SEO - A Beginners' Guide
What is SEO?
SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimisation’.
SEO is, quite simply, the process of setting up your site in ways that help the search engines, then monitoring how it performs, testing different approaches, and making ongoing changes to the structure and content to improve the site's performance.
You can find hundreds of SEO consultants who promise to get your site in the top 10. Don’t believe them. If they could do that, then they would themselves all be in the top 10 for SEO consultancy – which is clearly impossible. There are good consultants out there - but they don't promise miracles.
Working with a good SEO company could turn out to be the best investment you ever made, but many SEO ventures have been less successful. For Google's own view on what to look for if you want to hire a consultant, read Google's Guide to Choosing an SEO Company.
Whether or not you have the funds at the moment for a consultant, there are a number of basic thngs every site owner can - and should - do to improve their site's performance.
Google is forever becoming more sophisticated in how it searches, and experts can argue all day over exactly what it looks for and how it decides the order in which to list sites.
They all agree, however, that:
The most important factors affecting search engine rankings are:
- Use of keywords (SEO web copy)
- Inbound links from other sites
- The ease with with search engines (and people) can find their way through the site.
- Number of visits
You'll find more detail about these in Google's Web Basics and their own Webmaster Guidelines
From this, it follows that your starting point for an effective website should be to make sure that it:
- Has pages arranged in a way that matches what your readers' needs are likely to be.
- Uses relevant key words and phrases that help Google, Yahoo and other search engines find and index your website.
- Connects with readers, keeps them reading, and encourages them to take action.
Once you've got worthwhile content on your site, you've got a chance of attracting inbound links. Even without inbound links, you may well see your rankings improve and your visitor numbers increase - this will depend on how well your competitors are doing SEO.
Alongside this, a good site map tends to help search engine rankings. Though you can create this yourself using packages available on the web, it makes most sense to talk to your web developer about the best approach. For a small site, it's not a big technical job and shouldn't cost much to implement.
Why Do I Need SEO?
If you want to get more business from your web site than your competitors do, you need some degree of SEO.
And even if you just see your site as an online brochure that you refer people to, why miss out on wider opportunities?
If you operate in a narrow business niche or a defined geographical area, you mght find that your competitors haven't yet tried any SEO techniques. Chances are, you'll be able to make a real difference to your site's performance simply by adding professional SEO web copy.
And if your competitors are already using SEO effectively, it's critical that you keep up, or you'll find that your place in the listings drops as theirs improves.
It isn't just about being higher up in the listings than they are. That helps, but it's not the only factor.
Ask yourself:
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What is there about your listing that will make someone choose to click your link rather than your competitors?
- What is there about your site that will turn visitors into customers?
Start with effective web copy, and you'll stand out straightaway.
What Are Keywords, and Why Do They Matter?
Keywords are the words that people use when they search for your product or services online. Often, people use more than one word, in which case we talk about ‘key phrases’. Over 80% of all online transactions begin with a keyword search.
If your website contains the words that people search for, then you have a much higher chance of being found. And if you use keywords and phrases more effectively than your competitors do, you’ll almost certainly come higher on the page.
Knowing what people are searching for is also a big advantage when it comes to planning a new site. By structuring pages and links around the key themes, you’ll make the site more useful for both search engines and customers.
Equally importantly, key words and phrases are the words that are in the reader’s mind once they get to your site. If you use them well, you’ll connect with the reader and increase your chances of getting them to take the action you want.
How Do You Know Which Keywords and Phrases to Use?
Businesses commonly identify their keywords and phrases based on what they think customers are looking for. However, research shows that this isn’t a very reliable method – customers just aren’t that predictable, and they don’t see things the way you do.
Fortunately, there are several online research tools that give you comprehensive information about the number of searches for particular words and phrases.
The easiest is the Google 'Find Keywords' tool in Google Advertising Solutions, 'Find out More' accessed through the Google home page. Unless you are really interested in worldwide figures, choose the 'local search' option under 'show columns'. Other free tools include www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html and http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com
For more detailed analysis, use the subscription versions at www.keyworddiscovery.com and www.wordtracker.com. They work in slightly different ways, but both give you invaluable information about the terms your customers may be using.
At Writing Point, we can provide professional keyword research as a starting point for any web content project.
Is Good Web Copy Just About Filling the Page with Keywords?
Absolutely not.
Firstly, the search engines – Google in particular - are cleverer than that. They know when people are trying to cheat the system. They look for pages in which keywords are relevant to the text and are part of a piece of sensibly written English.
Despite what many (including some web developers) think, simply building the keyword into the text 20 times on the page is not the best SEO technique. There are various theories about the best keyword density for Google success, but all the experts agree that overdoing it will do you more harm than good.
What really matters for SEO is where and how you use the keywords and phrases.
Secondly, getting people to your site is only the first step. Once they’re there, you want to keep them there until they’ve bought something, contacted you, or at the very least noted that your site is of interest and worth returning to.
You’re after conversions, not just visitors.
You can only achieve that with well-written, relevant and persuasive copy that makes you stand out from your competitors.
Can Any Good Writer Write Effective SEO Web Copy?
No.
To write effective web copy takes:
- Skill in persuasive writing.
- A good understanding of the way people read on the web.
- A sound knowledge of the techniques involved in using keywords.
Even writers who are experienced at writing for printed promotional material need to develop extra skills in order to be effective on the web.
The web offers huge opportunities. If you want to seize the competitive advantage, it's not worth compromising.
Why are Inbound Links Important?
Links from other websites give you credibility with the search engines and are likely to improve your place in the listings. These must, however, be from respected, relevant sites – don’t waste money on the companies who offer to create thousands of inbound links for you. Google can tell.
How Can I Monitor My Site's Performance?
Use an analytics tool.
Many web developers provide an analytics tool with their sites, and Google Analytics is free for all at www.google.com/analytics
You’ll discover what search terms are bringing people to your site, how long visitors stay on the site, what pages they visit – and much more.
This is incredibly valuable information, which you can use to gradually tweak the site according to what works best.
Google likes sites that show signs of life, so do make changes and add things of benefit to readers. On the other hand, if you tweak too often, you won’t be giving the search engines time to find what’s there.
How Long Will it Take to See Results?
SEO isn’t a quick fix, but a process of continuous improvement. It takes patience, because search engine rankings are built up over time, and improve as your site becomes more visited. And a lot will depend on what offline marketing you’re doing.
If you’re relying purely on the site to find its own traffic, results will be slower than if you have other activities that lead people to the site and give a boost to the visitor numbers.
But, if you provide a service or product of interest, and you get the SEO basics right, you will gradually start to see an increase in both visitor numbers and conversions.
Find out how Writing Point's SEO web copy can make your site work harder.