Search Engine Optimization in Kenya is no longer a new concept. Gone are the days when you had to explain to business people what the symbols SEO meant. People have come to appreciate the real value of optimization and SEO in Kenya has gained popularity over the past couple of years.
But for those few who are yet to understand the concept
behind marketing businesses online, we are here to simplify the entire subject
just for you. This simple guide will explain what search engine marketing is
all about while keeping it clean and simple for the general audience. In case
you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line at the end of this post. We
are SEO experts in Kenya and always to engage with you in any matter around the
different inbound marketing techniques.
What is SEO? What it Means to the Kenyan Market
In this day and age, people are very used to looking
for products and services online. Whether it’s the trendiest shoes, a
holiday package or the cheapest flights, you’ll rush online to check out what’s
on offer and compare from a long list of massive retailers.
The whole idea behind search engine marketing is that,
people will look for people, products, services and information on search
engines. Search engines are online platforms like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
How Search Engine Optimization in Kenya works
Let’s look at a typical example. You’ve decided to surprise
your loved ones by taking them on an amazing holiday somewhere on the Coast.
However, you’re still not sure of where to stay, places to visit, or dine while
on holiday. You can visit a search engine like Google (by typing www.google.com) and on the search box you
enter a “term” that is close to what you are looking for e.g. “hotels in
Mombasa” or “Places to visit in Mombasa” or “where to stay in Mombasa”.
As soon as you enter what you’ve typed, you’ll get hundreds
of thousands of search results, if not millions, that match to what you are
looking for. All these results are related to what you’ve searched for. E.g. if
you’ve typed “hotels in Mombasa”, links to popular hotels in Mombasa or articles
on this subject are the ones that should appear. But you’ll never be able to go
through all the search results by clicking them one by one. You are likely to
focus on the ones that have appeared on the first and maybe the second page.
Search engine marketing in Kenya is what helps businesses
(e.g. popular hotels in Kenya as in our case) to appear on the first page of
search results. Your business cannot appear on the top pages of relevant search
terms automatically. Your website needs to be optimized for search engines. And
when your business doesn’t appear on top search results, you don’t get any
customers online. You miss out on the endless opportunities of making money
online.
This is the rationale behind marketing businesses online.
The goal is to ensure that whenever someone is looking for a product or service
that your business offers, your website or web pages should appear somewhere on
the first and second page.
Reasons to Invest in SEO in Kenya
We’ve been asked all these questions by most of our
customers. Why should I put my money in search engine advertising and marketing
in Kenya? Is there a guaranteed ROI? Is it something that I can learn and do it
on my own? How long will it take for my website to appear on the first or second
page for relevant keywords?
First and foremost, you must appreciate that optimization
for search engines is a process. You can never expect to have instant
results. The length of time it will take for your site to rank will depend on
the demand for your key phrases. Additionally, SEO will have admirable returns
if it is done properly, that is, if the right strategies and techniques are
used. The one thing you must be able to understand with SEO is that it is
a process that takes time to see the actual results. Some sites can take a
month to rank, whereas others may take up to a year to appear on the top pages
of relevant search terms. That’s how complex search engine optimization in Kenya is.
Among the many benefits of investing in search engine
advertising include
- Obtain
targeted traffic to your website
- Boost
your authority and become an industry leader
- Promote
new products and services to untapped markets
- Obtain
high rankings and boost sales
- Provide
customers with information that is accessible and easy to reach
- Ensure
your website only appears for relevant search terms
- It’s a
cheap form of advertising compared to print media among others
- It can
be done in the long term and make promote your business for an extended
period
Common SEO techniques used in Kenya
There are hundreds of search engine optimization strategies used today. Some
of them are really effective, whereas others may appear to rank your website
faster but have a harmful impact on your business in the long run (these
harmful SEO techniques are called black hat strategies). The most effective form
of advertising is one that uses a blend of strategies that work together to
improve rankings in a way that search engines love. Here are among the best
techniques to use when optimizing websites for search.
#1 Updating fresh and unique content
Many search gurus claim that effective SEO is centered on
content marketing. There’s really not much advertising, that can be done
without the use of great content. Great content is the kind that converts
readers to subscribers or customers. Great content is unique, relevant,
interesting and keyword optimized.
#2 Marketing web pages on social media platforms
You’ve probably heard of social media marketing before. This
is simply the form of advertising where you promote your web pages on social
platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn. When people share
your content on these platforms, you get a vote, which makes search engines
favor your site on popular searches. Posts that have a lot of social signals
usually rank high on search engines and that’s why social media advertising is
a key technique used by SEO gurus.
#3 Blogging
Blogging is a huge part of search engine promotion in Kenya.
It is what helps people to get information about your business, industry or
just life in general. Through blogging, you are able to optimize the content on
your site for search. Guest blogging also allows you to obtain links from
popular sites that are related to your own.
#4 Use of press releases
Press releases are basically news articles that inform
people of the latest on goings in your business or industry. When you write
press releases, you may publish them on your site or other platforms in order
to drive traffic to your site. Press release distribution is an SEO technique
that has been around for many years and remains highly effective when done
correctly.
#5 Keyword research and analysis
Proper keyword research is the basis of all search engine
optimization strategies. You’ll need to have the right search terms which you
are targeting. When looking for keywords, you focus on the search volume as
well as the competition.
Keywords with a high competition are the hardest to rank. On
the other hand, keywords with a high search volume are usually the best to
target because it means that they will drive a lot more traffic than keywords
with a low search volume. It is important to target keywords that are relevant
to your niche in order to get highly targeted traffic to your website. The
traffic that is driven to your website will be interested in particular
information that is relevant to your niche.
There are several tools that are used for researching for
the best keywords to target for your SEO campaign. Google Adwords is among the
common tools used by many Kenya SEOs to find particular keywords one can target
for the campaigns across search engines.
#6 Link building
The other very important strategy used in search engine
advertising is link building. This is simply the process of obtaining links
from relevant sources online. It can be done through guest blogging or even
social media marketing as mentioned above. Quality link building is a very aspect
of SEO. When link building is not done right, your site risks losing
credibility, getting a penalty or being blacklisted by search engines like
Google.
Difference between on-page and off-page optimization
On-page SEO is done on your website in order to make it rank
high on search engines. Some of the strategies used in on-page search
advertising include, adding relevant tags to posts and pages on your site so as
to make them appear for certain search terms.
Off-page SEO is normally done outside your site and it
involves strategies such as social media marketing which directs web visitors
from platforms like Facebook to your website. The other form of off page search
engine optimization is press release distribution where links to your site are
posted on various press release sites so that visitors can be directed to your
own web pages.
How much will you pay for Search Engine Optimization in Kenya?
The search company will ask you several questions to
determine how much you will be charged. They may want to find out:
- How
many keywords you want to rank for
- The
competition for the selected keywords
- If
social media set up and management is included as part of SEO
- The
number of blog posts required per month
- How
many social media platforms you want optimization to be done
The costs of search engine advertising in Kenya will vary
depending on many factors. It’s important to conduct adequate due diligence
when identifying a company that offers SEO services. Basing your decision on
price and the promises of instant rankings can be detrimental to your business.
Search engine optimization packages can be as affordable as Ksh. 20,000 to as
expensive as Ksh. 100,000. It all depends on what you want to be included in
the package.
Social media and SEO in Kenya
So you want to promote your website on social platforms
like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, but you really don’t
have the time nor the skill to do it. What next? Social media companies have
invested a lot in this unique form of advertising. They focus on not only
improving the number of people who like your business page but also creating
engagement and interaction with your customers.
Social media is a very critical element of SEO in Kenya
because it helps to create social signals, which are core factors used by
search engines to determine how well a website ranks. Social media marketing
involves, promoting posts and pages of your website on sites like Pinterest,
Google Plus and Tumblr so it is also considered as a form of link building.
Content Marketing and Search Engine Optimization in Kenya
Content marketing is a very broad subject which we have
covered in previous posts. However, we must appreciate the value of using great
content for SEO. Great content that can be used to boost search engine
optimization is the kind that contains all the relevant keywords. However,
keyword stuffing should be avoided at all costs. Keywords should be used
sparingly within the piece of content for search engine optimization to be
deemed effective.
SEO in Kenya is evolving
SEO has changed over the years and it continues to evolve.
Gone are the days when you used to build thousands of spammy backlinks and your
site rankings would shoot up instantly. Today, only quality backlinks would
have any impact on your rankings. Kenyan companies that begin to invest in SEO
at an early stage will be able to stay ahead of their competition and become
unbeatable authorities online in their chosen industry.
Top 5 Best SEO companies in Kenya
Looking for a trustworthy search engine optimization company
in Kenya to help manage your project? We curated a list of the leading SEO
companies to help you find the right provider for your SEO needs.
1. Growthpad Digital Consulting
Growthpad Digital Consulting is a leading Kenyan 360-Degree
Digital Experience Agency. Guiding game-changing & growth-focused
companies, across online marketing platforms in Kenya, through agile design
& digital solutions. The firm brings experience that spans the breadth of
digital marketing, Web Design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), business
development, marketing operations, and digital optimization in order to tackle
their clients’ challenges with pragmatic and implementable solutions. Their
digital marketing models create a self-reinforcing cycle of truly 1:1 customer
experiences and deepening brand engagement, delivering value for both customers
and the business. If you would like to see some of their case studies visit
here:
Contact Growthpad on +254721314242 or email strategic@growthpad.co.ke
2. DimeHub
DimeHub is a results-driven digital marketing company in
Kenya that offers Web Design, Web Development, PPC, SEO, and Content development
services to help you generate qualified Sales Leads and Increase Website Traffic
and Sales.
They customize the best mix of digital marketing — from PPC and email campaigns to SEO-based responsive websites — to provide results that move the needle.
3. IDevelopers Technologies
This is an IT organization providing all sizes of organizations with IT & Web Design Services Kenya. They were formed with the aim of assisting organizations in using modern technology. iDeveloper Technologies has been providing outsourced desktop, web design services in Kenya IT Consultancy and network management and currently supports a number of clients across the country.
4. Akus Digital Solutions
This is a digital marketing agency based in Nairobi, Kenya that offers a range of digital solutions to businesses. They provide services ranging from Web design, SEO, Content marketing, Social media marketing, Branding, Paid search advertising, and Lead generation services to clients of all industries.
5. Empex Digital
Empex Digital is a go-to full-service digital agency in Kenya that helps brands and businesses in building competent brands that win market share and achieve growth. Their digital business strategies resonate with the latest trends in the digital space.