Web Design Essex

Every business would like to do well from their website, whether it's through eCommerce sales, advertising, subscriptions or anything else for that matter. For all of these areas, increasing your site traffic is key - and the best way to reach potential visitors, is through the search engines.

Googling

Everybody uses search engines to find what they're looking for on the internet - the verb 'to Google' has even made its way into the English language - so it's clear that search engines will be your customer's first port of call when seeking your products or services.

With this in mind, we'll try to break down the basics of Search Engine Optimisation - talking through the key theories behind this apparently mysterious art, and how we would perform these techniques for you as a client.

What Is Search Engine Optimisation?

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is the practice of moving your site up in the search engine rankings, utilising various methods to achieve this - including researching keywords, modifying website structure & content to utilise this research, and obtaining inbound links to your site by building relationships with other website owners & operators.

SEO Techniques

Keyword Research
Before any SEO can be undertaken, we have to determine the keywords which potential customers will use when searching for your products or services. If you sell car parts, your products may have specific model names & numbers, but your customers would probably type ' car parts'. By identifying a handful of key search terms, it is easier to target our optimisation efforts.

In researching your keywords, there are a number of tools & statistics we can draw on, to estimate search traffic & discover the most profitable phrases for your business.

On Page SEO
On page search engine optimisation involves harnessing page structure, META tags, headings, content keyword density, Alt tags, URL/site structure, internal links & more, to create a search engine friendly site which Google will love.

On page SEO can be peformed on an existing site, but for the ultimate search engine friendly site it's best to build-in Search Engine Optimisation from the ground up. All of our websites are built with SEO in mind.

Content Is Key
The most valuable thing you can do for your website on page, is to provide it with as much keyword rich content as possible. This can include articles, a blog, and how-to guides, amongst other things. Google loves nothing more than a well optimised page full of juicy, informative content.

Off Page SEO
Off page SEO involves what you can do outside of the confines of your site, in order to build your websites search engine ranking. This includes gaining incoming links, building Google PageRank®, donating content, anchor text for inbound links & more.

Building incoming links is a long term project, and requires consistent effort & determination. It's vitally important to the success of search engine optimisation efforts, but depending on your industry may take anywhere from 50 to 5000 links to get the search engine ranking you require. This is why it's sometimes better to let an experienced team handle your monthly link building requirements, whilst you concentrate on doing business.

'Cheating' aka Pay-Per-Click Advertising If you require more rapid results, it can be beneficial to your business to utilise Google AdWords or other pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. These allow you to buy your way to the top of the search engine rankings, for between a few pence & a few pounds per click, depending on your industry.