SearchEngineOptimisation.com, only one way up

In SEO, the researching and selection of keywords is extremely important to your online marketing success. After all, it is the keyword selection that will attract search engines to your site providing them with insight into the purpose of your online business. It is also these keywords that will attract traffic to the website. Keywords are a way of informing others about the purpose of your site. This message must be devised carefully and delivered well to be effective in gaining you the results your business needs to do well.

As keywords are so fundamental to search engine optimisation there are many online businesses that invest heavily in finding keywords that will support their marketing efforts. However once these keywords have been identified often they are used in the wrong way. Rather than using them in a way that is appropriate for the content they are publishing on the site they cram keywords into every line and paragraph.

A Black Hat Method – Keyword Stuffing

This is not an uncommon practice and many create blog posts, articles and press releases that are stuffed with keywords. For many, this is done out of ignorance rather than unethical thinking but it will not help an online business succeed.

This approach is known as keyword stuffing and is deemed as an unethical approach to search engine optimisation. Reputable online businesses are aware of the damage it can do both in relation to search engines and their target audience so avoid it. This black hat SEO method is a form of manipulation and is used by some in an attempt to deceive search engines into giving a site a better ranking. Often these sites are of a poor quality. Search engines will penalise sites that use this practice as they have a responsibility to the searchers to ensure that they provide high quality results. Those that try to get an unfair advantage this way risk being blacklisted.

What are the Consequences?

The consequences of keyword stuffing are significant. Search engines are equipped to locate those sites that use keyword stuffing and can dish out penalties. Your rankings could become affected and some sites have been banned from the search results.

In addition to this, you will alienate your target audience as the quality of content produced when using this technique is inadequate. Readers will struggle to understand the message you wish to communicate and the information within the content will be unreadable and ineffective.

Online businesses must build trust and respect in order to succeed in the online market. Keyword stuffing will damage your online reputation as this behaviour is seen as unethical by both readers and search engines. You also need to build high quality links to have effective SEO but this is impossible as other site owners will not want to be linked with you.

If you have used keyword stuffing inadvertently then it’s time to get it right. At searchengineoptimisation.com, we are a search engine optimisation company offering expert strategies for keyword development.

When managing a search engine optimisation campaign for your website the content you place on the site is very important. This also relates to the images you put there. The number of image searches is increasing online today, and this influential part of the content strategy can be a great way of attracting traffic to your site. It has also been proven that the type of images chosen can directly influence the length of time that a person stays on a web page, and it is imperative that business owners approach images on their site with great care.

Do Your Image Research

It is worth putting some time into researching the best images to put on the website. There are plenty of high quality sources of images on the internet which offer a wide selection. Most businesses will find images online that are appropriate to their industry and product. Take time looking over the various images available to you and be very choosy about the ones that make it into your final selection. You want to be 100 per cent sure that the images you use are right for the site – a good choice will make all the difference to your traffic volumes.

Keep Your Images Relevant to the Content

The images you choose for your web page should relate closely to the content displayed there in order to provide you with the most effective results. The aim is to attract visitors to an image and then once they land on the webpage they should find relevant content to read. It is only this way that people will stay on the sight. If the images have no relevance to the content there. The content must be appropriate to their interests and appealing from a layout and content point of view. In SEO relevancy of content in all its forms is crucial to the success of the campaign.

Spell Things Out for the Search Engines

Relevancy is also important for the search engines. If you want your results to be found and ranked highly then you have to ensure that you make it clear to them what the image is relating to and which search it matches to. One of the best ways of doing this is to add a descriptive image file name. In the title you need to add the main components of the image to the file name adding a keyword if possible so that the search engines stand the best possible chance of understanding what it is.

You can also add descriptive text to the alt tags. Images cannot be explored in the same way that text can be by the search engines so they rely heavily on any text attached to the image. By adding relevant text you can fully optimise your web page and be assured that you have given your site the best chance of ranking well in the SERPs.

At searchengineoptimisation.com we are an SEO company offering a full SEO service to our clients ensuring that their SEO campaigns are successful and real results can be seen.

In SEO your online reputation is just as important as optimising your site with relevant keywords and great links. If you were to compare the online world to that of the celebrity you may be mistaken for thinking that any publicity is good publicity. Is it not true that celebrities turn a blind eye to what the critics say? Not always. Most celebrities can be shocked and upset at some of the comments written about them by the press. However the frantic media storm can often pay off with album sales rocketing through the charts or them being inundated with offers for movie parts. Unfortunately for your online business, managing a company’s reputation can be much trickier.

Bad PR can Damage Your Business

Gossip and media hype are a celebrity’s business. They may appear enraged at the comments of some media critic but it would be foolish for an actor or rock star to completely reject the hype around their stardom. There are those who have a well planned strategy when it comes to attracting media attention from speaking out on a political issue to flying out to a third world country to help the disadvantaged.

For online businesses it may not be as simple. A bad reputation will not endear you to customers. Without a trusted brand most companies will struggle to succeed. Suppliers may wonder about trading with you, customers will be concerned about the reliability of your service and search engines may begin to look upon you as untrustworthy. Just how can you ensure that your online reputation is positive and customers keep the faith in you?

Seek Help from Online Management Experts

Online reputation management is a complex and detailed process and requires outside help from a search engine optimisation company. When the internet is on your side it can be a wonderful thing. Your brand starts to grow and develop, people start to explore your site and sales increase. However it takes little time for a campaign to take hold against your business online. With the launch of so many social media sites critics can quickly tarnish your reputation with access to so many internet users at the click of a button.

The first step in managing your online reputation is to be clear about the content that you publish. If you publish something that is likely to be deemed controversial you need to think carefully about the possible repercussions. An SEO company can advise you on the best way of managing this type of scenario and avoid PR and content becoming bad publicity.

On the other hand content that is attracting a negative response should also be removed as this can equally dent your brand image. The balance of inspiring and engaging content is a fine one and needs to be handled with care.

When there is an instance of bad publicity how you handle the aftermath is all important. Sitting back and not responding can sometimes be more damaging than going in there with all guns blazing.

At searchengineoptimisation.com we can help with all areas of SEO.

Linkbait is a great way of raising your online presence and building your online reputation as an industry authority. There are a number of vehicles you can use for linkbait from articles to widgets. Here are some tips on creating effective linkbait for your SEO:

The Importance of Layout

For successful linkbait there are a number of ways content can be laid out. Lists are often very effective as they sit well with a catchy title. They also chop up the data into smaller parts that gives the impression of a shorter piece of writing. If the title outlines that there will be seven numbered sections to the content – for example ‘Seven ways to make your business more successful’ – they are more likely to read to the end. This is contrast to a piece entitled ‘Making your business more successful’ that is one solid piece of text.

Using a ‘how to’ tutorial or guide is also very effective. Readers want to see a comprehensive guide on the subject and it also presents the writer as an expert in their field.

Highlight the Key Points

Numbered lists or section headers are a great way of highlighting key points so that they stand out to the reader. It also makes a large block of text easier on the eye and more readable. It can also be extremely effective to include info graphics alongside key points to keep the content simple and help readers to grasp new concepts and ideas. It also helps to relate key points to common references or popular culture so that it can be more easily digested. For example drawing parallels between the main concepts of search engine optimisation and popular movies can simplify some complex ideas. In short, it helps to create connections between things that a reader already knows and those that they are starting to learn.

Keywords

An SEO company will tell you that by adding in some keywords to the text of your linkbait you’ll improve your rankings no end. Your title may not be what a reader is searching for exactly so including keywords can ensure your content is returned in search results. However don’t get bound up with creating content for the search engines – linkbait is about attracting readers. Don’t overuse keywords and don’t wedge in keywords where a better term would explain the point in a better way.

Use the same principles that you learnt in school when writing essays – go over the same points outlined in the main body and tie up any loose ends. You can end the content with a sentences that rounds up the article as a whole or use a quotation instead. You should also add a request for comments or information. This will encourage people to interact with you sharing opinions, thoughts and feedback. Controversial linkbait will create much discussion and this is great for generating traffic and links.

At searchengineoptimisation.com are an SEO services company that can offer expert advice on all aspects of SEO.

There is now a growing percentage of online businesses that use Twitter as part of their SEO and social media marketing initiatives. It has become common practice to set up and maintain a Twitter account to share insights and information with their followers. However there are varying goals in using Twitter and depending on why the social media site is being used this can impact its effectiveness.

Everyone else Does It

There is a large proportion of businesses that are using the site because ‘everyone else is doing it‘. They are aware that they should do it for their online marketing and sales but don’t really know how to use it properly. They jump with both feet into the world of Twitter and attempt to take advantage of what this social media site has to offer. Before you make a hash of it, it pays to invest time in understanding what Twitter can do to help the business achieve.

Social Butterfly

There are other online companies that opt for Twitter because the website owners use Twitter for their own personal social networking. They enjoy the site and love being part of an online community so want the business to be involved also. However using Twitter for pleasure is very different to using Twitter for business. If a business approaches Twitter as they would be communicating with friends the results will be poor.

Often with this scenario the business owner omits to add content that will add value to the business as the promotion of their company is not at the forefront of their minds. People following the business profile may vaguely be aware of the online business and may even interact directly regarding the site but they will usually develop little understanding of what the company offers making the exposure ineffective and a waste of time and resources.

Supporting SEO

People may adopt Twitter as part of their marketing campaign to complement a search engine optimisation campaign. They may have heard that using social media sites can be hugely advantageous and the development of a profile on Twitter is a good investment of time.

When using Twitter to support SEO efforts companies tend to ensure the content they add is relevant and engaging. Users will find the information helpful and valuable and they will develop a clear picture of what the company is about and the benefits of interacting with them. The site owner quickly develops their profile as an authority on the relevant industry within the Twitter community and this can boost search engine rankings. Through the choice of content it is quickly apparent that the site owner is an expert within the field and followers learn to trust the site and its brand.

Using Twitter to support your SEO campaigns is a worthwhile way of using the social media site. It can boost rankings and create positive brand awareness. At searchengineoptimisation.com we can help you to incorporate Twitter and other social media sites into your SEO campaigning to get the best results.

Linkbait is an important part of your SEO strategy. Although the word may conjure some negative connotations, it is in fact high quality content that engages internet users and makes them want to either link to it or share it with others. This may be due to its attractive layout or the concepts and ideas written about. Linkbait can dramatically increase traffic and is an excellent method for link building, developing your website and disseminating ideas. When linkbait is created with the goal of educating visitors and raising the amount of traffic, it can also become an effective means of building a positive online reputation thus maximising customer loyalty.

There are many forms of linkbait to choose from. The most popular are articles, videos, info graphics, widgets and quizzes. Regardless of the format, linkbait must be emotionally appealing and engage readers so they feel compelled to link to it or to send it on to others. Here are some tips for making your content attractive to readers:

An Eye Catching Title

The title is very important in capturing a browsing reader’s interest. It is this that will hold the attention and inspire someone to read on. It should also act as a means of informing a reader about the subject and content within the main body. A controversial title will stand out and you can also try making connections between two unlikely subjects or things. For example ‘What Gordon Brown can teach us about SEO’ is a good title for attracting attention. Keep the title concise and snappy to stand out from all the other content out there.

Illustrate with Infographics and Images

Readers of all walks of life love to see good images and info graphics. Good quality visuals add interest and can break up a body of text effectively. This makes the content more readable and will illustrate key points. There is nothing more appealing than an interesting and informative piece of text that is highlighted by interspersed images and graphics.

Infographics take time to create but they are wonderful for simplifying information and key concepts. The most commonly seen info graphics are graphs, pie charts, charts and statistics put together in a bright, colourful and engaging way. This form of information will very quickly establish you as an expert on your industry subject.

Keeping it Concise

If you are writing an article as linkbait then don’t get hung up on the number of words. Put breaks into the content to that a longer piece looks shorter and can be digested more easily; internet readers scan content. Keep each point succinct whilst explaining ideas fully. You can include examples but make sure each sentence is used wisely. Although the word count isn’t everything aim for 800 to 1000 words depending on your subject or market. In a more technology based arena content can become more in-depth and therefore longer whereas a lighter topic such as entertainment will be shorter.

At searchengineoptimisation.com we are an SEO company offering a wide range of search engine optimisation services.

Managing your online reputation should be high up there on your priority list. If your reputation becomes tarnished via some negative blog backlash or some damning PR it can be difficult to recover and also most impossible to remove traces of the bad press. However if you’ve hit a stumbling block with your online reputation management are there some scenarios that you can recover from? Here is a run down of those online reputation management situations that can be redeemed and those that, sadly, might not be:

Situations Your Company Could Recover From

Stolen or copied work – if you find that someone is copying your work and you have a copyright on it you do have some legal powers to enforce the removal of the offending content. The first step will be to explain the legal position to the Webmaster involved in a polite and direct way. If this fails you can submit a DCMA takedown notice either with the search engines or their ISP. If even this fails then you may have grounds for a court case.

A couple of listings – If there are one or two blemishes this can be managed more effectively than a full outbreak of bad PR or information.

Low rankings – If you have a single negative listing at position 7 of the search engine results you can more often than not brush this off. However if the listing is coming in at position 1 or 2 there will be a need for some well planned SEO and online reputation management campaigning.

Third party hosting negative information – You can sometime get this removed by referring to the terms of service or approaching a moderator.

Defamatory or False Information – If you can prove the information is false or intentionally damaging again there is a room for legal intervention. People are protected when reporting facts and also when stating an opinion. However when untrue accusations are made or defamatory content is published the law takes the opposite stance.

Impossible Situations for Online Reputation Management:

A multitude of adverse search results – If there are many negative listings it can be impossible to remove them all and you may need to look at how to address the problems directly.

News incident reported by many sources – This is almost impossible to eradicate and news sites are very hardy; so look at addressing this with positive publicity.

Reputation Assassination

If you are being attacked by someone who understands SEO and holds a grudge they may post negative posts on several sites, optimise those sites and link into the bad pages. This can be a challenge to clean up. However if you are a big company with many thousands of search results against your name it can be ineffective. However, smaller companies are very vulnerable.

Government records, judgements and injunctions – even when something has been resolved with the law, Google will still hold reference to it. As Google indexes government sites and ranks them highly the information is likely to be there for some time.

At searchengineoptimisation.com we have a wealth of expertise in search engine optimisation and online reputation management.

There is many an SEO company out there that deals in black hat techniques wanting your business. These unscrupulous organisations aim to make as much cash as they can and will manipulate ill-informed website owners into parting with their search engine optimisation budget. Most website owners are savvy to black hat techniques and are aware of the pitfalls of going down this route. However there are also many site owners that can be encouraged into following these unethical practices.

It is often said that black hat SEO is easy to master and can bring much success whereas white hat SEO can seem challenging and hard to learn. It is true that going down the ethical route will mean digesting large amounts of information and learning new techniques and this fact can be exploited by those looking to tempt you down a disreputable path.

It is also often said that black hat SEO produces results fast. Here is where the alarm bells should really start ringing. Ethical SEO practices create results gradually. You need to invest a significant amount of time to see your search engine optimisation develop whereas some of the less reputable techniques will create positive results quickly. However, as with all quick fixes the effect is not long lasting and there can be some dire consequences.

Although on the surface black hat techniques may seem to offer great results with the promise of great rankings, huge surges in traffic and great sales increases are usually false. This can often appeal to website owners who are looking for a reduction in costs however there will be no value for money in choosing this route.

True SEO experts will advise you that each business is different and therefore each SEO campaign is unique. A black hat SEO company will offer a blanket approach that cannot work for all companies. Their reassurance that there is little risk to using these methods is also false as approaching SEO without fully understanding the individual markets and audience is sure to fail.

Another way these unscrupulous companies lock website owners in is by appealing to the fear element. Many business owners are frightened of tackling SEO and therefore shy away from optimising their sites. This plays right into the hands of black hat companies as they will offer a one-stop shop where everything is taken care of. This removes control away from the website owner giving them false reassurance. It’s very important to be involved in the SEO efforts on your site even when dealing with true SEO professionals. Only you can advise the SEO team about your market, customers and product offering.

Finally, if a black hat SEO agency advises you that there is no need to worry because the search engines aren’t interested in these techniques and that because so many sites employ these method they won’t be penalised. Well, that couldn’t be further from the truth as search engines are very quick to punish sites who employ this form of SEO.

Avoid the unethical methods. At searchengineoptimisation.com we offer a reputable service to our SEO clients.

Content ideas really shouldn’t be hard to come up with, but they are. It’s the same problem sweaty 15-year-olds have in English exam rooms all over the country: pressure to perform, plus the whole world to choose from, results in writer’s block.

This is nothing to be ashamed of. Content ideas aren’t really given credit as SEO tools, but they are. It’s something that can be at least partially resolved by consulting a professional writer, and you can talk to us at SearchEngineOptimization.co.uk. It can also be resolved by having a list of content ideas standing by as part of your search engine optimization tools for those moments when inspiration fails.

Here are 10 of the Best:

1 (and 2). How-to guides and top 10 lists. These first two ideas are such old SEO tools that they really shouldn’t need much explaining. Every online writer uses these two frequently, and with good reason. The words ‘how to’ are some of the most commonly entered in Google’s search box, so covering a few how-to topics is an excellent idea. Top [X number] lists also prove very popular due to the combination of useful advice and the list format.

Something to remember when using these articles as search engine optimisation tools is to keep the article on-topic. An article on a random subject will not help your SEO. Work around your keywords, rather than slotting them in.

3. Top [X number] tips for [X topic]. Internet users frequently approach sites looking for advice. The only thing better than finding the advice you need is finding the advice you didn’t know you needed.

4. Reviews. Whether you’re reviewing a product you sell or something you’ve come across, reviews can provide valuable information to your users. Even better, they attract traffic from anyone searching for that product.

5. Resource reviews. Every industry has a long list of resources that are available on the net. Help your readers out by listing them or reviewing them individually.

6. Interviews. Interviews with prominent players in your industry can provide some excellent reading, and help you to build up relationships with other people in your industry. A well-written interview should attract a link, further boosting your SEO.

7. Definitions. There are always industry terms that a newcomer might not understand. Explaining them can provide some great content for search engine optimisation, as it allows multiple mentions of keywords.

8. Industry commentary. It can be a great idea to comment on industry news as you come across it. One note of caution here is to be aware of the time limitations on such content.

9. ‘My strategy for [X]‘. Internet users are usually very interested in strategies to get ahead. If the tone of your site allows, presenting it as your own personal strategy can help solidify your relationship with your users.

10. Review trends. Again, this is something that can be used in any industry. The internet develops at such a pace that trends occur all over the place. Observe them, and comment on what you think about them.

When running a search engine optimisation campaign, a great deal of focus is placed on getting new and relevant traffic to your website. A lot of search engine optimisation techniques can create new flows of traffic to the web pages of a business but in order for this to be possible and to work effectively, the website the business has must be optimised correctly.

If you are currently running an online business and are not satisfied with the results you are producing, it is time to take another look at your website and see if any improvements can be made. If your site is optimised in the best way possible then there will be no holding you back once your SEO campaign begins to take form.

One area for attention when evaluating how ready your website is for SEO is the content management systems you are using. You may not immediately think content management systems make a significant difference in SEO but they do, and using one of the SEO content management systems available can make a huge difference to your performance in the future. There are a few reasons why SEO content management systems are so important to online businesses today.

A high quality SEO content management system will enable you to make changes to your metas as often as you like. This means alterations to the titles, descriptions and keywords you use in your website can be changed if the need should arise. If you are continuously carrying out research and SEO analysis, it is likely you will find you want to make changes and SEO content management systems make this possible.

SEO content management systems also enable business owners to ensure the URLs used on each of their web pages are friendly to the search engine web crawlers and internet users too. Often, URLs can become confusing and difficult for the search engines to read and understand. However, if an effective content management system is used this will not be a problem as your URLs will always be simple and user-friendly.

Professional SEO content management systems are also beneficial because they enable site owners to add new content to their sites whenever they like and this content can be displayed in different ways to get the attention of users and the search engines too. You need to be able to contribute to your site whenever you feel appropriate and need a quick and easy way to do so. An efficient and well-designed content management system can make this possible and therefore help you to keep your site updated and a favourite of the search engines.

At Searchengineoptimisation.com, we have developed an impressive content management system that our clients love to use. We understand the importance of SEO content management systems and so have developed a system which is user-friendly and which helps our clients in terms of search engine optimisation too. When running an SEO campaign you have to do all you can to make it work and choosing an SEO content management system is an important step in this process.