Search engines interpret the contents of websites before offering them to users. SEO is about optimising and organising information in order to improve its ranking on the results page.
A large majority of internet users search Google rather than entering a website address in a browser. Statistics show that if an internet user does not find what they are looking for on the first page of results, they prefer to use other keywords rather than look on the second page. To be visible, an online store therefore needs to come up on the first page.
Referencing has become a strategic activity for e-commerce websites, known as Search Engine Marketing (SEM). There are two techniques for optimising a company’s positioning on search engines:
- Natural referencing (Search Engine Optimization – SEO);
- Paid-for referencing (Search Engine Advertising – SEA).
These techniques complement each other and increase your visibility on search engines. The difference lies mainly in the cost and speed of responses. SEO is free, but does not perform as fast as SEA on competitive searches.
Organic SEO
SEO begins with the creation of a website. If the page is still under construction, you must mention it clearly and insert a contact and a detailed description of the company’s activities (at least 500 words). This information will help position the site on search engines from the start.
Next, in order for search engines to successfully index site pages, it is a good idea to observe a few basic rules:
- Organise the site logically to allow search engines and Internet users to understand its structure. If the site is being redesigned, prioritise reorganising over deleting; avoid deleting all existing content.
- Use descriptive URLS: URLs can be displayed in search results. Think about using useful and easy-to-find words for users.
- Group similar pages: by using directories to group similar topics.
- Reduce duplicate content: Define a canonical URL ("parent" URL) for each content and use redirects or the link rel="canonical" element to avoid duplication.
- Create content that is useful and easy to read: Focus on well-organised, unique, up-to-date, useful and reliable texts. Divide long content into paragraphs and sections with titles.
- Avoid distracting ads: Do not let the ads disturb or complicate the site users' navigation.
- Anticipate search terms: Think about the keywords (see below) that users might be searching for. Take into account the differences in research behaviour between experts and novices.
Organic SEO also involves the integration of the right keywords on your website. These should be the terms that people type in a search engine bar when they want to find information about a company, products or services. There are several online tools to evaluate the relevance of keywords, including Google Keyword Planner, Keyword Tool, WordStream, Answer the Public, Yooda Insight or SE Ranking and SpyFu.
Once the keywords have been identified, they must be integrated into the body of the website. These keywords must be repeated in all the text "read" by Google algorithms to reference the website.
- In the website’s HTML code, this mostly means page title, meta description and title sections (headlines h1, h2, h3), as well as the main text, file names and images and link names, for which the keywords must match the target page.
- The page title section should comprise between 50 and 60 characters and the meta description between 50 and 160.
Search Engine Advertising
Search Engine Advertising (SEA) means a paid-for referencing service. This involves buying keywords to ensure a good position in a search engine’s results. Keywords are sold by auction. Costs may be high depending on popularity. Just like organic SEO, paid search engine optimisation requires a good knowledge of users' keywords. These keywords can be the name of a product, a brand, etc.
For many advertisers, buying keywords represents a significant expense. When a user enters a keyword triggering an ad, it generates an impression, the instant display of the ad on screen. In the Google Ads business model, it’s not the impressions but ad clicks that generate ad costs, called cost per click (CPC). The CPC will then determine the base bid value. However, not all campaigns work this way. Some use the cost per thousand impressions (CPM), such as display campaigns that display images on search engine partner sites.
Sources: Google Search Central; Bien débuter en référencement naturel (SEO); Comment rechercher et prioriser vos mots-clés pour le SEO?, Semji; Le grand livre du marketing digital, 2018, Marrone R.; Gallic C.
