Search Engine Optimisation is no longer something that can be automated nor scripted and because of the way results are now tailored to your browsing history then 'ranking' no longer has any relevance. That doesn't mean that you can no longer optimise your site for search engines, but it does mean that the days of "Get Rank 1 in Google for $49" and similar nonsense are long gone.
Search engine optimisation starts with the keywords. Use Google and Bing to search for, and select the keywords you're looking to attract to your site. If the keywords bring up your top competitors then your on the right track. You can also use the keywords tool in Google Adsense to find variations of your chosen keywords if you're in a saturated marketplace.
Now move on to the website content, crafting its pages and content to maximise relevance in the keywords your want to attract. This doesn't need expensive third party services and can be done yourself with some care following these simple rules:
- Make sure your keyword(s) for the current page are also in a <h1> heading 1 tag. That's important.
- Make sure your keywords(s) for the current page are in the pages title (<title> in <head>)
- Ensure your keyword9s) appear in the body of the content but don't repeat it excessively.
- If your using a lot of images then make sure the ALT tag is set for all of them with a reasonable description of the image.
- Stay well clear of Flash or any other format that search engines cannot index.
When you're satisfied with your pages then why not ask one of our SEO experts for an opinion before continuing? Its free (for websites hosted with us) and may help guide your progress.
Next we move on to Links, and a process aptly named 'Linkbuilding'. Links pointing to your site from relevant content are the single biggest boost to your ranking, but likewise a link from an unrelated or spammy site can equally damage your ranking, so this process will take time and involve considerable effort. We can of course do this for you, but at a premium due to the amount of work needed.
Finally, Social Media is starting to have a real impact on search ranking and so you must too consider its use within your site. This will often involve setting up accounts with Google+, Twitter, Facebook, instagram, etc and then creating 'company' pages. Create links from your website footer into these pages, and likewise links from content on social media platforms pages back to your site. If applicable find 'Channels' that will review or endorse your products or services and ask them to 'link' to you.
If your product or service is something that can be marketed on social media, and not all are, then social media marketing might be something you should consider, either yourself, in conjunction with us or we can do the entire thing. Social Media Marketing isn't free even if you do it yourself, there will be money involved in generating high quality ad's, and marketing them to your chosen demographics but if your product or service is marketable in this way then you will find a fairly reasonable conversion from marketing spend to sales revenue.
Finally, don't overlook traditional local and national marketing channels such as Radio, TV, Leafleting, etc if your products or services are suitable, many companies overlook these in favour of internet marketing which isn't always cheaper or more effective.
If you would like to chat to one of our Account Managers about SEO then use the contact us form and we'll give you a call right back.
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