What is SEO Strategy? A Summary of SEO Strategies Beginners Can Implement

SEO refers to measures to make your site appear higher when searching for specific keywords in Google and other search engines. By appearing higher for targeted search terms, you can not only increase the inflow of visitors to your site, but also efficiently attract new contracts, inquiries, and other customers. This is a measure to get your site to the top of the search results.

SEO is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization (Search Engine Optimization), and we have compiled a list of specific measures that can be taken to improve the effectiveness of your site on this page.

• I have translated my website for the purpose of entering the Japanese market, but it is not attracting any customers.
• You are a start-up company and are wondering how you should conduct your sales activities.
• There is no one in the company with knowledge of SEO, and you are thinking of hiring an outside consulting firm.

If you have any of these issues, please take a look at the basics of SEO.

▽ Free consultation is also available! ▽

What is SEO? ｜Correct SEO and Wrong SEO

SEO is a measure to achieve higher rankings in search engines such as Google, as the term “Search Engine Optimization” implies.

As a simple example, in order to expand sales in cosmetics mail-order and online shopping, by ranking high for keywords such as “cleansing oil cheap” or “petit plus recommended,” users who search for the product will be more likely to purchase it.

In the past, we used to approach customers mainly through e-mail sales activities and telemarketing, but just by getting a high rank in the search results, we can not only increase the number of inquiries, but also acquire prospective customers efficiently.

Google SEO has become an important tool for attracting customers in the Japanese domestic market!

SEO is an important tool for attracting customers in the Japanese market. Although the percentage of SNS searches has been increasing in recent years, Google still accounts for 73% of all search engines used in Japan (data as of January 2020 ).

Reference site: Desktop Search Engine Market Share Japan

Yahoo uses Google’s search algorithm, so in reality, as long as Google’s SEO measures are in place, a large search inflow can be expected. Although there are other search engines, Google and Yahoo account for more than 80% of the total, so Google’s SEO measures are sufficient for the basics.

Proper SEO｜The Roles of Internal and External SEO

Google’s search algorithm changes and updates itself from time to time, but the most important thing to keep in mind is “Is there information that users want to see? The common important point is “Is there information that users want to see?

Therefore, as an internal measure, the content must be accurately communicated to Google, headlines must be created in line with search keywords, and the information must be reliable.

Links (external measures) are also an important factor in evaluating the quality of content and sites. The following external SEO measures are also available on how to increase the number of links. If you spread useful content through social networking sites, etc., more users will be introduced to your site, and links will naturally gather.

Some consulting companies recommend the wrong SEO strategies.

However, please note that some SEO companies and consulting firms in Japan continue to charge consulting fees for methods that are not evaluated by Google, but rather are penalized and do not improve search rankings over time.

Characteristics of Suspicious SEO Consulting Companies

• Pay links are placed from unrelated satellite and satellite sites.
• Producing low-quality content that only focuses on keyword appearance rates.
• Registering with paid directory services
• We will always rank in the top 3 for the keyword “00”! Unsubstantiated guarantees such as “We will always rank in the top 3 for 00 keywords!

This may have been acceptable in the old days of Google, but it is a method that will not work under the current Google algorithm. Also, consulting companies that guarantee rankings are also suspect. Consultants who are well versed in SEO will not make irresponsible statements such as, “We will definitely get you to the top 0.

Summary of tools necessary for SEO

The following is a summary of tools that are useful for site management and analysis, including SEO.

Google Search Console for inflow analysis by keyword

You can check the status of search inflow in detail using Google Search Console, which is an essential tool for SEO, and is generally introduced at the time of site launch along with Google Analytics, which is introduced below.

Google Search Console is also used to have your site content recognized (indexed) by Google and to notify you of errors that may be problematic from an SEO perspective.

For access analysis of the entire site, use Google Analytics.

Google Analytics is another major access analysis tool that is often used in conjunction with Google Search Console.

In addition to PV analysis of which pages on a site have the most accesses, it can also analyze user behavior trends such as abandonment rate, direct return rate, and number of time spent on each page.

As part of internal measures, extending the time spent on content is a good effect for SEO, so Google Analytics is sometimes used to prioritize pages with short dwell times for improvement.

For keyword research to be addressed, use Google AdWords Keyword Planner

As explained in the article planning for aiming for top rankings below, keyword selection is important in planning SEO-oriented articles. The Google AdWords Keyword Planner is useful for this keyword selection, and allows you to check the search volume (how many times a month a keyword is searched for?) You can check the search volume of each keyword (how many times it is searched per month?) and so on.

We recommend Google AdWords Keyword Planner because it is free and has some useful functions. In addition, SEO consultants and internal SEO staff of web production companies often use paid tools such as Ahrefs and SimilarWeb.

Ranking check tools include GRC and Rank Tracker.

There are a number of tools for checking search ranking results, including GRC and Rank Tracker, which are used in Japan.

They are not that different in terms of functionality, so they are chosen for their ease of use and price range depending on the individual. There are also other ranking check tools and cloud-based services that are available for free, so it is a good idea to try out the free range first.

How to plan and produce articles that can be ranked high in searches by SEO [Internal SEO].

The most important part of SEO is probably the procedure and method of effective content production for internal SEO. Google’s current search algorithm has not changed its axis of emphasizing the quality of content, but rather the uniqueness, expertise, and reliability of articles.

However, there are trends in articles that are evaluated for SEO, and competitive analysis is also important, so be sure to create valuable articles that contain only what is important from the user’s perspective, not articles that say what they want to say.

Step 1 of creating effective SEO articles｜Selecting a persona

When writing an article, it is important to first clarify the reader/user demographic. This is the so-called persona setting process. By assuming a specific user image, it is an important indicator in deciding what kind of information and services are suitable for the user.

• User age and gender
• Where do they live/what kind of work do they do?
• What are their hobbies/holidays?
• How much money do they spend/save?
• What are you currently worried about?

We will understand user needs in the form of building up a target user model, such as

Step 2 of creating effective articles for SEO｜Keyword selection and keyword volume research

Based on the assumption of user needs, we select keywords that users are likely to search for. We also confirm the priority of keywords to be addressed after researching the number of searches (volume) for each keyword.

Basically, the higher the keyword volume, the more search inflow can be expected, but the higher the difficulty of ranking higher. Therefore, it is important to target not only high-volume big keywords but also low-volume long-tail keywords.

Step 3 of Creating Effective SEO Articles｜Competitive Research (Analysis of top-ranked pages)

The pages of competing sites that are currently at the top of the search results are helpful in creating articles for SEO. Refer to the information on the competitor’s site,

• What is the average number of words on the top-ranked pages?
• Do they include images and videos, if necessary?
• Is the site supervised by an expert?
• Are there many articles about actual experiences and interviews?

It is a good idea to analyze these questions and find out what kind of articles are likely to be displayed in the top ranks, starting with pages that are currently being evaluated in terms of SEO.

Basic SEO｜Points to be evaluated by Google [Internal SEO

If you take a more detailed look at the above content measures and internal SEO measures, you will find a large number of points that can be used to gain an appropriate evaluation from Google.

It would be ideal to cover all of the evaluation points, but it is a good idea to check the top priorities first.

The quality and quantity of content is quite important!

The quality, expertise, and reliability of articles are quite important. For example, if the content is medical-related, it must be supervised and backed by a doctor or other expert.

Also, as we mentioned during the competitive research, the number of words on the competitor’s site is one of the criteria. For highly competitive keywords, it is often the case that the description is close to 10,000 characters.

However, it is not absolutely better to have a large amount of content (number of words), but if the information is useful and satisfying to the user, the article will be of high quality even if the number of words is somewhat small.

Optimization of page title and meta description

In SEO, not only the content of the content, but also the page title (title tag) and meta description (meta tag) are important. The title and meta description (page summary) must include the target keywords, and the content must be interesting to the user.

As an example, we have posted the results of a search for the keyword “civil servant overseas travel,” but users will be able to determine what kind of content is in the title and meta description.

Therefore, the title and meta description will greatly affect not only search rankings but also click-through rates (CTR), so it is important to convey attractive content with a limited number of characters.

Content headings (h1 h2… tag) with target keywords and related keywords.

In article production, SEO points are also important for content headings. h1 tag, h2 tag, h3 tag… The following SEO strategies are available for heading tags such as h1, h2, h3…

• In addition to the target keywords, do they contain related keywords?
• Does it clearly explain the content within the heading?
• Is the sentence structure correct?

Heading tags are necessary for Google to read (crawl) about the content, so you want to make sure that you are using the right keywords, etc.

Internal links if there are related articles

Another important internal measure is the installation of links to internal content. Increasing the amount of related content will strengthen your expertise, but in conjunction with this, placing internal links on each page will increase the frequency of crawling by Google and improve the evaluation of your content.

However, even if you increase the number of internal links, it will be counterproductive to place links to low-quality content, such as pages with little text, so be careful not to increase the number of related pages too much.

For example, if a page A contains a link to a related page B, the link to page B should also contain a link to page A. Ideally, the links should be reciprocal, so that Google crawlers can easily return to the original page.

There are cases where evaluation is distributed among multiple pages for the same keyword.

The basic SEO strategy is to target one page per keyword. This way, the evaluation from Gooogle is not distributed, and search rankings can be improved efficiently. However, if multiple pages are ranked for the same keyword, they are considered similar content and the evaluation will be lowered.

Therefore, it is important to check the search ranking results on a regular basis and review whether there are any pages with similar content. It is also called cannibalization, but it is inefficient if there is competition for search rankings for the same keywords within the same domain and site.

SNS and satellite sites are also effective in SEO [External SEO]

While internal measures such as content are important, external measures are also important in order to receive high evaluation from Google. The main external measure is to acquire links, but external measures are based on the concept of objective evaluation of the entire site domain.

In terms of links, which are used as an indicator in site evaluation, receiving links from sites such as the following will increase domain power and make it easier to improve search rankings.

• Highly relevant sites
• Sites with authority and credibility (official sites, etc.)
• Sites with high domain power

Easier to receive links from sharing and spreading through social networking posts!

Although social networking posts themselves do not become valued links, they can be viewed by other users from there, making it easier to have links set up on blog sites and other sites.

Therefore, it is important to introduce information that users want and are highly interested in when creating content, even as a measure against links. High-quality content is effective not only as an internal measure but also as an external measure, so it is a good idea to operate social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook as well.

Satellite sites and sub-sites to establish links

One way to increase the number of links to your website is to have your own satellite site (sub-site) and establish links to it.

For example, if you want to rank high for the keyword “diet supplements,” you can use related keywords such as “walking diet method” or “hot yoga diet review,” and set up sites with related content on separate domains and link to them. It is like that.

Ideally, natural links obtained by citing content from other users are more highly valued, but links from sub-sites are also valued by Google if done correctly.

What are the wrong links that can result in a penalty?

However, there is a risk that external measures will adversely affect the site’s reputation, and the following types of link placement should be avoided.

• Gathering a large number of links within the same page, such as a collection of links
• Placing them on unrelated contents
• Placing them on sites with low domain power

Since this is similar to black hat SEO, there is a high possibility that you will be subject to a penalty from Google. Therefore, the natural procedure is to focus solely on internal SEO and emphasize content measures, and to obtain links by spreading the word through social networking sites and other means.

Summary of Advantages and Disadvantages of SEO

We have introduced how to increase search rankings and acquire users through SEO, but there are disadvantages as well as advantages in SEO. Let’s also check its strengths compared to listing ads and PPC ads.

Advantages of SEO｜Customers can be acquired with a lower budget than with advertisements.

With SEO, it is possible to increase access to your website without spending a lot of money, as long as you create content and continue to obtain high search rankings. For this reason, SEO is a method used frequently by individual affiliates and is also effective in branding strategies.

In addition, compared to paid advertisements such as listings, if the keyword strategy is done correctly, it can efficiently gather the user base of potential acquisition. Therefore, I can also improve CVR (conversion rate) such as inquiries and purchases.

Disadvantages of SEO｜It takes time to get a high search ranking

Even after content is created and published, it is unlikely to be immediately ranked high in search results, and it takes a certain amount of time to achieve this. Also, even if you do achieve high search rankings, there is a risk that the search rankings will fluctuate due to updates to Gooogle’s core algorithm, so it is not necessarily a stable tool for attracting customers.

If you want to attract customers to your site as soon as possible, you can use listing ads or PPC ads, even if it costs a little more. However, considering the total cost, SEO measures are important in measures to attract customers in the long term.

Summary of Frequently Asked Questions on SEO

Finally, we have compiled a list of common questions in SEO and what we are often asked by clients in SEO consulting for reference.

One of the difficult points in SEO is that it is impossible to guarantee that a site will get a high search ranking within a certain period of time, so we try to convey the correct approach to SEO from the consulting side.

What should I do if my site does not rank well despite SEO efforts?

If you continue with SEO and still cannot get a high search ranking, it is a good idea to consider all the possibilities of not getting a high search ranking before making a hasty decision to give up on attracting customers because SEO measures are not effective.

• Continuing with wrong SEO measures｜Many low-quality links?
• High difficulty of target keywords｜Try lowering the keyword volume?
• Low quality content?
• Poor response from your SEO consultant?

Especially in cases where SEO is left entirely to the consultant, effectiveness verification may be unclear and questionable. If there are measures that can be handled in-house as much as possible, it is a good idea to proceed with the measures on your own or consult with other SEO consultants.

Is AMP necessary for SEO? ｜Many companies overseas do not dare to use it.

AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, which simply means that pages are displayed faster on mobile devices such as smartphones, and it is considered effective for SEO due to its fast page speed. It is said to be effective for SEO due to its fast page speed.

However, AMP also has many disadvantages, such as corruption of page design and reduced usability, and in many cases, pages are difficult to view when actually implemented.

Web production companies are increasing their costs by recommending AMP as an option or as a value-added feature, so do not immediately accept their recommendations.

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