Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Factsheet

Transcription

1 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Factsheet SEO is a complex element of our industry and many clients do not fully understand what is involved in getting their site ranked on common search engines such as Google. In this factsheet we have outlined the major differences with types of SEO, and the benefits they might bring to your business. We have also outlined our 10 point SEO package and explain exactly what is and what is not included in this package. What is Organic SEO? SEO is the process of getting a website ranked via the free listings on search engines. These listings can also be known as organic, editorial or natural rankings. All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have such results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. Payment isn t involved, as it is with paid search ads. It relies almost purely on keywords, and the amount of times they appear in your website will impact on how highly a website is ranked. However there is practice known as keyword stacking, and this frowned upon by Google. With this website the client is using Black Hat techniques and although their site may initially be ranking very well, it will at some stage be penalised or possibly even blacklisted by the search engines. This type of SEO serves no long term purpose, so it is far better to have a well written and designed website that interacts with potential clients and makes them want to engage your services. Remember keywords are the king. Make sure they are in context and use them wisely. How to check on your keywords and metadata? In terms of search engine optimisation, metadata refers to the information that helps search engines recognise data on web pages, which in turn, helps them get sorted and cataloged correctly. Commonly referred to as data about data, metadata is hidden inside of websites so that search engines can access the information. Metadata is important to businesses because it aids potential customers in finding your company's website. There are many different components of metadata but the main parts are Title, Description, & Keywords. Title- The title is the most important part of metadata, and probably the most important part of your web page in general. The title is where you tell the world what the actual webpage is about. Think about your job title, for example. It's a way of letting people know what it is that you do. The same goes for web page titles; they let the world know what it is that the webpage does or can do for them. Besides helping individuals understand your web page, the metadata title also aids

2 search engines in deciphering what your web page is about. It's kind of like a book title, for example, that gives the reader insight as to what the topic of the book is going to be. Description- The metadata description is basically a summary of your web page. You should use important words and key phrases that you would want people to know about your business, like what your business does, and where the business is located. You can liken it to the description that is written on the back cover of a book. The author writes a summary of what they want people to know about their book, in hope that they will be interested in it. You should be doing the same with your web page descriptions. Keywords- Lastly, metadata keywords are simply a list of key terms that tells people what a particular page is about. Keywords are similar to metadata descriptions, however instead of explaining to people what the web page is about, keywords instead tell search engines. While descriptions are written in complete sentences, keywords are simply key words describing the content on the page, so that search engines can match the text and accurately rank the results of what people are searching for. To sum this all up, metadata helps people find what they are looking for by giving search engines the correct information about a particular web page. Search engines can then organise and interpret the data to turn it into meaningful information so that individuals, like you and I, can find exactly what we are looking for. How to find your metadata? Simple! When you are on your website simply Right Click and View Source then the following will be displayed: From here you can easily see all the information that is telling search engines such as Google what is important about your website. If you can t see any metadata here it simply means you have none and Google won t know a thing about your website. Less is more! Clients often think by saturating their site with keywords and areas they service, this will increase their ranking. This is a common misconception. If you are a plumber for example, then focus on

3 maybe 6 keywords and ensure the density is correct, otherwise when Google trawls your site is will see that you cover many areas but not anything specific, and therefore will rank you lower than you should be. However having said that, your website should have on average of 250 words per page and have keyword density of around 10%. Big No No s As we have discussed trying to catch out Google won t work but here are a few other points you need to remember: Avoid image based splash/intro pages, - unless you are a big brand it annoys people and is a full stop for the Google search engines. Don t go overboard with keywords and make sure they are relevant and in context with the rest of text on your website Now that we have covered off Organic SEO lets move onto pay per click. Pay Per Click SEO (PPC) Pay per click (PPC), also called cost per click, is an internet advertising model used to direct traffic to websites, where advertisers pay the publisher (typically a website owner) when the ad is clicked. With search engine providers such as Google, advertisers typically bid on keyword phrases relevant to their target market, and pay the engine search provider to rank and display their website in the search results. Content sites commonly charge a fixed price per click rather than use a bidding system. PPC "display" advertisements, also known as "banner" ads, are shown on web sites or search engine results with related content that have agreed to show ads. This approach differs from the "pay per impression" methods used in Facebook, television and newspaper advertising. Similar to the pay per click model which often uses a bidding system, with the online pay per impression method, advertisers bid how much they are willing to spend for their ad to show up 1000 times. When using pay PPC advertising, you should always ensure you set a monthly limit on your expenditure, and enlist the help of an expert to ensure you get value for money. One Fusion does not participate in PPC campaigns however we can recommend you to a third party company who handles this type of advertising. So remember!

4 Organic - Free but must be done correctly, use keywords in context and don t stack them! Pay Per Click Easy to use, less technical, but can cost a lot. If used with incorrect advice, you may end up paying a lot and not get much return. Take a look at what we offer with our Premium package website! One Fusion s 10 step SEO Package Now that we have explained the difference between organic SEO and PPC, we will list what is included with our 10 Point SEO package. Remember results cannot be guaranteed, however with the correct keywords and SEO your site will index very well on Google and other search engines. Here is what s included in our 10 Point SEO Package (please see below for a full explanation): Website structure and URL s Analysis Keyword collaboration Metadata including, titles, descriptions and keywords Internal Links (Make absolute) Alt Tags for Images Robots.txt Set up Google Analytics Submission to Webmaster Central Wc3 Doc type Sitemaps Website Structure and URL Analysis We analysis your website to ensure the structure and navigation is user friendly and can be read clearly, we will then advise you on any alterations we deem necessary to ensure the end user can easily navigate and recognize your website. At this stage we will also advise you on any additional domains names that could help your business. Keyword Collaboration This involves consultation with the client regarding which keywords they feel are important and relevant to their business, once we have agreed on the keywords, we will ensure that the correct density of keywords appears on your website to ensure the site ranks correctly. Metadata including, Titles, Descriptions and Keywords This is the process of creating all the titles, descriptions and keywords on your website. This element will ensure your sites key information is supplied to Google and other search engines in the correct format.

5 Internal Links Another important factor of SEO are links, this element of the process ensures that you page titles are correctly labeled; this is different to the Metadata. For example the About Us page may be labeled: Whereas it should be labeled This helps identify different pages to Google Alt Tags for Images Pictures although being very visually impressive are useless to Google, therefore we create physical textual tags behind each picture, so Google can recognize it and index that link. For example: Robots.txt Some websites have this in place to restrict Google from indexing certain pages, for example the Contact Us page, as this would deter spam bots from ing you. However we do ensure the file exists and code it in such a way that your site will be fully accessible by Google and other search engines. Set up Google Analytics This is measurement and reposting tool that Google has created, it gives you endless information on the number of hits and the success of your website. You will have an account set up and logins supplied. We will set up the account for you, ensure the Analytics verification coding is on your website and then supply you with the logins. Submission to Webmaster Central Google Webmaster Tools is a no-charge web service by Google for webmasters. It allows webmasters to check indexing status and optimise visibility of their websites. We ensure your website is submitted through this service. Doc Type Search engines are designed to reward usability and accessibility, so sites that comply with w3c guidelines will be given preference over those that do not. Compliance with w3c guidelines may well be part of the algorithm Google uses to determine your website s Page Rank and whether or not it will assist your Page Rank building strategies.

6 W3c compliance will make it easier for the search engines to visit your site and index your web pages. Search engines only read text, so simplifying your website to reduce the amount of Unnecessary or broken code etc, will make it easier for the search engine spiders to visit your site and find the most relevant information, as well as helping you to comply with w3c. We ensure the site is w3c compliant. Sitemaps As the name suggests, a site map is a physical map of your website, in simple terms it allows Google to index all the pages of you site quickly, Google likes Sitemaps We will create one and upload t to your site. Conclusion We have only touched on the SEO process however after completing the 10 steps your site will index well and correctly be visible on the major search engines. We don t guarantee position number 1 (as many web development companies do), as we prefer the honest approach that, if you are transparent and use keywords correctly along with all the other points we mentioned then your site will index well. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us further.