organic optimisation
Just having a website isn't enough. Over 80% of people use search
engines, such as Google and Yahoo, to find information, products
and services on the web. And, people expect to find what they
are looking for (which should include your website!) in the first
few pages..
So, if you raise the profile of your website (that is your ranking
or listing) on search engines and directories, you'll get more
visitors and that should gain you new customers.
This listing, or ranking on the
search engines and directories is one of the most important
things you do to assist people to reach your site. It is called
organic optimisation, organic search engine marketing or organic
seo. It means doing everything possible to improve your ranking
based on the topic of your website, choosing the right keywords
and developing suitable and effective key phrases. And it means
doing it without paid advertising or "PPC".
Many people or companies simply submit
a website site to the search engines. This is not of much
benefit unless your site is correctly optimised for the keyword
phrases that you want to achieve top rankings on.
This includes understanding the different 'algorithms' used by
each of the major search engines which look at different parts
of your site. These might include the title, the meta tags, the
URL, the text, the number of headings in the text, the text behind
the pictures, external links into the site, a site map etc.
Visitors who reach your site from the search engines are ‘pre-qualified’
that is they have searched for a product or service, evaluated
the search results, and chosen to click on your site. This can
result in great conversion rates compared to other media.
Search engine optimisation
is a medium term strategy which means making changes to improve
your search engine and directory ranking over time. There are
several main steps to achieve this:
• Ensure your website is focused on your target audience
• Develop your keyword/phrases and your meta tags and
description and do the research.
• Ensure your copy is supportive with great keyword/keyphrase
density. At the same time it's important not to overuse the keywords
as the search engines often regard that as spamming.
• Link
building from relevant and quality sites. And also use intra-site
links which are key word rich - that is links from one page to
another within your own site.
• Site design analysis and optimisation for the search
engines
• Manually submit the site - don't use software. Prepare
a list of quality engines and directories and go for it!
• Monitor and improve your site regularly - monthly or
quarterly. The more fresh content you write, the more often the
search engines will index your site and potentially increase its
ranking. Content drives the search engine process.
• Make sure it's the page which is optimised, not the site.
You probably have several products or services you offer and trying
to optimise any page for everything you offer will dilute your
message and your rank. Keep the focus of each page as narrow as
possible.
• Check your statistics
and see where you need to improve.
If you would like help with your organic search engine optimisation,
give us a call or check
out our
Search Engine Packages >>