Services
I work with a range of clients to develop and implement strategies to improve website rankings in search results. Whilst there are technical aspects to search engine optimisation, much of the work is relatively straight forward and can be performed by you. My consultancy work therefore guides clients through the process and provides an overview of the tools and tasks that you will need to boost your site's performance.
Introduction
Improving your website ranking can have dramatic results. Search Engine Optimisation - commonly referred to as "SEO" is a series of techniques that can be used to improve your site's performance.
An understanding of search engine optimisation - at least at a basic level - is essential for any organisation wanting to succeed online. An in depth search engine optimisation plan is however not for every organisation - as with any other form of marketing it's important to take into account the likelihood of a return on your investment.
This article explains what website ranking is and why a high rank for a popular search term is so desirable. It also gives an overview of some of the techniques that can be used to improve your performance and explains how a search engine optimisation consultant can help.
What is website ranking?
Web site ranking refers to how well your site performs in search engines for particular search terms or phrases in "organic" or "natural" search results. "Organic Search" refers to the standard search results you are shown when you do e.g. a Google Search. The other type of results appear as paid for advertisements shown in response to a search (typically presented as "sponsored Links").
For example if you are a florist and a search for the term "buy flowers" shows your site on the first page 4th from the top your website would be ranked #4 for the term "buy flowers". However a similar search for the term "florist" might result in you appearing on the fourth page of the search results with you appearing 32nd overall.
Your website ranking will not only change depending on the term being searched for, but will also be affected by where the person searching for it is located and what search engine they are using. Your ranking will also change over time as other sites are created, existing sites are updated and as you make changes to your own site. Bear in mind that unless your website only has 1 page that each page will perform differently - not everyone performing a search will be directed to your homepage.
Why is high website ranking highly sought after?
Far more people click onto organic search results than they do sponsored (paid for) results. For example one research study suggested that over 40% of people click through to the #1 search result. Well optimised sponsored links can perform well but are generally clicked through far less frequently - often at a rate of 1% or less.
If therefore you can come #1 in the organic results for a term that people search for in large numbers you are likely to get a lot of people clicking through to your site.
As your site rank decreases the click through rate falls fairly quickly. The research study referred to above found that the #2 position had around a 12% click through rate whilst if you came 11th (the first result on the second page of Google Results) the click through rate was only around 0.6%.
What controls website ranking?
Website ranking is determined by a number of factors - the algorithm used is kept a strict secret but there are things that you can do to imrpove your site's rank. It's important to note that if you don't develop a strategy at all or make any attempt to optimise your site it is likely to do considerably worse than it might otherwise perform.
Each search engine operates a different algorithm to determine which order to display search results so be aware that if you perform well in one e.g. Yahoo - it doesn't necessarily follow that you will do fantastically in others. In the UK Google is by far the dominant search engine and so the one you must focus on.
Introducing Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search Engine Optimisation represents a series of strategies you can utilise to boost your site's performance. Broadly speaking the key elements to a search engine optimisation plan are as follows:
- Choosing the right keywords to target (keyword research). You need to be realistic about your potential to target certain widely used terms, take into account the number of people searching for particular terms, the competition for certain phrases and how relevant the terms are to what you do.
- Incorporate these keywords strategically within the technical build of your website and in key HTML tags (ie the code that sits behind your website).
- Include phrases and keywords within the content of your website and ensure that content is visible to search engines (Search engines can't for example read text that appears in images and so having a site that looks great but contains no text and just graphic elements may get no traffic!)
- Build links to your site from other websites - both to your homepage and other key landing pages. These should ideally include the keywords / phrases within the anchor text (the bit of text that typically appears underlined and links to your site). The "quality" of the external site is also important.
- Develop relevant, engaging content and try and keep bounce rates as low as possible
- Take advantage of content and topics across the whole of your site - a form of long tail marketing. Not everyone enters your site via the home page!
- Avoid techniques that Google views as spamming.
You can find out more about each of these strategies elsewhere on this site.
A word of caution!
Beware of organisations that say they will get you to #1 in search results without specifying what keyword phrases you will be number 1 for. There is no point coming #1 for "blue aardvarks" if your site doesn't have anything to do with them!
Similarly there is no point coming #1 for a search term - even if it is relevant to what you do - if no-one ever searches for it. SEO should ultimately be about conversion - getting people to not only get to your site but also to buy something, sign up for your newsletter or to make a donation. If SEO / organic searches are driving a fair amount of traffic to your site check to see what these people go on to do - if no-one ever subsequently make a purchase or does anything useful perhaps either your site or your SEO keyword strategy need to be reconsidered.
Working with an SEO Consultant
An SEO consultant can help you identify the keywords and phrases your organisation should target, build these into your site and develop an ongoing strategy to improve your performance.
A good consultant should then also take into account your budget and resources and help you to decide whether SEO is something your organisation should pursue in earnest. This should include advice on the pitfalls of over reliance on SEO - the results of an SEO campaign will not be instantaneous and it can take time to build 'Page Rank' and improve your performance in search results. There is also the risk that if you rely too heavily on SEO then should a search engine change the algorithm it uses to rank pages you may suddenly find that your long fought for #1 position is suddenly lost. As such whilst all organisations should adhere to basic SEO guidelines a full blown SEO strategy is not for everyone - you need ongoing commitment if it is to succeed.
A good consultant will be able to take into account your overall online objectives and recommened the best approach for your organisation. This may well include other approaches including other forms of search engine marketing such as Pay Per Click (PPC).
Got a Question?
If you have a question, would like to find out more or are interested in some consultancy please contact me via the Contact page on this website.
