SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION PART 1

Learn how SEO can help your website rank higher in search results, attract more customers and compete with leaders within the shooting industry, writes Philip Montague

IMAGINE YOUR WEBSITE IS IN A BEAUTY CONTEST, AND GOOGLE IS THE JUDGE!

COMPETITION TIME

In this contest, every website on the internet is competing, especially those similar to yours. How well you rank determines how high your website appears in Google’s search results. This is crucial because, in 2024, Google handles over 95% of search traffic in the UK. At the same time, people are asking Google for recommendations. They use various queries, and Google shows them websites that best answer their questions.

In this scenario, search engine optimisation (SEO) is about making your website stand out in the contest. The goal is to convince Google that your site is the best choice when someone searches for what you offer. The better you perform, the more visitors you’ll attract, which means more potential customers for you.

DOES IT MATTER?

If you think SEO isn’t worth your full attention, consider how much you’re spending to advertise your products and services through platforms like GunTrader. You’re paying them because they excel at getting noticed in search results. But the only reason they’re ahead is that you haven’t been competing in the same way.

Here’s an example: search for “Perazzi MX12” online. You’ll notice that the top results aren’t the places where you’re currently advertising. Instead, competitors like Ian Coley and Chris Potter are ranking higher than Perazzi itself. These businesses are investing in improving their search rankings for specific products, which means they attract more visitors.

You have the same opportunity to compete. By focusing your efforts on SEO, you can outperform larger competitors and draw more customers to your site.

KEYWORDS AND SEARCH QUERIES: A RUNDOWN

In the example I mentioned, both the keyword and search query are “Perazzi MX12.” Here’s a quick rundown:

Search Query: The exact phrase or sentence someone types into a search engine when looking for something.

Keywords: The words in the search query that match terms on your site, helping Google understand you.

For example, if someone searches for “Perazzi MX12 in Kent,” you’ll see that Chris Potter now ranks higher than Ian Coley. If the search is “MX12 shotgun for sale,” GunTrader shows up on top. When searching for “Perazzi MX12 SC2,” Perazzi itself appears first.

In these cases, different keywords are being used:

• In the first example, “Kent” is added

• In the second, “shotgun” and “for sale” are included

Google uses combinations of these keywords and search queries to figure out what your business offers and who might be interested. Popular keywords come with high competition. For instance, competing for “Nike trainers” is tough, but more specific queries are easier to target, as shown in the examples.

ORGANIC SEARCH

Organic search results, sometimes called natural search results, appear just below the ‘Sponsored’ listings on Google. If no one is paying for ads with those keywords, organic results will be at the very top.

Google and Meta don’t offer paid advertising services for selling guns, ammunition or gun accessories. For that, you would need to use a specialised service like wearetopple.com.

Since gun sales can’t appear in the ‘Sponsored’ section on Google, your best option is to focus on SEO. By optimising your website, you can improve your organic search ranking and appear closer to the top of search results, attracting more visitors.

Being at the top for a search query is important because Search Position 1, or the top of the organic results, gets 39.8% of the traffic for that query. Search Position 2 receives 18.7% of the traffic. Search Position 6 gets 4.4%.

LOCAL SEARCH

When you search for “gunroom in Kent,” the results are tailored to that location. Despite Chris Potter’s strong performance for the term “Perazzi MX12,” they appear sixth in this search, while Ashford Gunroom ranks at the top, having improved its SEO presence markedly since June 2023.

This ranking means Ashford Gunroom is getting nearly 40% of the search traffic for “gunroom in Kent,” while Chris Potter attracts only about 4% — 10 times less. This demonstrates how much your position in search results affects the number of visitors to your website.

PART 2

Investing in SEO allows you to compete on an equal footing, attract more visitors and reduce long-term costs compared to third-party services. If you’re curious, try creating a free account with semrush.com and use Domain Overview to analyse your own website.

Next month, we’ll explore different ways to engage in SEO, how to check your existing performance, and how to get started. In the meantime, if you have any queries, please get in touch via Instagram @MontyShoots or by email at monty@mk38.co.uk.