To earn organic traffic we must build and maintain the most helpful resource possible. We must also ensure that search engines are able to efficiently gather information, offerings and content from the site. When an organization embraces SEO, every member of the digital team understands and respects their role in the process.

Five keys to SEO

1. Bot access

If search engine bots (also known as spiders) can't crawl the site, the content can't be added to the search engine's index, and it will never appear in search results. Tools like Google Search Console help ensure a site is crawlable. In addition to industry standard best practices, there are many paid tools designed to help optimize a site's linking structure. When optimized, bots access the most important and freshest content quickly and easily.

2. Page speed

Readily available research shows how fast a page loads impacts bounce rate and other critical digital marketing and e-commerce KPIs. As patience for slow web sites decreases over time, the performance gap between fast and slow sites widens. That means increased bounce rate, fewer page views and lower conversion rate.

3. User experience

Identify user intent and funnel position, then create a seamless, anticipatory journey that supports their needs.

4. Quality content

Publish articles, images, audio and video created by industry experts, including user generated content (UGC) like reviews and Q&A. The best content offers a strong lede, or opening segment, that both sets the table for the rest of the piece and is interesting enough for the content consumer to continue reading, listening or watching. When learning new things, people reference what they already know. The most helpful content often includes historical context, comparisons and details communicated in the simplest terms possible.

5. Data structure

Help users and bots understand and navigate the site with thoughtful data structure. Where appropriate, reference established guidelines like those found on schema.org.