Effective SEO Strategies- Part 1

Setting Up…

Do not wait to start a strategic plan, do it now! When companies start setting up their business they will get a website and social pages, but will not start SEO until a later date. And when they do it is usually because their marketing needs help. So do not lead your company down this route and spend some extra cash now to start your SEO to insure a higher success rate in the future.

Keywords…

So I assume you already have some keywords in mind, but what is important is if they are effective. It is essential that you really digest your service and products, so that you have true understanding of what makes them different and then transfer this into keywords or phrases.

Keyword Stuffing…

In the past you were able to stuff your pages with keywords and get away with it, but now Google can recognise these shady tactics and has made it no longer possible to cheat the system.

“Keyword stuffing” refers to the practice of loading a webpage with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google search results. Often these keywords appear in a list or group, or out of context (not as natural prose). Filling pages with keywords or numbers results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site’s ranking. Focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and in context.” – Google

So to get round this you have to insure your keywords are appropriate and have been inserted into the site map correctly. This way Google will be able to recognise what each page is about and give it the relevant rankings.

Google Keyword Planner…

The next step to finding your key words is using Google Keyword Planner. All you have to do is enter a keyword and fill in the rest of the search options and it will generate a long list of keywords that relate to the one you have put in. Not only that but it will tell you how often they’re searched for, how competitive they are and the suggested bid if you decide to use Ad Words to promote them. Not a lot of companies realise how useful this tool is, most of the time it is because not a lot of people encounter it. Although it is only available to those who have an active Ad words account, which is also worth signing up to if you do not have one!

Another strategy you need to consider is what your competitors are doing. Try and find out what direction they are taking and how they are getting there, and most importantly their success rate. Ways to do this is using tools such as backlink checker or link diagnosis, but remember do not spend too much time doing this as your time should be spent analysing your company, not someone else’s.

Optimization basics…

Some of the basic optimization methods are debatable but most of the ones I mention are widely agreed on. First method would be using appropriate keywords in title tags and H1s on other pages. Another method would be keeping the focus firmly on your primary keyword(s) on your homepage. Also with your URL structure make it as clear as possible as it will look neater, and if you decide to optimize/rename existing pages use 301 redirects to avoid broken links. Lastly you should ensure that all image filenames and alt tags are labelled correctly as these count as keywords.

Let us know if you have any useful SEO strategies or if you found this helpful. And don’t forget to stay tuned for part 2!