1 Ski Boot

Search Engine Optimisation is an ever changing discipline. It works to maximise a website’s ratings on the ‘natural’ search lists on major Search Engines. Natural or ‘organic’ lists form the main body of a SE page. These do not include the paid listings. The PPC (paid) entries tend to feature at the top and right side of the page. Whilst the other free ads have been listed by the SE’s. The order of each site is determined by its ‘importance’ and relevance to the keyword.

Obviously, we want to be as high up the page(s) as possible. If we’re the 7th listing on page 9 then we’re hardly going to get prospects beating our door down! We can’t know for sure about all the criteria Google and the like use to rank us. It isn’t something they publicise to the rest of us!

But there is now a skilled sector entirely devoted to benefiting from high rankings. On the Search Engine side you have upgraded technological patents being regularly filed. (To cause as much uncertainty as possible!) And to rival that, we have a large Search Engine Optimisation sector. Optimisation specialists test, quantify and evaluate a myriad of indicators that affect a site’s ratings.

Search Engine Optimisation deals with both on-page and off-page issues. In addition there are geographic and demographic factors, but SEO cannot control these. (Off-Page optimisation is examined in an additional feature.)

SEO ‘On-Page’

It’s possible to change the pages of your website to make them ‘friendly’ to the Search Engines. It’s not too complex - it just requires setting your website up the right way. Doing things such as: Keyword seeding (in the right places and the right amounts), using H1 and H2 header tags (and to some extent meta-tags) and internal linking.

Which may well sound like a foreign language to you! For the most part, although this work isn’t complicated, its effects are minimal. In truth, many argue its relevance has disappeared altogether! Previously we could make an impact with On Page configurations. That hasn’t been possible for a long time though.

If, however, off-page has been optimised, (and there are many inbound back-links), then on-page continues to be important. At that stage, Internal Linking and some On Page manipulation can be beneficial.

Some Words Of Caution… A phrase that shows vast numbers of results should not be your first SEO target. For instance, if you typed into a Search Engine the term Car insurance, seventy million results would be listed for the UK alone. It’s fairly obvious that seventy million competitors is a few too many for someone just getting started.

And Yet - When car insurance is prefixed with ‘Southampton’, it becomes a less intolerable three hundred thousand. (Which could be useful if I sold car insurance in Southampton!) You might think that still sounds a lot, and yet it’s not in SEO terms.

I could expect to get ranked far more easily for the longer phrase. In reality, getting ranked for car insurance would cost a fortune! I’d actually be head to head with the really big boys. So not a great idea - especially, in fact, when there are much better ways to go about it.

Therefore, we’re looking for phrases that yield less overall results - but quite accurately sum up what we do or what we offer. These ‘long tail’ phrases might contain a number of specific keywords. They could be anything from two to seven words in length. Generally we use 3 to 4 words.

We prefer to begin optimisation strategies with phrases that bring in less than five hundred thousand results. Sometimes we’ll consider higher counts if the top results are not benefitting from optimisation. As time goes on, we’ll benefit from an automatic improvement on the bigger terms as well. And as our work makes progress, we’ll be onto the bigger terms a few months down the road. This strategy is also far more targeted at the start. Frankly, we’re only interested in the customers who are looking specifically for what we offer. There’s much more chance these people will buy!

Don’t just limit building back links to your website’s home page - link them up to various sub pages as well. The Search Engines like this - especially Google. Category pages for instance are good to back-link. They very frequently link up to a range of sub-pages, so driving appropriate terms to them can be very worthwhile. Thus - don’t restrict the back links to just one page. The managing and listing of individual sub-pages is receiving growing attention from the major Search Engines.

In our previous article, we covered the basic theory of SEO and talked about ‘On Page’ factors. In this article, we’re looking at the more crucial Off-Page optimisation. Think of it as appointing votes. A link is placed from one site to another. As though it’s suggesting the site has value.

This link consists of two major parts. The URL of the page being pointed at - Then secondly the keyword phrase. This will be highlighted on the web page. This generates one ‘vote’ for a particular page on a website based on that anchor text phrase. That is, 1 vote for that website to move up the listings for the search phrase (keywords) in question.

This is always how it works. There is a binding association between the recipient page and the anchor text. You have to have anchor text to make your vote. The listings would be chaotic without anchor texts. SE’s wouldn’t know what terms to list sites under without them. To re-iterate: The search terms you will be listed for are completely determined by your anchor texts.

Therefore, can you see why “Click HERE for more information” is next to useless for creating SEO value? We’ve simply voted for the words Click Here. Who in their right mind would type “click here” in the search box to find a site? Nobody would.

So that explains why Anchor Text takes some thought and consideration. It signifies the keyword phrases that you want to rank for. Interestingly, you’ll see the Adobe Reader download site in pole position for ‘click here’. Did they SEO that term? Categorically No! But so many sites have a ‘Click HERE to download Adobe Reader’ link on them, that they’re number one for that phrase.

So to count a ‘vote’ for a web page, the Search Engines always go to the anchor text. It is the logical thing to do. The SE’s process tries to follow the logic of a human being. It even won’t matter what the rest of the page talks about in some ways. If all the anchor text phrases that point to you say ‘yellow balloons’, then that’s what you’ll rank for! That’s irrefutable!

Naturally, there’s more to it than that… The Search Engines also take into account a pages’ title and its wording. Plus a whole bunch of other factors as well. For example; how spread-out and relevant the sites are that are linking to you.

But the essence of this shows that the single most important factor in SEO is lots of back-links. If these back links come from a variety of sites and have well phrased anchor texts, then so much the better. The weight, or influence of the site stands for a lot as well - A link that’s come from Adobe for example would rate much more highly than one from a local newsagent’s site.

Take time to make sure you have the appropriate keywords in place. Do perform sufficient competitor and keyword research before you firm up on your strategy. But the bottom line is this: What would a customer of yours type in the search box in order to find your product or service? Crack that one, and you’ve got your correct anchor text and phrases.

Interesting answers often come up when you do your researches and tests. The phrases that perform best are sometimes quite unforeseen. So many different phrases come to mind when we think of what to search for. Someone may type in SUPPORTIVE MATTRESS if they’re looking for a better night’s sleep. Yet ‘more sleep please’ could be someone else’s first thought.

Would you really want to trust your marketing to vague ideas and feelings about what might be typed in? A lot of measuring, testing and research of each term is of vital importance. They’ll form the basis of ALL the visitors you’ll get to your website. Picture an advert featured in the Yellow Pages. You won’t receive any calls if you’re listed under an inappropriate heading. Search Engine Optimisation can only be effective with painstaking and detailed keyword research.

In our previous article, we covered the basic theory of SEO and talked about ‘On Page’ factors. In this article, we’re looking at the more crucial Off-Page optimisation. Think of it as appointing votes. A link is placed from one site to another. As though it’s suggesting the site has value.

A couple of main parts feature in this link. The web address (in other words the actual URL) of the targeted page. And then the keyword or phrase for that web page. A ‘vote’ is then generated for an individual website page based on that keyword phrase. i.e. one vote towards this site appearing higher up in the natural listings when we type that phrase in the search box.

It always works in this way. The keyword phrase and targeted page are completely tied to each other. You can’t create a vote for a page without some highlighted anchor text. The anchor text notifies the Search Engine about the page’s content - and thus what search term it should come under. This is vital to understand: The anchor text controls which searches you would appear for.

For this reason, a highlighted link with ‘CLICK here to read more’ would serve no SEO purpose - can you see why? ‘Click Here’ becomes the keyword phrase we’ve created a vote for. Who on earth is going to search for that term? There isn’t anybody.

So that explains why Anchor Text takes some thought and consideration. It signifies the keyword phrases that you want to rank for. Interestingly, you’ll see the Adobe Reader download site in pole position for ‘click here’. Did they SEO that term? Categorically No! But so many sites have a ‘Click HERE to download Adobe Reader’ link on them, that they’re number one for that phrase.

So to count a ‘vote’ for a web page, the Search Engines always go to the anchor text. It is the logical thing to do. The SE’s process tries to follow the logic of a human being. It even won’t matter what the rest of the page talks about in some ways. If all the anchor text phrases that point to you say ‘yellow balloons’, then that’s what you’ll rank for! That’s irrefutable!

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that… Because the SE’s also use the page title and wording of the page being pointed at to correlate the results. Along with a host of other things as well. (To give you an idea, the spread of the sites linking to yours, and their relevancy to your site).

However, let’s be quite clear - the most important thing by far for SEO is a stuff-load of back links! And they must come from a great diversity of sites, and have properly phrased anchor texts. How much ‘clout’ a donor site has is very relevant also - There is much more value in a back-link from a highly rated site than from one with no rating at all.

Identifying which keywords to use deserves time and effort. Before you settle on the right ones for you, give due diligence to your competitors keywords. Fundamentally though: Which words do potential clients ‘Google’ when they’re searching for the things you supply? When you know that, you know which keyword phrases and anchor text to use.

Interesting answers often come up when you do your researches and tests. The phrases that perform best are sometimes quite unforeseen. So many different phrases come to mind when we think of what to search for. Someone may type in SUPPORTIVE MATTRESS if they’re looking for a better night’s sleep. Yet ‘more sleep please’ could be someone else’s first thought.

You just can’t trust your ‘gut feel’! It can’t be over-estimated how important it is to investigate, measure and test all the phrases to be used. The number of people visiting your site will be in direct proportion to the work you do in this area. It’s just like having an ad in a telephone Directory. If you’re a Plumber and you’re listed under Stationary Providers, you won’t get much business! It is just as crucial to get your keyword analysis correct. Then everyone who’s looking for what you do will easily find you.

We’ve discussed the basic premise of Search Engine Optimisation, (including factors pertinent to ‘on-page’ optimising) in an earlier feature. But ‘Off-Page’ SEO is what’s really important. It’s rather like a voting scheme. Site A gives a link (vote) to site B. It’s as if they’re promoting the value of the site.

This link consists of two major parts. The URL of the page being pointed at - Then secondly the keyword phrase. This will be highlighted on the web page. This generates one ‘vote’ for a particular page on a website based on that anchor text phrase. That is, 1 vote for that website to move up the listings for the search phrase (keywords) in question.

It always works in this way. The keyword phrase and targeted page are completely tied to each other. You can’t create a vote for a page without some highlighted anchor text. The anchor text notifies the Search Engine about the page’s content - and thus what search term it should come under. This is vital to understand: The anchor text controls which searches you would appear for.

Therefore, can you see why “Click HERE for more information” is next to useless for creating SEO value? We’ve simply voted for the words Click Here. Who in their right mind would type “click here” in the search box to find a site? Nobody would.

That’s the reason the anchor text must be right. It denotes which terms you’ll be ranked for. (Before we move on - are you aware that if you did search for Click Here, you’d see Adobe Reader Download listed first). Did they do that on purpose? Of course not! It’s simply that ‘click here’ features on so many sites to download Adobe Reader.

In short, anchor text phrases are always used by the SE’s to place a vote. And why not? Google wants to emulate what a real human being is looking for and would like to find. The content of your page isn’t necessarily relevant. You’ll rank for the terms in the anchor text phrases that point to you. That is how it is.

Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that… Because the SE’s also use the page title and wording of the page being pointed at to correlate the results. Along with a host of other things as well. (To give you an idea, the spread of the sites linking to yours, and their relevancy to your site).

But the essence of this shows that the single most important factor in SEO is lots of back-links. If these back links come from a variety of sites and have well phrased anchor texts, then so much the better. The weight, or influence of the site stands for a lot as well - A link that’s come from Adobe for example would rate much more highly than one from a local newsagent’s site.

Selecting the right keywords to build ratings for is quite technical. (And you should perform a lot of keyword and competitor research before putting any strategy into place.) The main thing is - What does an enquirer search for when they’re looking for your products and services? Because that’s it! The answers give you your exact keyword phrases.

Interesting answers often come up when you do your researches and tests. The phrases that perform best are sometimes quite unforeseen. So many different phrases come to mind when we think of what to search for. Someone may type in SUPPORTIVE MATTRESS if they’re looking for a better night’s sleep. Yet ‘more sleep please’ could be someone else’s first thought.

It’s simply not worth relying on supposition. DO NOT under-estimate the value that well-phrased keywords can carry. How much visibility your site gets is absolutely dependent on this. An analogy could be drawn with a listing in the Business Yellow Pages. You’re not going to get any enquiries for Car Repairs if you’re indexed as a Hairdresser! Successful SEO is the result of meticulous analysis of keyword research.

SEM is the solution for all on-line promotions. Therefore we must address this issue. It’s not rocket science that businesses should be on the web. It’s not enough just to be online though. If nobody can find you, you might just as well not be there!

Let’s compare it to a new store opening up… A lot of money has gone into setting it up. They open for business… And see where they are - in the middle of nowhere, down some side-alley. And no-one has given any thought to advertising their location. Is anyone likely to buy from them? This is exactly the scenario for 99% of ALL commercial websites in existence.

The World Wide Web has caused a paradigm shift in marketing. Around the time of the millennium, it was thought that having a website was everything. Vast amounts of money were spent on all singing/dancing web sites. This trend was cheerfully encouraged by on-line design companies, who relished the business! But just the existence of the site didn’t bring in the customers. They’d thought that simply having a site on the web meant customers could see them. In fact, this wasn’t the case at all.

Modern internet marketing requires a fundamental shift in thinking from traditional marketing. People used to established marketing techniques would say your web site is simply an advertisement of your company and its products. As a result, they’ll try to get you to promote the site on radio, TV or in the press. Essentially they’re working in the same way as they’ve always done. They start with a flashy sales site, and then try lots of ‘off-line’ avenues to get people to look at it. Completely missing the point of the web environment!

The internet itself is not just a viewing portal. It is a completely interactive place where billions of people can research, examine, discuss and choose services and products in the comfort of their own home. And because of Search Engines like Google & Bing/MSN, there are huge indexes of sites that can be easily found (from the customers perspective at least) to perform these tasks. Off-line Business Pages would be useless if they weren’t properly structured: It could take hours of our time!

Search Engines have sorted all this. But in doing so, they’ve radically changed the face of marketing forever. Because now, if you want to be found in the vast sea that is the internet, you have to be indexed in the Search Engines. Even that isn’t enough though. Statistics reveal that almost no-one looks ‘below the fold’ on the 1st page.

So to give all companies a chance to be on the first pages, the Search Engines came up with a new form of paid advertising. You only pay when someone actually chooses your advert - hence the name ‘Pay-Per-Click’. This caused quite a storm when it happened. Basically, the only time you now paid was when someone who was already interested asked to look at your site. This is an incredibly targeted way of advertising, and done properly, can yield some exceptional results.

Alas, the market is bombarded with this form of advertising these days. Prices have risen hugely. This is mostly due to high bids being put in by marketers with no experience. Some words and phrases command such high click prices that profits aren’t possible for many companies. This happens mostly where lots of clicks are essential to get one buyer. So Search Engine Optimisation is now becoming a preferred method for many to get to page 1.

Have a go at this - Go to Google or Bing RIGHT NOW and type in a few product or service keywords. Can you see your website on the 1st three pages? It’s very doubtful. So you might as well not be there at all! If it is there, would clients really use those keywords?

It’s possible you’ve already done some advertising in the paid listings - and maybe you’ve had some results. Are you managing your campaign well though? Are the returns you’re getting good enough? Do you know what the most successful areas are - with accurate statistics to track and measure the quality of your campaigns? With PPC, testing and diagnostics are critical. You’ll never get the best results without correct figures.

It’s very evident today that both global and local commerce are moving swiftly onto the internet. Make the most of this trend. Unless you embrace the internet and utilize all of its advantages, your business will become a dinosaur.

(C) Jason Kendall. Check out EvolveSEM.co.uk for excellent advice on SEM Consultants.