What is SEO anyway?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the ongoing process of making a website search engine friendly. All elements of your website, from the content to the images and layout you see, to the technical aspects and site architecture, play a significant part in SEO.
SEO consultant’s approach, when done correctly, can improve the overall search visibility of your website. It means that search engines will be able to find, read, and comprehend your site so it knows when to show your site as a result of a certain user query. Over time, SEO will increase your authority and reputation, ensuring that you continue to rank.
To put it another way, I’ll make sure your website appears when your potential customers perform a Google search for the items or services you provide.
So, is it possible to have an SEO strategy that appeals to both search engines and your potential customers at the same time? Yes, with good content that is appealing and convincing. I can develop an SEO plan that appeals to both search engines and potential consumers while also ensuring that site visitors become viable leads for your company.
SEO can be broken down into two main areas: On-Site SEO and Off-Site SEO (Link Building).
On Site SEO
On-site SEO or On-Page SEO refers to all the elements of your website which can affect how your website performs within the search engines. How your website is put together, the content on each page, and the hosting environment or web server on which it is hosted.
There are key areas to consider with your website and its technical aspects which contribute to your overall On-Site SEO.
On-Site SEO can be a minefield if you don’t fully understand what impact each element of your website can have on the overall performance of your SEO.
In theory, once you have fixed or worked on the technical aspects of your On-Site SEO there should only be a need to monitor and maintain them moving forward.
However, when adding fresh content to your website, be it in the form of a new page, expanding the content, or adding a blog article you should always remember to work through the On-Site SEO factors to ensure these new pieces of content are optimised.
Off Site SEO
Off-Site SEO or Off-Page SEO refers to all external factors which affect your website and its SEO performance. How another website link to and interact with your website is hugely important and the most difficult area of SEO to work on. Unlike On-Site SEO where there are a clear set of rules to follow, Off-Site SEO is much more difficult, with many more factors which can either make or break your SEO.
The main area of Off-Site SEO is with “Link building” if you have ever researched SEO or spoken to an SEO specialist they would likely have mentioned the term. Building links to your website is super important, a site without any other websites linking to it will struggle to rank for competitive keywords in competitive sectors. The “worldwide web” should be taken literally, the search engines like to see a web of related websites linked together.
But how do you attract links from other websites to your own? By producing well-written content, by providing something for FREE, by providing high-quality service… These are a few examples.
Part of SEO is building these links yourself, these can be in the form of business directories, PR stories, Articles on other sites, social media posts.
Principles of Link Building
A good rule of thumb when thinking about link building is “would I want a link from this website if the search engines didn’t exist?”. This helps you to keep focus on only attracting and building links from sites that are relevant to what your business is about.
Relevance
Is the site you want to link to yours relevant to your business?
Quality
What is the quality of the website from which you want to get a link?
Does that site get traffic?
If a website you want a link from doesn’t get any traffic of its own it’s unlikely to help your SEO.
History of the website
Do you know or can you find out the history of the website? Has it always been focused on a subject related to yours?
Who links to it?
Like a chain, any links to their website will also affect yours if you get a link back from them.
Does it link out alot?
Does the website link out to a lot of others? If so it may deminish the effectiveness of the back link.