An Introduction to SEO
Search Engine Optimisation – SEO
SEO is a complex balance of all the aspects within your website. Think about the different elements that come together to make your website, including the text content, images and titles through to layout, navigation and even the code that gives every page its structure. When everything that makes up a website works in harmony you have a firm foundation that will give the search engines an easy time indexing your site, and therefore you increase your chances of a high ranking.
But SEO doesn’t end there!
SEO comes in many forms which can be simplified in to two areas –
On Site and Off Site optimisation. The on site optimisation involves everything that can be done within your site to increase your search engine rankings. These are usually quite simple things that should be put in place as the site is built, and include elements like a descriptive domain name, page naming, clean code, accessibility and navigation.
Get all this right during the build and you stand a better chance of fulfilling the search engines requirements of having easy to find and relevant content for its users. Off site optimisation is all about exposure through avenues such as social networking sites (twitter, facebook, etc), relevant forums and bringing credibility to your site through content syndication (informational videos, articles, etc).
These techniques are more time consuming and take a greater amount of effort, but when used in tandem with on site optimisation they can really make you stand out from the crowd and should never be overlooked. SEO is a swirling cauldron of ingredients that can deliver you a successful and measurable strategy, but many agencies use underhand methods that can get you pushed to the bottom of the searches, or worse, struck off the list completely.
10 things to always consider when planning SEO in your site:
- Include the most relevant keywords in your title tags
- Consider professional copy, to ensure original, keyword optimised and informative textual content
- Fill in ALL meta, alt and description tags throughout the site
- When using a dynamic site, such as a CMS, always try to use search engine friendly page names
- Name your navigation links to match the page name and don’t over fill your navigation with unnecessary links. (See Below)
- Use a sitemap to give search robots access to pages not in your navigation
- Avoid using scripts or flash to build navigation lists, text versions are easier to optimise and for robots to follow
- Build reciprocal links with relevant website partners, only link with trusted sites that have a good reputation across the internet.
- Always name incoming links correctly and don’t link to your homepage only.
- If you turn to an SEO specialist understand that results cannot be guaranteed as it takes careful testing and a variation of techniques to get the results you desire
We’ve just scratched the surface of what is an endless subject. If you get the basics right you stand every chance of attaining the results you desire. Happy SEO!
Meantime, if you are stuck not being sure what to do, visit our SEO Services page to find out more.