07 Sep, 2009
What is Search Engine Optimisation
Posted by: classroombuzz.com In: Marketing and Advertising
Search Engine Optimisation has become a billion dollar industry in the last few years as companies have realised the potential power of their websites. Appearing in prominent positions in Google’s search results for keyword and phrases relating to your business offering can pay huge dividends in terms of leads, enquiries and sales.
This increased demand for Search Engine Optimisation has lead to the creation of literally thousands of specialist SEO companies with expertise in improving website rankings. As with any industry some of these SEO agencies are better than others, and prices vary greatly. Sadly, however, there are only a few SEO companies who provide affordable SEO for small and medium sized businesses, due to the fact that SEO campaigns for large orgainsations are much more lucrative.
SEO involves persuading Google that yours is the most relevant website for the search terms you are targeting. The reason we focus on Google is because it has around 87% of the entire search market.
Every SEO campaign starts with keyphrase research. This involves identifying what search terms your prospective customers are using to products and services of the type your company offers eg. SEO Harrogate. There are various tools available to help you do this but by far the best, and most commonly used, is Google’s own Adwords Keyword Tool.
Once you have a list of relevant keywords and keyphrases that you think you have a realistic chance of ranking for, the process of SEO can begin.
SEO can be broken down into two key areas: On page optimisation and Off Page Optimisation.
On Page Optimisation involves writing the keyphrases you have identified into key areas of your web pages. Google places particular emphasis on these elements when determining how relevant your page is for the terms you are targeting. The more complete your on page optimisation is, the greater ranking potential your web pages will have.
Off Page Optimisation involves increasing the credibility of your web pages in Google’s ‘eyes’ by building inbound links to your web pages. Google essentially sees links to your website from other websites as recommendations. The emphasis here, however, is on the quality of the website linking to your own rather than the quantity of links your website has. For example, a link from a well-established website in the same business area as you own will count for a lot more than a link from a poor quality, generic directory. Off page optimisation can be arduous and very time consuming but very beneficial if your work bares fruit.
