Hello,
While much has been written and spoken about the various aspects of Internet Marketing and the roles that internet marketing agencies have to play there is still so much that has unfortunately not been understood clearly. What I want to say is that while almost everyone who is in the business of providing SEO, SEM, SMO and other Internet Marketing services is attempting to do the very best, the aspect which gets ignored is educating the client. Come to think of it and I see that we have had a number of clients the recent past who have had unhappy relationships with their respective internet marketing agencies. No, I am not here writing to say who is right and wrong but I surely could understand that most of these unhappy relationships were a result of the client not understanding the internet marketing realities and thus having very high unrealistic expectations which could not be met.
Having said that I plan to write a series of blogs in an attempt to simplify things for all those who want to get started or are already investing in internet marketing. In this blog piece I am writing about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) .
When it comes to search engine optimisation here are some basic questions that come to mind. For all those who are going to attempt understanding SEO for the first time this link to our SEO Services page will help.
Now the Questions:
1. What is important in SEO?
2. What makes a website site rank higher than others?
3. How to improve Google search rankings?
4. Is there some kind of secret method to rank?
1. Website Content
Just like a good sandwich requires good quality ingredients between the breads a website needs good quality content. That “Content is king” is something all good SEO’s know. Good quality unduplicated content is the secret to success. It ensures that the visitors stay longer and increases time spent on the website. Needless to say good content plays an important role in generating traffic. After all, we all love to share good stuff we find. Content in a way initiates word of mouth and social marketing. So hone your content writing skills or start looking for a good content writing services agency.
2. Keywords
When you think content you need to think keywords. Keywords are words which you expect a user to search for when he is looking for the product / service / information you are providing. They are important because they guide the search bots to understand your site content better thus making your site specific to the search engine. Identifying Good keywords ensures right targeting and thus brings relevant visitors to your website thereby increasing chances of conversions and also search rankings.
The right mix of keywords and keyword phrases will ensure better authority for the pages.
3. Pictures / Images
We all know that a good image can speak so much about the content. Images also add to the look at feel of the website and the content layout. A few images in the content make it attractive and thus prod the visitor to read. Images are often missed when it comes to SEO but the fact is that they can play a role too. Images can be coded with alt text that comes in handy when people are looking for Images on search. Alt tags can be keyword rich thus adding to the page value.
4. Website Page URL’s
Your domain name is important. It has a role to play in search rankings.
If your domain name is in sync with your website’s content it improves the possibility of ranking early. If its not, then you need not worry you won’t loose ranking or be penalised by Google, its just going to take more efforts to rank. If possible its better you get a domain name that has a keyword relevant to your business / product / service for which you wish to gain a search ranking.
5. Meta Tags
This is one of the most spoken about aspect of SEO. To be specific Meta Tags are an important element of on-page SEO. Meta tags (Meta Title, Meta keywords, Meta Description etc) are tags which are a part of your webpages header codes. It is read by Google search bots and helps in establishing the relevancy of the web page to the search engine.
Meta tags increase the weightage of your keywords and also help the search engines determine what your website is about. The meta description tag is used by google as an excerpt in search results. The crisper and relevant the description the more the possibility of the search user clicking on the search result and visiting your web page.
6. Backlinks / Inbound links
This is the critical element. Backlinks or inbound links essentially tell the search engine about the number of sites / pages on the web pointing to your web site pages. This is definitely the biggest booster for search rankings. With the google panda update quality of backlinks has also become critical. Relevant backlinks will ensure you earn google brownie points and thus boost search ranking.
Another important element which often is known but sidelined if the very nature of your website right from design to navigation to usability. Essentially how friendly is your website. It has to simple and easy to negotiate, engaging and understood by the audience it is meant for.
All SEO begins with understand the prospective customers and ends when you have done that it will keep bringing them back to you. And remember the buzz word is “Relevancy”.
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