Quick introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Before paying for your website to be 'search engine optimised', take a look at this quick introduction to SEO. It's not a mysterious science, or a black art. There are specific tweaks and additions that you can make to your own website, that won't cost you anything.

Your approach to search engine optimisation

Like anything in business, before carrying out any work yourself, or paying for any work, you should have a clear idea of the result that you want. You may think you want more visitors to your website, but you probably really want more leads and more sales. More visitors won't necessary result in more sales, and this is really important.

For more details on this, see my guide on converting visitors to leads.

For best results, you want visitors who are looking for exactly what you provide, so you need to decide on the search terms that you would like to rank highly. The more popular a search term is, the more competitive, and the more work it will take to do well.

For more depth on search keywords, please read my guide on choosing website keywords.

Don't expect any quick results. Search engines generally take at least several days to update their results, depending on how regularly you update your website, and the reputation you have.

On-site search optimisation

More than half of search optimisation concerns your website content. You have complete control over this, and you might be surprised just how much of a difference you can make. Don't go overboard on any of the following points though, remembering that you want to keep the user experience pleasant and friendly.

Give each page an appropriate title. Use your company name if you want to, but only at the end of the title. Use a specific, relevant title. Don't use all capitals, and check the spelling.

Don't bother with the META keyword tag as they are no longer used, but do use the META description tag. Search engines use this to describe your page in their results, so visitors will see this before they see your site. Use a clear summary of the page, including any important details. Use it as a sales pitch. Again, be sure to check your spelling.

Use relevant headers throughout the page. Just like a document, a website can use title headers - H1, H2 etc. Use just one H1 header for the main title of the page, usually a product name or service. Don't use the same H1 on every page, as you don't want every page to rank highly for the same term.

Aim to include around 250-500 words on each page, divided by headers. Include your chosen keywords in the text only where appropriate, rather than repeating them, as this sounds unnatural.

Cross-link to relevant pages to others on your own site, to help people find what they are looking for. Use useful text for the link, describing what the page is.

Using tags is a great way to add more targeted pages to your website. Categorise your pages by subject, and link to an index of topics, just like these how to guide pages do.

Off-site search optimisation

While on-site optimisation may be sufficient to rank highly for less competitive terms, it's often the case that off-site optimisation is also required.

Receiving links to your website from others acts much like votes, showing the value and popularity of your website. Links from popular websites will help you more.

Don't concern yourself over Google PageRank, as this isn't important. While it can be a good measure of a page's value, it can be equally irrelevant.

To receive links from other websites, there are two approaches. Find relevant websites and ask for a link, or you can aim to create a valuable website that others want to link to without needing to be asked.

While the latter certainly pays for itself in the long run, it isn't an option in all cases. Depending on the type of website you're looking to optimise, it is particularly difficult to create genuine value. Many other website owners will link freely to non-commercial, informative websites, but they are much less likely to link to a shop. For more on this, see my guide to creating a website with genuine value.

Approaching others and asking for links is tried and tested, and does work. It just takes some quick research, finding the right websites to contact, and a pleasant manor. They would be doing you a favour by linking to you, so be genuinely pleasant and personal.

Summary

I hope this guide has been of some help in giving a clear introduction to search engine optimisation. If anything is unclear, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Last updated on 08 July 2010, at 16:46.