3 min read

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Under the top links (if there are any) you will see the natural listings. These are also known as organic results or SEO results. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Google does not charge you for any clicks on these links but it’s not sensible to call them free – to get to number one on Google takes some elbow grease – anyone who claims otherwise is telling porkies! We’re SEO Surrey specialists – here is our take on getting traffic from Google.

Google uses a unique algorithm to determine how your site ranks. Although Google has not told anyone the algorithm, through trial and error we have a good idea of what are the important factors. I recommend taking a look at this link to see a more complex breakdown.

On Site Optimisation

Essentially you have two areas to focus on in SEO. On site and off site. This means making your website according to the best practices – Google finds websites by sending spiders (yes, I’m serious – that’s what they are called) through the web. If you do not write a website according to web standards these spiders get stuck. They can’t crawl your site and you don’t rank. The spider is looking for keywords which are relevant to your site. There are certain techniques we use to make sure we make it easy for the spider to know what keyword you want to rank for. There are hundreds of little things you have to make sure are correct – all together they have a big influence.

Online marketers love the mantra, “Content is King” – and they should! The spiders are looking for unique content and duplicate content. They love unique content; it shows that you are real! There is more cleverness with how we use duplicate content to increase your rank, but that is a whole article in itself – we’ll write it very soon.

Off Site

I’ve heard the expression, links are to websites what petrol is to cars. Sorry if that sounds like it is out of a cryptic crossword – basically links to your site tell Google that you are important. But the catch si, not all links were created equally. Google is clever and will score the value of the link. It will also score the relevancy of where the link comes from. We call this Link Juice and a good link will pass on a lot of good juice! Be wary of automated SEO programs and anyone who just posts links everywhere – remember not all links are equal!

So if there is a BBC News article about blue hats that links to your website (which sells blue hats!) you are in luck – you have a link which includes related keywords and from a highly regarded source. However if you have a poor link, for example a simple link in a directory – then Google will not be too impressed and there will be not be much benefit.

The trick is getting these links as it’s not possible to just ring up the Beeb and get them to link to you. In fact if you don’t play within Google’s rules then you can end up being penalized by Google. In truth the best technique to get good links is to get REAL links. And the best way to get links is to write really good, interesting and original content that people want to share….

SEO Conclusion

There are many methods to get to No.1 but your key strategy should be to create unique and engaging content. This focuses on both your on site and off site SEO needs. Check back later as we are going to be writing in more detail on these subjects soon!

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