We are used to being able to update Facebook, Twitter and Instagram from any location it looks like blogging platforms are being left behind. Luckily WordPress have an excellent android and iphone app that allows you to post, add pages and media.

In fact it’s so easy to use i’m writing this post front my phone!

The front end

Google has been saying for many years now that “good” content is the key to gaining visitors. However by ignoring basic SEO practises like keyword research you may have brilliant content but no-one is searching for the terms you have used!

This blog post will explain how to ensure your content is a s closely matched to your potential customers search terms as possible.

Content is king

So far we have been helping to ensure that Search Engines can discover and ‘understand’ the pages on your website, that’s the easy part. Now you have to ensure that the information on that page matches the expectations of the visitor. If you are selling a service you need to answer their questions, allay their fears and encourage them to take you up (be that via an email, contact form or newsletter sign-up).

However not all content is equal and it’s essential that the words you use match those that your customers are looking for. These are called keywords and combine to form search terms.

What are keywords?

Think of every search you have carried out in Google, the words or phrase you enter into the search bar consists of keywords and makes up search terms (and, if etc. don’t count).

So a search on Google for ‘search engine optimisation in kent’, Google looks for the website that is thinks is most related to the terms ‘search’, ‘engine’, ‘optimisation’ and ‘kent’. It’s therefore obviously important that these keywords appear on relevant pages on your website.

Researching keywords

Google provides a free tool to help you discover the keywords that most people are searching for:

https://adwords.google.com/o/KeywordTool

Familiarity with this tool will ensure that your website is reaching as many potential searches and therefore visitors as possible. This fine tuning of your content to match the most popular search terms and keywords will help your website reach the widest audience possible.

It’s important to note that ‘stuffing’ pages with keywords won’t help! Google is wise to such techniques and may penalise you if your website isn’t useful to visitors. It’s essential that you still provide great content. Keyword research is the finishing touch to make sure that content is as accessible as possible.

Conclusion

Matching your websites content to the right keywords and search terms is vital to ensure you are reaching the widest possible audience. However in the end you have to be providing useful information or services to make sure those visitors become customers!

Next time

Social media and link building – your website is ready to go out and make friends in the big wide world.

Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes information on your website or ‘Meta Data’ is no longer the be all and end all in SEO
but remains very important component of website optimisation.

What is Meta Data?

Meta data can very simply be thought of as a series of descriptive labels applied to each page of your
website that help search engines understand what each one contains.

As a regular internet user you may not have seen a page with very poor meta data, that’s because most
people don’t go beyond the first couple of pages of search results and you don’t get on the first page of
Google with poor meta data!

For example:
Ask yourself if you had searched for “SEO Services Kent and Sussex” which result would you click on?

 Types of Meta Data

Page or meta title – This appears as the largest text on a search result. It should contain your brand,
your most important keywords on the page and a location.
Page or meta description – This should accurately describe the contents of your page using keywords
and should give a potential customer as much reason as possible to click on your link.
Page or meta keywords – Keywords that appear on your page that you would like to rank for in search
results, they must relate to the content of your page.

The myths

Meta data used to be very important factor in how well your website ranked. These days page content,
incoming links and social signals carry much more weight but as you can see from the first example they
also play a very important role in getting customers to click on your search result once it is shown.
Don’t underestimate the basics, as Google themselves say:

“When viewed individually, these changes might seem like incremental improvements, but when
combined with other optimizations, they could have a noticeable impact on your site’s user experience
and performance in organic search results.”

Best practises

Meta information should be unique for each page on your website. Page titles and meta descriptions
should accurately describe the content of the page.
Meta keywords are no longer used by most search engines but good keyword research is vital for good
SEO and filling in meta keywords will help you focus the content on each page in your online marketing
plan.

Conclusion

Meta data isn’t the holy grail of SEO but it remains a fundamental basic building block on which to
build a well optimised website and should be overlooked at your peril. Don’t let your website languish,
never to be found, clicked on and visited!

Next time

The front end – content is king but without the right keyword research who will find you?

This is the first blog post in a series designed to give you a basic understanding of Search Engine
Optimisation (SEO).

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation is traditionally thought of as carrying out technical changes that ‘make’
you appear higher in Google search results. Whilst this may have been possible in the past,
improvements to Search Engines over the years mean SEO is now more about content and less
about these technical ‘tricks’.

If you are familiar with traditional marketing techniques then SEO can simply be thought of as the
process of combining all of your digital marketing into a coherent plan. At Pink Giraffes we like to
think of this as creating an integrated digital marketing strategy.

The three parts of SEO:

Search Engine Optimisation can be broken down into three major parts, each of which we will cover
in more detail in later blog posts:

1. Behind the scenes
2. The front end
3. Social media and link building

Behind the scenes changes are the traditional part of SEO, making small modifications to your
websites code and pages. When viewed individually, these changes might seem like minor
improvements, but when combined, they can have a noticeable impact on your site’s user
experience and performance in organic search results.

The front end is focused on your websites’ design, layout, structure and most importantly content.
This boosts the keywords that appear on the website and helps customers find the information they
require as quickly as possible. A good navigation structure is also essential if you want your visitors
to convert into customers.

Finally, social media and link building encourages you to grow your businesses presence and brand
online. This has the benefit of finding new opportunities as well as offering a valuable service and
interaction with existing and potential new customers.

The most important consideration when undertaking SEO is combining them to form a structured
and focused plan. When linked with an online marketing strategy, SEO should see your website
gain more visitors and then get more conversions from those visitors.

Next time:

Behind the scenes – The technical changes that many people consider the foundation of SEO. The
jargon explained and the myths debunked!

SEO Sauce have built Jon and Claire a brand new website combining a professional look, brilliant SEO and an easy to use layout. In the first place we worked very closely to decide on a look and feel for the website that will help visitors reach the website and find the information about the type of training their dog needs. The level of information on their old site was already high but a greatly improved website structure and internal linking will benefit users and search engines.

The project has been great fun and we’re very pleased to announce the launch of the new  Peagle Field Gun Dogs Website.

If you’re interested in hearing how SEO Sauce can help design or optimise a website for your business please get in touch.

They have exceptionally helpful staff and all the equipment needed to make this possible!  As well as the standard gym machines, they run a very active Crossfit group, Aqua Aerobics, Body Conditioning, Spinning, Zumba and Kettlebell Conditioning classes.

SEO Sauce will be working with Risebridge Health and Sports Club to increase their Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), keyword analysis, social media training and on page optimisation.  If you’re looking for a friendly health and fitness gym on the Kent and Sussex border I can’t recommend Risebridge highly enough.  Click the following link to visit the Risebridge Health and Fitness Club website.

What is Google Places?

Google Places is an online business directory, similar to the more familiar Thomson Local and Yellow Pages, however, Google Places doesn’t print a book, it’s completely online.  One of the most essential components of Search Engine Optimisation is building high quality links to your website for your important market keywords.  One of the most important keywords should be your business name, especially if you have a keyword rich company name.  Given that Google has such a dominant position in the UK search engine market it makes sense, that a link from them, to your website will be a great asset.

How to add your business.

Visit the following link:

http://www.google.com/places/

Click, get started.

You will need to sign in using a Google Account, you do have a Google account? If not sign up for one here, it’s going to be essential for using some of Google great free tools (as well as their not so free ones!).  One thing to note is that you shouldn’t link your business profile account to an employees personal Google account in case they leave and you are then unable to make future updates.

You then need to enter your country and telephone number, this is just to check your business isn’t already listed.

Enter all your company details, the more details the better and at least one photo to give your profile a nice extra little touch, even if it’s your company logo.  A preview of your business listing appears to the right, once you’re happy with how it looks click the ‘submit’ button at the bottom of the screen.

You have to validate your business, this means Google will send you a postcard to the address you have just entered (so double check it’s correct!). This can take 2-3 weeks.

Once the card arrives you visit the link it gives you and enter the confirmation code.

Check your business listing and if necessary make any updates.  You will only need to go through the postcode system if you update the company address, small changes can be done by logging in with your original Google account.  Your company may now be shown for searches near to your location as well as being shown on Google Maps.

Congratulations, your business is listed on Google places and your first step on the road to organic search result greatness has begun!

If you’re not sure how to follow any of these steps please contact us, this is one of the many SEO services SEO Sauce can help your business carry out.