup / structured data
• Website architecture
• Content freshness / how often the site is updated
• Image optimization

And that’s just the start! The good news is that as soon as we begin addressing these issues for our clients, you start to see increased traffic. As time goes on and further improvements and adjustments are made (and your website’s user experience improves) you start seeing a cumulative effect. Combining this and adding fresh, well-optimized content is where dramatic results start happening!

Considering your specific goals

Getting results is one thing, but getting the right results is just as important. Not every company will benefit from getting the number one spot on Google! (Gasp!) If you run a local restaurant, for example. Ranking nationwide doesn’t make sense, as you only want to attract local traffic. Every business is unique, and that’s why Banda Media never uses a one-size-fits-all approach to SEO.

We invest resources only in the strategies that align with your goals because it’s in our best interests that you succeed! So we take the time to learn about your business, target audience, and main objectives. We then implement strategies based on these insights.