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TRAFFIC & STRATEGY

Digital SEO : Making it stick long-term

Paul Ngoie , head of SEO at Williams Commerce , explains how focusing on the fundamentals will craft a successful and lasting SEO strategy that will serve you in the long run

In the world of SEO , there ’ s a common pitfall : focusing too heavily on tactics without a solid , well-defined strategy . I often hear SEO experts confuse tactics with strategy , but understanding the difference between the two can be crucial for achieving and maintaining long-term SEO success .

ABOUT ME
Paul Ngoie is the head of SEO at Williams Commerce , a leading ecommerce technology agency . Paul has more than 15 years ’ experience in SEO and has worked for igaming operators such as Ladbrokes , Betway , and BetVictor .
This article explores the ongoing challenges of SEO and offers strategic steps to create a sustainable plan . The digital landscape is ever-changing ; the continual evolution of search engine algorithms , the rise in mobile usage , faster internet speeds and the integration of AI are just a few factors that keep reshaping the field .
Despite these changes , core SEO principles such as targeting the right keywords , technical SEO , quality content , building authority through backlinks and user experience are fundamentals that have consistently driven SEO success from the beginning and remain relevant to date .
According to the latest study by BrightEdge , organic search contributes to 53 % of total website traffic across various business websites , making it the dominant source of trackable web traffic and the largest digital channel .
As of March 2024 , the first result in
Google ’ s organic search results boasts an impressive average click-through rate ( CTR ) of 25.03 % on mobile and 31.1 % on desktop . While attracting organic traffic through conventional methods remains crucial , it ’ s equally important to explore other avenues . For instance , voice search is increasingly popular due to the rise of smart speakers and virtual assistants like Amazon ’ s Alexa , Google Assistant and Apple ’ s Siri . Notably , 40.7 % of voice search answers are derived from featured snippets , underscoring the need to optimise for this growing trend .
Featured snippets are selected search results that appear at the top of Google ’ s organic search results in a box , often referred to as ‘ position zero ’. These snippets
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