Ranking high in search engines is essential for attracting new customers online. The higher your service/product or brand will rank, the greater the chance of conversion. In this article, we will take a closer look at the basics of SEO. What is SEO, and how can you apply it to your website today?

In this article:

What is SEO?

SEO is a term you often come across online. SEO is short for Search Engine Optimisation. It is a collective term for everything related to optimising websites for search engines such as Google.

The goal of SEO is to generate as many organic visitors to your website as possible.

SEO benefits

SEO offers many advantages. Let's list them below.

SEO is free

Something for free is always better...

A great SEO strategy increases your chances of achieving a high position in the search results. Spending money (e.g. by using Google Ads) is not essential. We refer to these free search results as organic search results.

Better online precense

A website equipped with relevant keywords and high-quality content will appear more frequently and higher up in search results. This visibility attracts more potential visitors and also conveys confidence in your brand.

Generating more visitors

SEO ensures that you get relevant visitors. We also refer this as organic traffic. By using relevant keywords, you increase the likelihood that potential customers find their way to your website.

Long term relevance

A high-quality page with relevant content can remain at the top of search results for years. This means that the page can continue to generate visitors for weeks, months and even years after its publication date.

Disadvantages of SEO

SEO is a fantastic tool for creating more visibility online. However, it still has some disadvantages.

Results are not immediately measurable

There is no guarantee for immediate results. Ever. SEO remains an ongoing process that can take weeks or even months. It all depends on factors such as your competitors and the relevance of your content.

Time-consuming process

Patience and a long-term perspective are essential for SEO. It requires perseverance. This is a process that requires constant attention and keeping your content relevant.

SEO knowledge is necessary

It is important to stay up to date with the constant developments in the field of SEO. In addition, a well-thought-out plan in advance is essential for a successful website. Such a plan requires knowledge, insights and thorough research.

Key components of SEO

This article focuses on SEO for beginners. We will go through the most important elements of SEO and also provide tips on how to apply these elements.

SEO kunnen we verdelen onder twee categorieën:

• On-page SEO:
  Optimalisatie binnen de website
• Off-page SEO
  Optimalisatie buiten de website

On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO is about everything on your web-page. This consists of:

• Headings
• Relevant texts
• Images and videos
• Alt texts
• Meta tag
• Loading speed
• Internal and external links

Headings

Also known as headers. Headings let Google know what the subject of the page is. They also improve the readability of the page.

Headings range from H1 to H6. Each page should only have one H1 heading. Tip: include a keyword in this heading. The other headings can also include keywords, but be careful not to use the same word too often. This will result in awkward sentences, which hurts your SEO.

Relevant texts

Relevant texts make a good website. The best texts feature high-quality content aimed at the target group. Texts that are deliberately stuffed with keywords will not succeed.

Google assesses websites based on factors such as keyword usage and relevance. If the reader is happy, Google is happy too. Google also measures the amount of time a visitor spends on your page.

Relevant images

Images are a nice break from a block of text and also contribute to SEO.

Images are provided with so-called alt text. Alt text is a description of teh content of the photo. Google cannot see images, but it can determine the relevance of the image based on the alt text. Therefore it is important to upload an image using relevant words, not "20250821.JPG for example.

URL-structure

URL is short for Uniform Resource Locator. Simply put: this refers to the address you visit (such as www.mansveltonline.com).

Every page has its unique URL, such as www.mansveltonline.com/page/. It is important to clearly state what the page is about. This can be done by mentioning the subject of the page.

A useful tip is to include the most important keyword in your URL. Also, keep it as short as possible.

Local SEO

Local SEO is search engine optimisation focused on a specific region. This ensures that the website is easier to find locally and generate more leads, visitors and awareness in your region.

Off-page SEO

Off-Page SEO is about search engine optimisation outside your website. This consists of:

• Linkbuilding
• Social media
• Google Business Profile

Linkbuilding

Linkbuildign refers to obtaining backlinks. Backlinks are links from external websites to your website.

Backlinks play an important role in SEO. Google considers these links as referrals. Backlinks prove that other websites find your content valuable enough to refer their own visitors to your website. This inspires confidence.

Social media

Although social media does not directly influence your SEO, it can play an important role in increasing awareness of your website. Regularly posting good content can lead to interaction from your visitors. The more interactions your content receives, the greater the chance that more backlinks to your website will be created. Google considers this traffic to your website as a sign of popularity and relevance. 

Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile allows you to create a profile for your company, where you can enter all your company details, making your company visible on Google and Google Maps.

To make the most of this tool, it is important that you fill in your profile as completely as possible. This includes company information, opening hours, photos, contact details and selecting the right categories. A well-filled profile inspires confidence, which in turn attracts visitors. A complete profile also makes it easier for visitors to find the right information about your company. 

We have an article about setting up your Google Business Profile. Feel free to visit it here.

Reviews

Reviews are an essential part of the reliability of your brand, product or service. Visitors can leave reviews on Google, but there are also several other platforms such as Trustpilot or Klantenvertellen.

It is very important to keep track of these reviews. Respond to as many reviews as possible. This also applies to negative reviews. Use negative reviews to demonstrate the professionalism of your brand. After all, you are not only addressing the negative customer, but also potential new customers who are reading along.

Responding actively to reviews not only builds trust with Google, but also with your potential customers.

Final tips

You probably have enough information now to get started with SEO on your own!
We would like to emphasise once again that SEO is a process. It is not a one-off action. Give it time and attention on a structural basis. And with the right strategy, it will definitely pay itself off in the long term.

Good basic SEO does not immediately guarantee higher rankings and more visitors. It takes time before these efforts are rewarded. But persistence pays off! Stay consistent in optimising your website, obtaining backlinks, creating content and keeping track of reviews. 

Finally, we would like to emphasise that quality is more important than quantity. Make sure you create content that is truly useful to your visitors, helping them. If you do this, you'll always be on the right track!