Search Engine Optimisation | SEO Article with Example
Summary
How Search Engine Optimisation is used to find your audience
Market research and keyword research
Web page optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation example of an open niche market
SEO sites and free SEO tools
Difference between Generic and PPC Search Engine Listings
What is Search Engine Optimisation?
Web Page Optimisation for Search Friendly Web Pages
Free SEO Tools
Choosing Keywords
Keyword Research Example
Web Paqe Meta Tag Optimisation Example
Search Engine Marketing
Caveat
This morning I was delighted to see Irish Light and Colour listed at number 3 on Google for the phrase 'landscape photography'. This proves to me that good things comes to those who wait! take a look
This article gives you a quick low down on the few essential aspects of SEO and how to apply them to your web pages. It is more concerned with long tail marketing and not about getting into Google's top 10 just for the hell of it
If you are in a competitive market and competing for attention in a crowded place then SEO will keep you busy because the more popular the market the bigger the rat race. If you are in real estate then you have your work cut out. Big time
If you write for people and not for search engines however then you need not break sweat over Search Engine Optimisation(SEO). You should still use it as a matter of good practice because it will benefit yourself and the web in general
Difference between generic and pay per click searches
Web pages which are highly relevant to what people are searching for should come up high in search engine listings for the keywords and phrases entered. These are called 'generic' search engine listings are not the same as those Pay Per Click (PPC) adverts that appear elsewhere on a search results page
PPC is a pay as you go advertising strategy where you can compete with the big sites, for a while, whereas SEO is a more planned, long term, strategy where you are trying to earn the right to a top 10 place in the generic listings. Generic listings are free, always will be and are the way to go if you have long term goals for your web site
If well planned SEO can bring you free targeted traffic for life whereas with PPC you are just paying for clicks to meet short term goals. If you are selling products or having a fire sale then PPC can be your friend but if you are not selling anything then you can forget about PCC because you don't need it
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Roughly 60% - 70% of web users read the generic search engine listings first and then scan the results looking for keywords. Humans are guided by the wording and choose those links which look the most promising to our search goals. This is why all web pages should have proper titles, headlines and descriptions as a matter of course because they meaningfully reflect the contents of a web page to both search engines and humans. A search engine uses an index and attempts to return those pages it thinks are most relevant to the search term(s). SEO is all about playing nice with this index and playing by it's rules in the hope that it likes your content
With SEO we are using a process that will improve the relevancy of a web page for any given search term(s) by choosing appropriate keywords and phrases which accuratley describe the contents of each web page. The use of site analytics software for monitoring traffic; learning how people found you and what they do on the site etc. You also learn about your most visited pages; watch marketing trends and spot future trends. Anyone can learn this stuff and if you are not in a hurry then don't need to pay fancy money an SEO expert
It takes planning to spot current and future trends in this hyper-competitive age and it is no good expecting miracles overnight. Your SEO efforts will be governed by your intentions and you need to have clear goals before you create your content. Your ultimate goal is to reach your target audience and deliver your message honestly and clearly. If your message delivers real value to people then you will be more succesful because it will sell itself and people will spread your news through word of mouth and links pointing back to your site. Having quality incoming links is the way to gain credibility and the right type of visitors
After you submit your site to the top three search engines you want people to find it. Your initial market research will tell you what keywords you should be using to promote your goal and for this you should use a keyword research tool. Keyword reasearch tools tell you what people are searching for and the number of searches carried out each month. You can also look into other niches to gauge to how much action is going on and levels of competition for searchers
SEO is used in preparing the web pages so that they can be easily found by the search engines and come up high for your chosen keywords
Generic listings appear more credible to web users but they have to be earned and there is work involved in getting a top 10 ranking
Web pages need to be optimised to perform well in generic search engine listings
Web Page Optimisation for Search Friendly Web Pages
Web pages should be marked up with proper title, description and keyword meta tags - similar to the way you structure an essay. The most important of these tags are the title and description tags. Title tags appear in a web browser's title bar and they also appear in search engine listings. The description can usually be seen in the listing right below the title. Both of these tags are readable by humans so here is your chance to accurately get your message across and free of charge. By writing good meta tags you are helping the search engines but ultimately you should try to write for humans
Free SEO Tools
You can check the quality of your website meta tags using the free Meta Tag Analyser from Submit-Express. Your page title, description and keyword meta tags are given a percentage score based on how relevant they are to your page content
You can check the density of your keywords using the Keyword Density Analyser at seobench.com.
After you fix your meta tags and have a keyword density of about 3% - 15% then you are set to begin real SEO and start tweaking your web pages into the top 10
Choosing Keywords
Choosing appropriate keywords is important when designing a new site or when writing content for and existing site. Some people say that keywords are not as important as they used to be
Keyword Research Example
A contract plumber in County Galway, Ireland could be missing out on a lot of business. Just look at the keyword statistics shown below for the phrase "plumber galway". The competition is shown for relevant key-phrases where a figure of 1 indicates 100% competition for the key-phrase.
The statistics imply that there is a market for plumbers and especially those registered with Corgi. The competition is medium and very beatable. If I was a plumber in Galway I would get Corgi registered, create a website tomorrow and try to get some of these searchers to find me.
I would consider combining the phrase "a plumber in" (1000 searches) with "for a plumber" (1300 searches) and try to kill two birds with one stone. You could have a headline that calls out "Looking for a plumber in Galway?" and watch more traffic come in because the statistics say there are 2300 searches that would fit the criteria.
Example Web Page Meta Tag Optimisation for a plumber in Galway:
TITLE - Corgi Registered Plumber serving Galway and Ireland
DESCRIPTION - Commercial and Domestic Plumbing and Heating Contractors with 20 years experience.
KEYWORDS - Corgi,Registered,Plumber,Plumbers,Plumbing,Commercial,Domestic,Contractors,Galway,Ireland
That would be a decent place to begin because you have a baseline from which to monitor your traffic rates as you make progress.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
SEO is only one part of your overall Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategy. SEM deals with positioning a web site in the market-place so that it has high visibility and attracts the right visitors.
Some businesses apply SEO to their most important pages for long term gain and they mix this approach with Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising which brings in targeted traffic immediately. There is no messing around with PPC adverts and you can spend as much or as little as you want when you want.
SEM techniques include PPC, Email Newsletters, Submitting sites to the best directories, creating and measuring the return from advertising campaigns, etc.
