Natural referencing strategy: for what purpose? How to do it?

To develop a business, being present on the Internet is now essential. However, having a website is not enough, it must also reach the intended target. In 2021, search engines are among the top marketing tools for the majority of marketers. Additionally, the vast majority of consumers search for information online before visiting a store. Natural referencing is thus a technique that will allow you to increase your notoriety. Find all the necessary information in this article!

Natural referencing: good practices

Natural referencing, also called SEO (Search Engine Optimization), search engine optimization services include strategies aimed at improving the visibility of a website. All without buying keywords or paying for ads, unlike paid search. Natural referencing essentially consists of optimizing the design and content of your website according to the requirements of search engines and the information needs of Internet users.

In order to increase their notoriety on the web, companies can use different techniques. To this end, natural referencing is an effective solution: coupled with a good strategy, it boosts its online visibility, so you can call on a digital strategy agency to entrust it with your needs and objectives.

How is your content ranking in search results compared to other competing websites for the same search term? Certain key parameters determine this position.

Keyword research and optimization

The keyword research stage, too often underestimated, is however crucial in SEO. The goal is to determine what the reader is really looking for. A keyword generally refers to a group of words for which you want to obtain specific results.

In order to help you with your keyword research, there are a number of tools you can use.

• Google Keyword Planner (free): A keyword planning tool for SEO and SEA experts
• Uber suggests (free): keyword research and suggestion tool
• YourTextGuru (paid): SEO tool to help write SEO content
• Story Chief (paid): writing tool optimized for SEO
• Squantum (paid): semantic analysis and content optimization tool
• Samji (paid): a platform to improve the SEO performance of your content
• Yoda Insight (freemium): SEO tool to boost the performance of your content

Freemium means it's free, but a more advanced version is paid. It is aimed at true professionals in the trade. With 1.fr and Yourtext. guru, we use what is called semantic writing. This is to cover the majority of the terms associated with the request of Internet users. Google thus judges that your content contains the answers searched by Internet users, even for related queries. The search engine will then favor your content in the results displayed.

Your website statistics

One of the best keyword research tools out there is your own site stats. You will be able to better understand the needs of your audience and identify their expectations. What are the most popular posts? What are the real needs of your audience? What are their concerns?

Google Trends

The Google Trends service allows you to quickly and easily compare similar search terms at any time to determine which are the most popular. It also displays related searches and search trends.

Google search results in pages

Google's search results pages contain a number of interesting pieces of information. In particular, it shows you the main competitors for the same query, but also the related searches and the main questions asked by Internet users on this subject.

Once you have your keyword, you need to optimize the content of the article in relation to it. In this aim, you must place this keyword in certain specific places in order to inform the search engines that your message relates to this term:

• the title
• the first paragraph
• the alt description of some of your photos/graphics
• several times in the body of your text
• at least in a subtitle
• the URL (ideally, but less important)
• the meta description, is the short paragraph that Google uses under your title in search results

The readability of the articles on your website

The goal is to ensure that your article is pleasant to read and that your readers can quickly and easily find the information that interests them. Indeed, although you may have excellent information contained in your article, your readers will turn away if it is difficult to read or to skim.

So, good content should both be well-structured, have short, easy-to-read sentences, and have a clear purpose.

Other tips for a successful SEO strategy

SEO brings together a set of techniques, used over the long term. Before embarking on this path, the ideal is to carry out an SEO audit service in collaboration with a digital strategy agency. This is a procedure that will allow you to identify the failures, in order to find the points on which to work. The audit is based on many criteria such as the design of your website or the relevance of the content you offer. After this verification, you will have to take certain parameters into account in order to guarantee good referencing of your website. Here they are!

Optimize the content of your site

In order to be able to correctly link to a website, Google requires information such as keywords or terms relating to the subject matter. If you don't use at least one keyword per page, the search engine will probably not consider your site as a quality site. We have already mentioned above the tools recommended for this purpose.

Know the subject you are dealing with on your site

Among the criteria taken into account by Google is the EAT., for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (or Expertise, Authority, and Trust). In some cases, Google favors websites that deal with topics that have a significant impact on a person's life, such as money and health, and whose authors are recognized in their field.

You must always slip into your target's shoes and adapt the precision and density of your text according to what they expect from your website.

Les backlinks

Search engines also consider backlinks, or external links, when ranking sites on search results. They help search engines establish the authority level of your website and each piece of content.

It is quite possible to obtain these links by offering viral, practical, and interesting content that Internet users and other websites will want to share. You can also generate links by posting your content on social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Avoid click baiting

The "click bait ", also called clickbait or click bait, refers to a practice aimed at putting a catchy title to an article without producing content related to this title. The reader will then feel cheated and leave the page directly. This displeases your search engine!

Remember that you write above all for Internet users and that the search engine gradually tries to judge the quality of the content of a page as an Internet user would.

It is also important to take into account the loading speed and the “mobile-friendly” compatibility. Search engines take into account the loading speed of your pages. In addition, if your website is not compatible with mobile devices, search engines will judge that it provides a bad user experience (UX). In this case, your position in search engines may suffer from this situation.

To be able to develop your business through your website, natural referencing or SEO is your best ally. It is a set of techniques aimed at improving your visibility and notoriety. This will also allow you to increase your turnover if you manage to convince leads, prospects, and customers. In order to better reference your site, you can also use the services of a digital strategy agency.