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Search Engine Optimisation

 
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION
 
 
What Is Search Engine Optimisation? 
 
Search Engine Optimisation (or SEO) is the set of rules that determines the activity of online search engines.
 
Why is SEO important?  It determines whether your website is 'search engine friendly'. What most businesses want from their website is to increase sales. Effective SEO increases the traffic to your website and - if the product you’re offering is what your visitors want - then hopefully this traffic will convert to more sales.
 
‘Optimisation’ means trying to ensure you have certain things in place on your web pages to help your natural or organic search engine rankings. Basically the higher up the page you appear on any given search (the higher your search engine ranking) the more likely it is that your prospective customers will click on the link and visit your website!
 
Why Not Just Use Pay-per-Click?
 
Search engines are used by more than 8 out of 10 internet users to identify or find information about products they want to buy. You could use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to shortcut the challenges of SEO, but PPC is expensive and costs are rising.
 
Added to that around 85% of searchers actually ignore paid listings!  If you consider that 63% of the top organic listings get clicks and that organic search results convert 30% higher than PPC, then you know why SEO should be a top priority for every website owner.
 
So What’s the Best Way to Optimise?
 
 
To really optimise your website you have to think like a search engine. Search engines rank websites based on two key factors:
 
Unique content with relevant keywords in the body of the text;
 
Link popularity - ie the number and quality of incoming links to your website.
 
 A search engine doesn't know or care how imaginative your headlines are. While words like "unique" and "fantastic’ can have considerable impact in a traditional advert, no one searches using these terms. If you use these words you could miss an opportunity to use a keyword that could drive traffic to your site.
 
The search engines’  'Bots and Spiders’ (what they use to search out content) don’t care what your site looks like. But they do have their own likings and preferences for certain types of information. It is how you deploy that information that will determine your search engine ranking.
 
So how do you choose these ‘keywords’?
 
To optimise the content of your pages you need to know the relevant keywords for your product/service. For a recruitment agency, these might include phrases such as ‘looking for a job’, find a job’, ‘change career’ etc.
 
Including geographical references is even better. If your business is located in Edinburgh, people might include that in the search.
 
To help you choose the most searched-for key words there are several free sites including: Overture - (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/)
 
While of course you do want to use some of the most popular keywords, it's worth considering how many other webmasters will be doing the same. So how can you make your web page stand out? Ideally, choose a combination of moderately popular and highly popular search terms.
 
The "moderately popular" ones are only less popular in the sense that a mass audience of internet searchers may not be interested in them. However, the ones you choose should be those that your most likely customers would be using in their searches.

So What do You Do with the Keywords?
 
When you’ve identified your ideal list of keywords and phrases, work them into your web content. Aim for a keyword density of no less than 2% but no more than 7% . Focus on optimising just a few different keywords per page. Bear in mind, though,  that focusing on only one keyword per page may flag you as a spammer by some search engines!
 
You could commission an experienced copywriter to write/optimise your content. This can be expensive so make sure you select someone with a proven track record.   Ask to see examples of their work and get testimonials from other customers.
 
If you’re optimising your own content,  you do need to balance the requirements of optimisation with the demands of literacy. Make sure you have the right ‘sales pitch’ to convert visitors to sales!
 
Writing for Spiders and Bots
 
Make all your content matter. This includes your web page titles (all pages, not just your home page), your META description paragraphs, internal keywords, the words used for your Alt tags (the words that appear over the images on your site when your mouse scrolls over them) and even your file names!

1) Ensure you have a descriptive title tag. It’s one of the most important things on your web-page. Visitors should get the gist of what your page is about by reading your title tag.

2) Meta Keywords. Your meta keywords need to describe your web-page content. For example, if your web-page contains information about starting a business, your keywords would be something like 'business start up, start a new business, business information, etc'

3) Meta Description. This should be a short description of your page, normally a couple of sentences describing what your page is about.

4) Bold tags. Try to emphasise keywords on the page using bold tags. Don't go overboard with this, just the odd one or two!

Writing for Humans
 
In your haste to get to the top of the rankings, don’t forget to think about the first thing your potential customers see. When they find your web page using a search engine they'll get a list of potential competitors' sites and your own. Along with each link displayed on that initial search page, there's also the title of the web page and a short description. While a thoughtful selection of keywords in that description will affect page ranking, the right content is a powerful advertising tool. Wherever you are on the page, you still want your site to be the one that’s clicked on.
 
Getting the advertising content right means putting humans before spiders and bots. Remember you're writing copy to engage your audience. The search engine may bring people to your link on a search page, but it is your content that will determine whether they click and enter your site.

Article Marketing

You can also use something called ‘article marketing’ to boost your website rankings. Write original articles in the same subject as your website and post them on popular article websites. Ensure you fill in the 'Author Bio' box with a brief description about you or your website and a link back to it.
 
Linking

The other key way that search engines rank web pages is by evaluating inbound links. It's similar to a popularity contest - if a lot of people refer to you by linking to your site, you must be worth ranking.
 
However a high number of inbound links isn’t enough. Google uses a special algorithm to assess the "quality" of inbound links. The assessment includes factors such as the relatedness of the inbound site to yours (whether it offers similar products or services thus suggesting the link is genuine and not part of a ‘link farm‘) and the popularity of the linking site (based on numbers of clicks). It’s a bit like the differences between getting a reference from a well-known person and one from your parents. One carries a lot more kudos!
 
So does it follow that the more links reaching out from your own site to others the better? Absolutely not! The number of outbound links may actually reduce your page rankings. Yes, links to inform and engage your visitors should be there but you overdo it at your peril.
 
Keep Up to Date

Above all - keep up to date with what’s happening. SEO techniques are a moving target, since search engine companies change their algorithms periodically. And don’t forget - SEO is only a part of a successful marketing strategy.

 

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