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Intro to SEO

This document will contain intro to search engine optimization (SEO) in Novartis.

Do you need SEO​

The goal of SEO is to increase visibility in search results, making it easier for people to find your content. If you do not benefit from free, sustainable, and passive traffic to your content month after month then you do not need SEO.

Your goals should come first

If organic traffic to your content does not support your (business) goals then you probably do not need SEO.

Good to know before creating content​

Create and improve your content in small iterations. Unlike printed materials, digital content can be developed and improved continuously without huge investments and effort. Do not try to create the best text in the world with the first iteration. Do not hold onto the content until you think it is perfect. If your content creates value and exceeds the approval threshold, then publish it!

Look at what has been done so far. Google the keywords (also in English) and see which content ranks and why. If you want to rank in the top 10, then you need to compete with already ranking content (kick someone out from the first page). This means your content needs to be somewhat similar but much better.

How do you do SEO?

"We’re following a simple rule: Write in-depth articles that are truly twice as good as any other article on the topic. Mostly, it works. Many of the articles in this blog are outranking content in the top marketing blogs." - Karola Karlson (answer from 01.2018)

Look at how texts are written online. Take a look at Ahrefs blog or Neil Patel blog blog for example and learn how they structure texts. Paragraph often is just one sentence, crosslinks to your other pages, how long the content is, how it is structured to improve readability etc.

Write down all the keywords (for example, "cholesterol") and phrases ("how to measure cholesterol") that come to mind around your topic. Then, let's look at the search volume in your market by using Google Keyword Planner. This way, you know before writing which words and phrases people use to find information about the topic.

There needs to be search. S in SEO stands for "search". If search volume for your keyword or phrase is very low then it is hard to benefit from SEO. May be better to buy ads instead.

Food for thought​

Is there a reason for anyone to prefer your content over everything else that is available?

Is it clear to you what you want to happen or change when you start getting traffic after investing in SEO? Have you thought about how to communicate this desired change or goal in your content to your audience? Do readers understand what you want them to do and how can they do that?

How to measure​

There are free tools for any website owner who cares about their performance in the search results. These tools include Google Analytics (GA4), Google Search Console (GSC), Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT), SerpRobot free SERP checker.

Learning curve

If you have never used any web analytics tools, there will be a learning curve for you. Luckily, the internet is full of tutorials, courses, and all kinds of learning materials.

To get GA4 and GSC for your website, you need to create a Google account using your @novartis.com email and then create multiple tickets:

What does each tool do​

Google Analytics tells you how many visitors your website has, where they come from (traffic source), which content they look at (engagement), information about the visitor (location, demographic details) and much more. Unfortunately our GA4 setups do not work very well 😔

Google Search Console shows you how your website or single page is indexed in Google and which search queries (organic traffic) bring users to your site or page. You can analyse your site's search impressions, clicks and position on Google Search. It does not tell you anything about your competitors.

Ahrefs Webmaster Tools is professional SEO tool. You can monitor your SEO health, know backlinks, see data about keywords, and much more. It also gives you privacy-friendly, cookie-free Analytics which is not interferred by cookie consent (so you get more accurate data). You can set it up and add it to your website if you know how to do it. No support from Novartis.