“Using keyword analysis and other legitimate practices to gain the highest possible search engine and directory rankings, under a given key phrase, for a given URL.”
Key Factors:
- Which Search Engines to target
- Highest Possible Ranking
- Link Building
- Keywords
- Using Legitimate Practices
- Long term Strategy
Which Search Engines to target?
Each search engine uses different algorithms in order to come up with its search results. Google has the most complex algorithms which is one of the reasons why it has become the most successful Search engine.
We can make various adjustments to the website that will help improve its search ranking, but typically we will base most of the efforts in improving the ‘Google Ranking’.
It is worth noting that there are a lot of ‘Cowboy’ firms out there who offer “Guaranteed Front Page Rankings’. Anyone who knows the industry will tell you this is not possible to guarantee!.
Highest Possible Ranking
We would all like to get to Number 1 in Google rankings but this is often just not possible. There may be competitors out there who have a 200 page website solely dedicated to the keyword search we would be using. Or perhaps they just have a better coded website...these are all factors that search engines use when coming up with results. We would develop a strategy together to achieve the highest possible ranking for your business.
Link Building
One of the keys to successful SEO is having links to your site on other reputable sites. This is the main reason behind so many companies using social networking. By using Twitter, Facebook, Linked In etc. However having your domain on sites that are not considered reputable can lower your ranking.
Keywords
When we want to Google a website we type in what are known as ‘Keywords’. For example,If someone was to Google “web design, branding and identity, Basingstoke’ they would come up with my website, which is Number 1 at present. We have to create keywords in your website that best describe your business.
Using Legitimate Practices
There are many firms out there that offer Front Page Rankings for your website but use some techniques that will eventually have your rankings plummet into the abyss of Google and other search engines. These techniques are called Cloaking and Re-Directing. They basically have systems that that send false ‘hits’ to your site, thus tricking Google into thinking you are having lots of network traffic. It is worth noting, that all reputable search engines eventually find this out and essentially ‘Blacklist’ the website and any affiliated with it. Once this has happened you will struggle to achieve decent rankings ever again.
Better website coding, well written content and steady link popularity are proven as the best methods of successful SEO.
Long Term Strategy
SEO is not an overnight process and can take long periods to improve the site’s ranking. We have to consider and implement all of the above points when building a bespoke strategy for your business. A 6 month plan followed by a rolling month-to-month monitoring plan is normally the best strategy for SEO.
