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All You Ever Wanted To Know About SEO

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the process of optimizing a website or online content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be accomplished through a variety of techniques, including keyword research, content optimisation, and link building. In this article we cover the key elements of what you need to know about SEO.

By improving a website’s visibility in search engine results, businesses can increase their online visibility and drive more traffic to their site. In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of SEO and how it can be used to improve a website’s search engine ranking.

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the process of optimising a website or online content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be accomplished through a variety of techniques, including keyword research, content optimisation, and link building. By improving a website’s visibility in search engine results, businesses can increase their online visibility and drive more traffic to their site.

Keyword research is one of the most important elements of SEO. This process involves identifying the keywords and phrases that people are using to search for products or services like yours. Once you have a list of relevant keywords, you can then optimize your website’s content to include those keywords. This includes using them in your headings, titles, and throughout the body of your content.

Another important aspect of SEO is content optimisation. This includes creating high-quality, informative content that is relevant to your target audience. Search engines value content that is useful and informative, so it’s important to regularly update your website with new, fresh content. Additionally, you should also optimise your images and videos with alt tags and captions, as search engines can’t see the visual content, so it’s important to give them some information about it.

Link building is another important aspect of SEO. This refers to the process of getting other websites to link to your site. Search engines view links as “votes” for your site, so the more links you have pointing to your site, the higher your site will rank in search engine results pages. However, it’s important to make sure that the links you acquire are from reputable sources and not just any site.

Technical SEO is a set of practices that help search engines understand your website structure and content. This includes optimising your site’s code, ensuring that it is mobile-friendly, and making sure that your website loads quickly. Search engines are always working to improve their ability to crawl, index, and understand the web, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on best practices for technical SEO.

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Myths and Misconceptions associated with SEO

There is a lot written about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in this article we will go through some of the myths and misconceptions associated with the subject so you know about SEO.

As SEO is only part of the marketing mix when it comes to generating business through a website some of the myths are of a more general SEO perspective.

So lets look in detail at the Top 12 SEO myths

Myth 1: SEO is a Scam

SEO is no longer a quick fix or approach that use can trick Google. Forget writing text in white, spamming pages with keywords, and grabbing links from offshore none of these approaches can be considered as SEO, but they will most certainly get your website penalised by Google. But there are white hat, ethical approaches to doing things correctly that will help the SEO of your website.

Myth 2: You Can Be Number 1

You have probably received 10 emails this week from companies promising to get you to number 1 in Google. The important point is what search terms are you going to be number 1 for? It could be that the search terms you will be ranked for don’t actually get searched for

Myth 3 : SEO is Dead

Note 1: 50% of search doesn’t result in a click
Note 2: Its never been more important to get found on the web, but it may well take more than SEO
Try this. Go incognito on your browser and type in the search term “High Tip Bucket” in google. See how Google is offering a whole series of colour coded options / variations of the word in order to help the searcher.

Myth 4: Google is SEO

This depends on where your audience is. For example SIRI is powered by Bing. Microsoft windows defaults to Bing
It could be that your audience aren’t using search, perhaps they are visiting trade shows, talking within their trade association or just talking!

Myth 5: Google Knows Everything

Google houses a wealth of data, information and subsequently when applied knowledge. Does it know everything? Ultimately it would probably like to as this will help it further increase its revenues and profits
To see some great cutting edge information and know about seo click here

Myth 6 : Google is Evil

Google is a great search engine. It’s ultimate aim is to deliver a great search experience for a user. With this in mind Google doesn’t care about your website. It doesn’t care if its good or bad, informative or pictorial. Its just interested in making sure that when a user searches for a “subject” they get sites / content that is most relevant to their search.

So don’t think of Google as evil, a bind, confusing, a route to get found for a keyword; just think about the great topics and content you can create.

Myth 7 : If you build it they will come

Unfortunately in most circumstance building a website is no longer enough. Now you need

  • High quality relevant links
  • A fast page speed – to see how traffic you are losing because of a slow site click here
  • Sitemaps, Robot text, to use chronological tags and schemas

Myth 8 : Content is King

An SEO expert walks into a bar (pub, hostelry , wine bar, licensed premises etc) …..
Yes you do need content but it needs to be

  • Unique
  • Authorative
  • Not spammy
  • Relevant to the site
  • Fresh
  • Incorporate a mixture of elements i.e. images, videos as well as text
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Myth 9 : SEO is a one time thing

SEO is’nt an activity that you can do once and you have results for life. You have to maintain consistent SEO optimisation activities in order to achieve sustainable results. SEO is a continuous refinement process that optimises your site for organic ranking. Google algorithm changes and your competitors don’t stop

So, don’t stop your SEO if you want to improve your organic rankings

Myth 10 : Google only ranks fresh content

Content freshness is an important factor that Google considers to determine the quality and rank of your content. You don’t have to create new content every time; your existing well written authoritative content can also help you gain ranking. Ensure you regularly update your existing content to renew its freshness and earn the benefit of content freshness.

Adding to existing content and republishing will improve the effectiveness of your existing content

Myth 11 : Avoid duplicate content

Duplicate content is one of the most popular SEO myth’s that many people believe. Technically there is no penalty for duplicate content, but duplicate content has the potential to impact your organic rankings. If you have duplicate content on your site, search engines divide the authority between copies and ultimately dilute your rankings.

Myth 12 – Page rank is obsolete

PageRank is a Google matrix to scale the authority and quality of a webpage. However, Google stopped the PageRank public scores 6 years ago, and people believed that PageRank was no longer considered, which isn’t true. Google itself confirmed that they still consider the PageRank with other ranking factors to decide your SERP rankings.

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Know about SEO – What is technical SEO?

Technical SEO refers to improving the technical aspects of a website in order to increase the ranking of its pages in the search engines. Making a website faster, easier to crawl and understandable for search engines are the pillars of technical optimisation. Technical SEO is part of on-page SEO, which focuses on improving elements on your website to get higher rankings. It’s the opposite of off-page SEO, which is about generating exposure for a website through other channels.

Why should you optimise your site technically?

Google and other search engines (Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com , DuckDuckgo etc) want to present their users with the best possible results for their query. Therefore, Google’s robots crawl and evaluate web pages on a multitude of factors. Some factors are based on the user’s experience, like how fast a page loads. Other factors help search engine robots grasp what your pages are about. This is what, amongst others, structured data does. So, by improving technical aspects you help search engines crawl and understand your site. If you do this well, you might be rewarded with higher rankings or even rich results.

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Technical SEO Checklist

#1: Use SSL

Secure Sockets Layer – SSL – is a security technology which creates an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. You can spot a site using SSL fairly easily: the website URL starts with ‘https://’ rather than ‘http://.’

So it makes sense, where possible, to ensure your site is secure – this can be done by installing an SSL certificate on your website, though most top website builders now include SSL by default.

#2: Mobile Friendly & Responsive

A ‘responsive’ website design adjusts itself automatically so that it can be navigated and read easily on any device.

Google is clear about the fact that having a responsive site is considered a very significant ranking signal by its algorithms.

#3: Speed Matters

Search engines prefer sites that load quickly: page speed is considered an important ranking signal.

There are several ways you can speed up your site:

  • Use fast hosting.
  • Use a fast DNS (‘domain name system’) provider
  • Minimise ‘HTTP requests’ – keep the use of scripts and plugins to a minimum
  • Use one CSS stylesheet (the code which is used to tell a website browser how to display your website) instead of multiple CSS stylesheets or inline CSS
  • Ensure your image files are as small as possible (without being too pixelated)

#4: Fix duplicate content issues

Duplicate content can either be confusing for users (and indeed search engine algorithms); it can also be used to try to manipulate search rankings or win more traffic.

As a result, search engines aren’t keen on it, and Google and Bing advise webmasters to fix any duplicate content issues they find.

#5: Create an XML sitemap

An XML sitemap is a file that helps search engines to understand your website whilst crawling it – you can think of it as being like a ‘search roadmap’ of sorts, telling search engines exactly where each page is.

#6: Add structured data markup

Structured data markup is code which you add to your website to help search engines better understand the content on it. This data can help search engines index your site more effectively and provide more relevant results.

All You Ever Wanted To Know About SEO

As an SME manufacturer, understanding SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can greatly benefit your online presence and help drive organic traffic to your website. Here are some key points that would be useful for you to know about SEO:

  1. Keyword Research: Identifying relevant keywords related to your manufacturing industry, products, and target audience is crucial. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush can help you find popular search terms with reasonable search volume and competition.
  2. On-Page Optimisation: Optimising your website’s pages is important for search engines to understand your content. This includes using target keywords in page titles, headings, meta descriptions, and throughout the content in a natural and relevant manner.
  3. Technical SEO: Ensuring that your website is technically optimised is essential. This involves improving website speed, ensuring mobile responsiveness, optimising URL structure, using descriptive file names for images, and implementing proper meta tags.
  4. High-Quality Content: Creating valuable and engaging content is vital for SEO success. Develop informative articles, blog posts, and product descriptions that are optimized for relevant keywords. Content should be original, well-written, and provide value to your audience.
  5. Link Building: Building a strong backlink profile can enhance your website’s authority. Seek opportunities to acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable websites, such as industry directories, partnerships, guest blogging, or engaging with influencers in your niche.
  6. Local SEO: If your manufacturing business operates in a specific geographical area, optimising for local search is essential. Ensure your website is listed on Google My Business, with accurate contact information, and encourage customer reviews.
  7. User Experience (UX): Search engines prioritise websites that provide a positive user experience. Make sure your website is easy to navigate, mobile-friendly, and loads quickly. Focus on intuitive design, clear calls to action, and easy-to-understand product information.
  8. Analytics and Tracking: Utilise tools like Google Analytics to monitor your website’s performance, traffic sources, keyword rankings, and user behavior. Regularly reviewing and analyzing data will help you identify areas for improvement and measure the effectiveness of your SEO efforts.
  9. Stay Updated: SEO is an ever-evolving field, and search engine algorithms change frequently. Stay updated with industry news, follow reputable SEO blogs and forums, and adapt your strategies accordingly.
  10. Patience and Persistence: SEO is a long-term strategy that requires time and consistent effort. Results may not be immediate, but with continuous optimization and adherence to best practices, you can gradually improve your website’s visibility and rankings.

SEO is just one aspect of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy. It’s important to consider other channels like social media, email marketing, and paid advertising to create a well-rounded online presence for your SME manufacturing business. If you would like to know more about search engine optimisation contact Andrew Goode MBA, MSc, FCIM Click here to arrange a call

Other articles linked with marketing metrics that may provide additional insight. Marketing metrics and analyticsmarketing ROI Planning , marketing revenue analytics and Marketing Measurement Metrics

Want to pick up the phone and speak to us about your Strategy, Website, Marketing or Business Development project?
Call us on: 01733 361729
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