Internet usage in Singapore has greatly increased in the last decade and people are using search engines to find information they require. Hence businesses of all sizes in Singapore are using their website to generate leads and orders. While the businesses are using multiple digital marketing techniques like online advertising, social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) is widely considered to be one of the most effective methods for marketing online since the leads, sales are generated without additional effort for at least one year, once the ranking improves. Some of the benefits and scope of SEO services in Singapore are discussed below.
One of the main advantages of using SEO services is that it is far more cost effective compared to online advertising for generating orders for online shopping websites, services and leads for other businesses. The major search engines like Google, Baidu are only changing their algorithm periodically, once a month or less frequently, so once the business website is listed in the first page of the search results, it will remain on the first page for the keywords for more than one year. Internet users searching for a product or service will click on the website, resulting in free visitors. In contrast, the business has to pay for advertising daily.
Mainly internet users who wish to purchase a particular product or service, are likely to search for information regarding a seller or supplier in their favorite search engine. So the visitors sent to the business website from the search results, are likely to be targeted visitors. They are more likely to convert into customers, if the product/service specification and price meets the customer requirement. So hiring the right SEO service provider can help a smaller business generate more leads online, and compete with larger companies who have a much bigger marketing budget.
Usually a business will wish to rank well for a large number of keywords related to the products and/or services which it sells. If the business is ranking well for many keywords in the search results, it is like free advertising for the business, increasing the visibility for potential customers. One of the main factors affecting the ranking of a business website is competition. In some industry sectors like web hosting, all businesses have a website, so there is a lot of competition, while in other sectors, like local services, many of the smaller businesses will not have websites, so it is easier to rank.
Since most businesses are not internet related, their staff usually does not have the skills, experience and time to understand the search engine algorithms and do the SEO to improve the ranking. Hence it is better if business owners in Singapore outsource SEO of their website to a specialized SEO agency or freelancer. The agency will usually have done SEO for a large number of businesses. Hence they will have systems in place for improving the ranking of their clients, though they may charge more. In comparison the SEO freelancer has fewer clients, he relies on repeat business, and is likely to provide better quality results.
The first step in SEO, is the SEO audit of the website, to find out how it is ranking in the search engines at present, how it compares with competition. The business will be asked to specify the main products and/or services which it is selling and relevant keywords. The search results will be checked to find the websites which are ranking well for the keywords, and how they compare with the business website. Typically a website which is new will not rank well in the search results, while a website, which was developed at least a few years ago, will rank in search.
Though there may be some variations, all SEO services include technical SEO, off page SEO and on-page SEO. Many internet users will not visit a website if it is not loading quickly in their brower. Hence search engines are ranking websites which load fast higher in their search results. There are many factors which affect the loading time of a website, like the design, graphics, and webhosting used. If the website loading time is more than 20 seconds, the SEO firm may redesign the website. The website navigation and layout will also be checked, to ensure that all the pages can be easily accessed.
For all search engines, the number of backlinks for a website is a major consideration in ranking the business website, when all other factors are similar. Though some search engines like Google claim that they prohibit purchasing back-links, off-page SEO for a business website mainly consists of getting relevant backlinks for the business website. The SEO service will use different methods for getting backlinks like directory submission, guest posting, social media marketing. The price of the SEO package will often depend on the number of backlinks which are provided.
The ranking of a website for different keywords, depends to a great extent on the content of the website. The website will only rank well, if it has content which contains the keywords for which it wishes to rank. The on-page-SEO service provider will also analyze the content of the website, to check if it has relevant content for the keywords. If there is no content, new content pages may be added to improve the ranking. In cases the existing content is less, the content may be enhanced so that additional information is provided to visitors, which will help the visitors and enhance the ranking.
Before finalizing the service provider for SEO services, it is advisable to do some research on the service provider and ask them about the techniques which they will use. It is important to ensure that all SEO is done conforming to the search engine, especially Google’s quality guidelines. The search engines will blacklist websites which do not conform to their quality guidelines, and it will take time, effort and money to get the penalty removed. It is also recommended that businesses finalize the results which are required, whether the business wishes to improve the ranking, traffic or both and the payment terms for the SEO service.
