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Legit website communications >> 07.09.2010, 15:04

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

Search engine optimisation (SEO) ... what is it? And why is it so important? Our quick guide is designed to provide you with an informed overview and answers to key questions.

This guide also offers practical advice for the initial setup of your website

Why are search engines so important?

eMarketer is a recognised authority of business online. It estimates that the number of Internet users in the UK alone will exceed 38 million by the end of 2008, a massive 62.6% of the entire population. And things aren't due to slow down any time soon. eMarketer predicts impressive rises until 2012¹:

  • 2009: 39.4 million users, 64.5% of the population
  • 2010: 40.6 million users, 66.2%
  • 2011: 41.7 million users, 67.8%
  • 2012: 42.8 million users, 69.5%

During October 2008, 89.44% of UK searches were made using Google.² Today Google is the most popular search engine. So much so that the word 'Google' has practically become a verb. But the situation is fluid.

Why boost your online presence with SEO?

You want your business to rank highly with search engines so that potential customers will find your website and buy from you.

However SEO isn't a one-off. It is an ongoing process. While an initial website makeover can have a dramatic effect on search engine ranking, it usually takes a while to achieve a good position.

Keeping your site visible is a continual challenge. SEO is a moveable feast. It can be work intensive. Your competitors will constantly be snapping at your heels.

On the plus side, SEO usually costs much less than traditional offline advertising and marketing. For example, a full page advert in London's Metro newspaper costs over £30,000. This publication has a shelf life of just one day.

Natural/organic list rankings versus paid-for marketing

SEO is the process of optimising websites to achieve the highest ranking in the natural and organic listings.

High ranking can also be achieved using paid search marketing campaigns such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC). These can be expensive, especially in the long term. Many businesses use PPC to kick-start website visibility, ceasing paid activity once natural SEO shows results.

How do search engines work?

Most search engines use 'spiders' and 'bots' to classify Internet content. Search engines use complicated language-based algorithms to grab and read relevant items within web pages. They then analyse the data and index pages according to the importance and relevance of the content.

Meta indexes let you search through multiple indices. A few of the smaller indexes pull their information from a website's meta tags, or use the information provided by the site visitor into the index, rather than analysing a website's complete content.

Search directories collect information transmitted by the site owner and then categorise the data. Unlike a search index they do not contain information from web pages, but information about them.

Search sites let you search through an index or directory, but don't always have a search system of their own. They use external results instead. Only search systems build an index or directory. The big boys - Google and the Open Directory Project, DMOZ - provide search results to many lesser search sites.

Practical advice for the initial setup of your website

Make sure that keywords, key phrases, website content, page and site structure, submissions and links all have a positive effect on your website's visibility.

Keywords and key phrases

  • Identify exactly which keywords and phrases people use to search for your products
  • Consider new key words and phrases that may equally have a positive effect
  • Think about whether misspelled keywords may prove important to your business
  • Implement the intelligent use of synonyms, split words, merged words, singulars/plurals and geo-specific terms
  • Consider whether it makes commercial sense to separate individual words with a hyphen
  • Identify combinations of words that can also be optimised for single terms
  • Replace ambiguous or broad keywords that will not deliver your desired traffic
  • Decide whether specialist search terms may be useful
  • Get the most out of keyword effectiveness index or KEI
  • Remove any special symbols and characters that are best avoided from an SEO perspective
  • Work out the optimum number of key words and phrases and their optimum density within each page

Website content

  • Create the right amount of content per page to grab search engines' attention; as a general rule, 300 words minimum per page
  • Ensure your content is highly relevant to each page
  • Plan your content carefully to achieve maximum prominence
  • Include keywords with optimum frequency and density
  • Avoid keyword 'stuffing' and being labelled a spammer
  • Format your copy to maximise SEO, for instance by using bulleted lists of key words and phrases

Website page optimisation

  • Optimise each page individually
  • Use the most powerful primary and secondary keyword phrases on each page
  • Create relevant meta tags, one repeat per meta tag maximum
  • Implement strong page titles that incorporate keywords, one repeat maximum
  • Limit the use of 'stop' words like ‘a’, ‘as’ and ‘the’, which are ignored by search engines
  • Embolden and italicize the keywords within your page content
  • Include keywords in the internal links within your site
  • Ensure that directory, individual page and image names include keywords
  • Use hyphens and full stops to separate your file names and limit file names to two words maximum
  • Create and maintain a flat directory structure
  • Remove or re-position any dangling pages

Website submissions

Most search engines will find your website, provided it is properly optimised, without you having to make directory submissions. Some submissions are important however. One of which is to the Open Directory Project (DMOZ).

Submissions to directories with high page ranks (7) of PR5 and higher are also useful. They provide authoritative links into your site, giving it extra relevance and importance.

Sitemaps

Sitemaps help with website visibility. A sitemap is a list of the pages that make up your website. It exposes parts of your site that might not ordinarily be visible to Google, like pages coded in Flash. Sitemaps are particularly useful for new websites with few or no inbound links.

Links

External links from websites that directly relate to your products and services can be powerful, especially when search engines have already indexed them.

If you can influence the link text, make sure you use relevant keywords within the link text. A simple example; if your website sells English cheeses, use 'English Cheeses' in the link text - something like 'Follow this link for delicious English Cheeses.

Important Factors

The time factor

The longer your domain has been registered and the longer your website has been up and running, the more relevance and importance search engines will give it.

Google places new websites into a system called a 'sandbox' before indexing them.  From here it can take up to eight months to get a decent ranking. Other search engines use similar systems to index and rank new sites and pages.

Constant change

SEO is an ongoing process. Search engines continually improve their algorithms in response to technical and logical developments.

You might get your business onto page one of Google one week only to have it knocked onto page two, three or lower the next day. Remember that change is the name of the game!

Black Hat/White Hat

Search engines are keen to minimise the impact of 'black hat' SEO to keep things fair for everyone. While unfair SEO practices can get you to the top quickly, the penalties can be stiff. It is wise to stick to 'white hat' methods.

Stay ahead of your competitors through quality SEO

Whether or not you're in a highly competitive industry, you'll face a constant battle to stay ahead in search engine rankings. The difference between a page one position and a page two position can be enormous, potentially involving many thousands of lucrative visitors.

Invest in an efficient, tight, intelligent SEO campaign and you'll stand a very good chance of staying ahead.

How can Metastar save you time and money?

  • We are fluent in SEO
  • We'll work with you to create an intelligent, fully integrated SEO strategy, applying new technical standards and taking into account the latest developments as they arise. So your SEO will always be state of the art
  • What's the advantage? We concentrate on our area of expertise, leaving you free to concentrate on yours: managing and growing your business
  • We provide comprehensive, insightful monthly reports so that you can see exactly what has been done, where and how, and how your search engine ranking has been improved as a result
  • Whatever the size of your business, from SME to Blue Chip and everything in between; our flexible pricing structure ensures you get the best value for money

To find out more about Metastar’s internet marketing services - from search engine optimisation (optimisation) through to content management and online shopping, contact us today.

Sources:
¹ http://www.etcnewmedia.com
² http://www.hitwise.co.uk

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