SEO Explained
History
- Google developed as a hyper textual search engine
- Google has a respect and passion for editorial integrity
- Google has developed an algorithm to filter results into a digestible format for the end users
What are SEM and SEO?
- The field of search engine optimisation (SEO) is concerned with maximising the visibility of a website by making its listings appear more frequently and more prominently in organic search results
- The field of Search Marketing is positioning a client's website and online offerings in non-natural rankings such as
Pay-per-click, affiliate schemes, social media etc
The Value of Natural Rankings
- Perception is of an established, reputable business.
- It's easier to buy a listing than earn it. If the listing on the search results is earned, then it will be longer lasting. Also, not appearing in the natural listings benefits your competitors, who will receive the organic traffic.
On-Page Content
- On-page content (text)
- Keyword density
- Relevant pages
- Articles that speak informatively upon the subject matter you are seeking traffic from
- Fresh and up to date information that keeps your site interesting to Google and the public
- "Long tail" word combinations – ie. capturing traffic from wider terms
Off-Page Content
- Title tag – Very important
- Meta description – Important
- Meta tag (keywords) – Less important (right-click to View Source on a web page)
What we see here is how the source code (Off-Page Content) of the site is pulled out by a browser, combined with styling information and image files and then presented to the end user. The title tag becoming the blue line of text that the browser displays and this, combined with the meta content description telling the browser and the search engines what the page is about.
Link Building
| The Wrong Way | The Right Way |
|---|---|
| High volume of links acquired too fast | Gradual and sustained acquisition of links |
| Links from irrelevant sources | Links from relevant (thematic) sources |
| Reciprocal links that drain your link strength | Engaging in a positive link community (ie. have some relevant outbound links) |
| No outbound links from your site (no community) | Links that are as permanent as can be |
| "Brokered" or "rented" links | Links containing the relevant anchor text to increase link strength density |
| Links containing no relevant anchor text |
Other Factors
| On-Site Factors | Off-Site Factors |
|---|---|
| Tags – H1 and alt tags. | Is the site hosted in your target country? |
| Is the site easily navigated? | How old is your domain? |
| Site map submitted? | How "clean" is the domain name? |
| Canonical issue? | Is your Site GEO pointed in Google Webmaster Tools? |
| Duplicate content? |
Are you using Google Analytics? |
| Suitable for various browsers? |
Conclusion and Fundamental Principles
The following are fundamental SEO principles to follow:
- Build sites for the user, not for the Search Engines
- Have relevant, good quality content that attracts visitors and links
- Use only ethical SEO techniques that follow Google's guidelines
- Avoid miracle cures or quick fixes
- Avoid unfounded guarantees; SEO’s do not own the Search Engines
- What we do guarantee is NEVER to risk our reputation by being unethical and not providing a valuable service – our company motto is delivering results
