You’ve just invested in a fantastic new website for your business, but after a few searches you realise it’s currently ranking on page 33 of Google! How on earth will anyone ever find it? Welcome to the world of search engine optimisation (SEO).

Search engine optimisation, also referred to as website optimisation, is the process by which you improve the visibility of a website or page in the many search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Essentially you are jumping the queue to benefit from the higher number of website visits those at the top of the results enjoy. By appearing at the top of the search rankings for the correct keywords your website will benefit from vastly increased traffic, improved brand exposure, and, best of all, a greater amount of enquiries and therefore sales.

If you are a regular internet user, you will know that people are more likely to click on and trust those companies they find at the top of the search engines, and are therefore much more likely to do business with these companies. This is why website optimisation is such a worthwhile investment and popular with marketing managers. Compared to other marketing channels website optimisation provides a very measurable ROI.

Search engine algorithms are extremely complicated and assess a huge number of different criteria to calculate the worth of a website; website optimisation techniques will help search engines to see your site as more relevant for particular keywords, helping you to appear at the top of the rankings.

So How Does Website Optimisation (SEO) Work?

In its most basic form, website optimisation can be broken down into two different types; namely onsite and offsite. Onsite SEO takes place on your website and involves all the different things you can do to make sure the search engines view your website as a relevant result for your chosen keywords.

Offsite SEO refers to those things you can do to benefit your search engine rankings which do not show up on your website. As part of an effective offsite website optimisation strategy you should consider the following:

•    Content and copywriting
•    Guest blogging
•    Link building
•    Social media
•    Video
•    Social bookmarking

All of these SEO techniques will help your site improve your overall visibility online. Once your onsite optimisation is complete, link building should be your next port of call. Every external link obtained acts as a vote of confidence which tells the search engines that your website is a useful resource. The more links you get from the right sources, the higher up the search engines you will climb.

Links constantly send search engines like Google back to your site where they will ‘crawl’ your web pages. This means that they analyse the structure, copy and any links to judge the worth of your site. The search engines then index your site ready to be returned in search results. If you optimise your website well then the search engines will return your website for lucrative, highly sought after keywords.

Website optimisation is a far more complex process than we can convey here, although we hope this article helps you to understand the basics of SEO.

If your website could do with and SEO makeover, get in touch on 0845 272 6813 today.

Website optimisation is one part of your internet marketing strategy which can never stand still. Constant tweaks and alterations to the algorithms used by the most popular search engines ensure website optimisation specialists like the team here at Designer Websites are constantly having to adapt and learn in order to offer the highest calibre service.

On-site SEO
Website optimisation is a far more complicated process than simply placing keywords in the correct places on your website copy. For the process to truly perform, it is essential your website is built from the ground up with website optimisation in mind. From the earliest stages of website development, it is important every element is geared towards the same goal. This will ensure your site has every chance of appearing at the top of the search engine rankings for your chosen keywords.

The answer to the question ‘how to SEO’ is a staged process involving many different website optimisation techniques as well as a technical approach to website design at the earliest instance.

Keyword analysis – this process lays down the very foundations of your website optimisation strategy. Many companies can make or break their entire online strategy by choosing keywords which do not attract a significant search volume. Time should be taken to conduct thorough research to establish the exact search traffic and competition figures.

Keyword inclusion – once the keywords are chosen they need to be strategically placed in the right areas. This includes the title tag, meta description, page heading, body copy and internal links. Placement is not the only consideration at this stage, it is also important the density of keywords falls within the appropriate bands.

URL rewriting – a key feature of website optimisation is a readable and relevant URL. Length is important and a guideline of about three to five words should be followed as the weighting of each word beyond this limit is reduced. Recent research has shown short URLs within Google are clicked twice as often as longer URLs. Short URLs will help towards improved rankings and clickthrough rate.

Coding – it may be called on-site SEO but its what is on the inside they counts too. Standards compliant coding ensures the search engine bots are able to index your website quickly and easily, it will also ensure that your website will be cross-browser compatible. Getting your code right is important too, because messy or outdated coding can cause websites to load slowly which will result in poor rankings.

Link building – building up trust within the search engines can be done by securing relevant, good quality links from related websites. This shows your website is one respected by the industry in which you operate, helping you to climb further up the rankings.

SEO copywriting – creating text which appeals to customers as well as the search engines is a careful balancing act between keyword inclusion and readability. The copy on web pages, blog posts, news pieces and articles will all contribute to your search engine rankings as long as the correct keywords are used at an appropriate density.

Optimised website hosting – providing very fast and reliable website hosting is absolutely essential to a well optimised website, otherwise all of your other SEO efforts will have been in vain. Correct error handling procedures and redirecting are also really important. You either need a dedicated web server or at least a host who has a dedicated server and holds fewer than 50 websites on it themselves.

When considering how to SEO the above is simply a pointer. Website optimisation is a varied and constantly evolving process which requires the expertise of knowledgeable SEO practitioners. Here at Designer Websites, the wealth of experience we have built up ensures we understand the technical aspects of website optimisation better than anyone else.

For further information about on-site SEO, please do not hesitate to call our friendly team on 0845 272 6813. 

The first and most important stage of any website SEO campaign is the keyword research. If your keyword research is flawed and you identify words which are either too competitive for your budget, or which don’t attract a high enough search volume, you will effectively be fighting a losing battle from the start. Some companies will make the mistake of determining their keywords without carrying out any research. Considering how quickly keyword research can be carried out, this can prove to be an incredibly costly mistake. You may think you know your industry inside and out, but it is likely you will not think of the products and services you offer in the same way as your customers. It is possible to spend thousands on website SEO which targets keywords that there is absolutely no market for, and in so doing miss out on those little niches which can bring you some easy gains.

Long-tail keywords
Long-tail keywords are usually those which represent niches in the market. So where as the most obvious keywords which will be the most searched for but also the most competitive, a good long-tail keyword will still attract a good search volume, but with far less competition to battle against. If you operate as a florist then if your website SEO targets highly competitive keywords like ‘florist’, or ‘buy flowers online’, then you will find yourself competing against some of the biggest names in your industry, and may not feature until around page 20 of Google, even after a long-term website SEO campaign. Alternatively, as a smaller retailer it would make much more sense to target a niche with a long-tail keyword, which may not have quite the same search volume, but will make you show up on page one rather than page 15 and will consequently experience far greater traffic.

Identifying niches
Niches can often be identified by long-tail keywords i.e. those including two or more words. These usually identify users who are already knowledgeable about a particular product or service and are further through the decision making process. By targeting these words you are far more likely to find consumers who are ready to make a purchase. Broader keywords are used by searchers at the very beginning of the decision making process and are more likely to be carrying out a bit of research rather than being ready to make a purchase. In the case of our florist, a long-tail keyword like ‘mother’s day flower bouquet’ is likely to be far more profitable in the early days of a website SEO campaign than a broad keyword like ‘florist’.

But remember – there’s more than one way to skin a cat!
A good SEO website campaign will have a mixture of broad keywords as long-term aims with long tail keywords providing the quick wins along the way.

For further information on long-tail keywords and other website SEO techniques, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly website SEO team here at Designer Websites.