Exactly what is Search Engine Optimisation?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), is a complex, ever changing process, designed to get your web pages to land Top 10 in Google (the first page) whenever someone uses Google to search for what you do. And don’t forget that’s 90+% of Australian online searches.
The only consistent thing about the way search engines decide whether your web pages land on their first page is that what works really well today probably won’t work so well tomorrow.
That’s why you need experienced search marketing professionals who keep their fingers on the pulse of the major search engines. If Google hiccups, we know about it. If Yahoo! gets stubborn, we’ll coax those rankings back to the first page.
Working with search engines is a long-term, high maintenance relationship and we’re dedicated to managing that relationship so you don’t have to, and at an investment you can feel good about.
A more efficient form of advertising
In answering the question, “What is Search Engine Optimisation?” we answer SEO is only the latest form of advertising. The difference is that SEO is much cheaper, more cost effective and much more efficient.
Why? Because in advertising, whether it’s newspapers, TV, radio or phone books – you’re paying to have your message delivered to thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of customers.
The reality is you only need to reach the people who need your products or services right now.
Today. For example, in my region, there are around 160 people who need carpet laying each day. But if you advertise in the newspaper you’ll be paying them to take your message to over 500,000 people. It’s a very wasteful way to advertise.
Even a moderate 10 cm x 3 column is going to cost you $800-$1200 every Saturday. That’s anywhere between $3000 and $4800 every month of your life. But you can optimise your website for less than $500 per month.
Here’s why SEO is the best form of advertising
Because 90+% of Australians use Google when they search for something online:
- It makes much more sense to get your website landing Top 10 in Google search results.
- It makes much more sense to aim your advertising only at the people who need your services.
- It makes much more sense to spend $400 and reach more people than if you spend $2500.
So How Exactly Does SEO Work?
Now we know what top search engine optimisation is, but how it works is another matter. Even though Search Engines keep changing the way they evaluate your web page, there are certain universal guidelines regarding what central principles and elements are vital to your search marketing strategy.
There are also very clear rules against certain practices that attempt to cheat or trick the search engines.
Fundamental Principles for Successful SEO
1. Content
Content will always be your key ticket to top rankings. Without it, any rankings achieved will be short-lived. For content to help your ranking, however, you need a lot of it and it has to be updated regularly. Most importantly, each page of content must target a specific keyword term.
However, if your site possesses content that is auto-generated or is poorly written, i.e. a human visitor would not find it useful and informative, the search engines will figure it out and demote your site, possibly even blacklisting you and preventing you from showing up in their results at all.
We develop well-written, keyword targeted content for your site that is updated consistently and monitored for rankability. Your business will enjoy the added benefit of an ever-growing resource library of information that your site visitors will enjoy and which will also help with your sales conversions.
2. Links
More specifically, one-way links from authoritative sites in your niche market. You can find out how authoritative a site is by looking at its Page Rank.
Page Rank, or PR, is a ranking system Google devised to show how much weight or authority a particular site has. All SEO experts agree that it largely has to do with the amount of incoming links a site has, how long it’s been around, and visitor activity on the site (yes Google even knows how long someone remains on your site after they click through from the search results!).
What this means for you is that you want as many high PR sites linking into your site as possible (without you linking back to them). This is because Google gives these sites a lot of respect and values their “recommendations” signalled by who they choose to link to.
Think of inbound links as “votes” for how valuable your website is in Google’s eyes.
We negotiate inbound links on your behalf, concentrating on links from sites related to your market whose reputation thematically relates to the reputation you’re trying to build.
We also make sure these links deep-link into your website, meaning that they link to various pages in your website, rather than just to your homepage (also a sign that you’re highly authoritative).
3. Visitor Behaviour
Google knows everything. Other Search Engines like Yahoo! and MSN aren’t so far behind. If a visitor clicks from their search engine into your site, and leaves immediately, Google knows that they didn’t find what they were looking for.
If too many people do this, Google will drop you from their rankings because they assume you’re not relevant for that particular term. This is why site design, compelling content, and conversion analysis are important.
We offer Website Conversion Optimisation in addition to SEO to help you address this particular issue.
4. Human Idiosyncrasies.
Google wants to know that a human is running the show. Automated SEO software, or any techniques that add hundreds of pages to your site within a week, or which create content automatically, are a dead giveaway that you’re doing something Google doesn’t like.
This won’t just get you knocked off the top 10 rankings – Google and other search engines will ban your site from ever showing up in their results – even when someone searches your exact domain name. This is why any illegal or unethical techniques will kill your business.
We hand craft every single page of information on your website and upload those pages consistently over several months.
Universally Illegal SEO Practices: Avoid at ALL Costs
Search engines may be vague about what you can do to get top rankings. However, they are not vague about those practices that will get you banned from their rankings. For instance, Google provides Webmaster Guidelines that detail what you are NOT to do when promoting your website.
When you are looking for an SEO professional, be aware of these illegal techniques and the different “pet names” given them by dubious fly-by-night companies. We’ve provided several of them here for your easy reference. You can also download these tips in an easy-to-read PDF format.