When creating a website, it is important to spend some time making sure that people will actually visit it, and that they are impressed when they get there.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is a process that can help to raise a website closer to the top of the list of search engine results. It is a vital part of website creation, but one that is not always carried out by web design companies. For this reason, it is important to be aware of the process yourself so that you can make sure that your site is as efficient and high-profile as possible. As 75% of people will not scroll past the first page of search results, the higher up the list your link appears has a massive impact on how many people will visit it.
The SEO process focuses on organic (non-paid or natural) search results, as research has shown that approximately 70-80% of web users will ignore sponsored links and skip straight to the first of the non-paid links.
There are two key types of SEO; onsite and offsite. Both are necessary to maximise the benefits of the process, can be tweaked to suit you and complement each other to create a comprehensive Search Engine Optimisation package that works for you and your business.
Onsite SEO
The first type of SEO service is known as onsite. This term refers to a process in which your website is tweaked to increase its appeal to search engines, as well as your human visitors. Obviously, a search engine cannot examine your site subjectively in the same way that a person can – rather than reading your content and evaluating how your site looks, a search engine will simply judge it mechanically on a purely technical basis.
This is where onsite SEO comes in. There are a number of things that need to be considered in order to move your website further up the search results list. Onsite SEO includes tasks such as checking for and fixing broken links, making sure each page has a good, descriptive title, adding relevant keywords to titles, alt tags and meta tags, and streamlining the site navigation. These are just a few examples of important onsite SEO tasks. A more complete list can be found here: http://www.seomark.co.uk/on-site-optimisation/.
Offsite SEO (the second stage of the process) will not necessarily be particularly effective without first considering and fixing any issues with your site itself, so it is highly recommended that you focus on onsite tasks first.
Offsite SEO
The second type of SEO process is known as offsite. This is an umbrella term used to describe the tasks required to promote your website across the internet. There are a number of ways that you can raise the profile of your website, and of your brand itself. Successful marketing strategies can include insightful, knowledgeable forum posts or comments on sites relevant to your industry, press releases, viral videos (posted on sites such as YouTube and branded to link back to your site) and banner advertisements. You could also establish your brand on social networks such as Twitter or Facebook, and encourage people to ‘like’, ‘share’ and ‘retweet’ your content.
There are three key tips to keep in mind when planning your offsite SEO strategy. The first is to remember that whenever you post a message or comment on something online under your professional name, you are representing yourself and your brand. Always make sure that anything you post is of a high quality, informative, knowledgeable and written in a professional tone.
Next, consider carefully any sites that you decide to pair up with, for example with link swapping or networking. Only enter into agreements with websites or networks that will suit your purpose, and of a high standard. Partnership with irrelevant sites can look sloppy and unprofessional, and pairing up with poor sites can colour a visitor’s perception of your own brand negatively.
Finally, keep in mind that offsite SEO is not a one-off process. Your marketing plan should evolve alongside your industry, the internet and even factors such as the economy. Be prepared to re-visit your offsite SEO on a reasonably regular basis in order to help maintain the reputation you have built up online.
Sources (all accessed on 26/04/2013):
http://www.seomark.co.uk/on-site-optimisation/
http://www.seomark.co.uk/off-site-optimisation/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/24-eye-popping-seo-statistics/42665/ (figures used in introduction)