Essentee Blog
Web design and management articles, guides and even the occasional rant.
SEO in a nutshell
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is considered by some to be the foundation of online marketing. This is because of the tendancy for people to search for something they want first, before trying other ways.
What is SEO?
When someone types a keyword or phrase into a search tool (eg Google) and presses the search button there are only two outcomes - they will find your or they will find someone else.
SEO is what you do to get your website to appear prominently in search results when a searcher types in a search that you want to target.
SEO is not just about generating traffic to your site - it's about quality leads. You want as many of those visitors to convert to a sale or other action as possible.
To optimise your site for search, it takes a combination of actions - SEO is not one technique or action but a combination of actions taken in the context of your business and your business environment. It not only takes time, but it is something that should be considered before you design (or redesign) your site, not tacked on afterwards.
More and more Google is relying on 'social signals' - ie recommendations and sharing of content by people on social networks. This builds a network of links back to your site.
The advantage that SEO offers is that it can take very little money or it will take nothing at all. The money will be needed if you want someone else to work for you and do the SEO work. But if you yourself do the work, there is no need to have a budget for it - however it will take time to learn and do so you need to factor in how much your time is worth.
Black Hat SEO is a term used for unethical SEO, techniques that we strongly recommend against doing. Other than the ethics, it could get your site penalised. While banning completely may not be common we have seen sites's buried on page 10.
Is it a fad?
Some people would say yes - these are probably people who have been the victim of conversations with SEO fanatics who will tell you that your search engine rank is the ONLY thing that you need to worry about.
And a minority of these fanatics are not really interested in the health of your business, organisation, cause or whatever other reason you are online.
Beware of anyone who says:
- "We can garantee you a #1 spot on Google" - they may not be using ethical or sustainable methods to do it.
- "We'll submit your site to 100's or 1000's of search engines". This is not necessary and unlikely to be of any benefit. Directory listings are certainly part of the mix but you are better off concentrating on actions that will actually generate some traffic for you through quality links (not quantity).
The ability for your target audience to find you is important and a reality of doing business online.
What does it involve?
Search engine optimisation requires a combination of technicques and actions that when done effectively should see your site perform well in the search engines. But it depends on a number of things:
- How competitive your particular industry is (so how many other sites you are competing with)
- How unique your products and services are
- The extent to which people search and find your particular services online
- The extent to which you depend on people finding you via the search engines
- How much resource you have to devote to it
If you are looking to learn Search Engine Optimisation either as a career or just to work on your own website, we recommend these resources:
While most want you to buy their tools, they have great educational resources as well.
