Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
This white paper will explain how a free online presence in the natural listings of search engines can benefit your business and what you need to know before you get started.
What SEO means?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is all about improving the composition, linking and content of a website in order to obtain top rankings in search engine listings such as Google, Yahoo or MSN, optimisation of your website could make a huge difference with how many hits you can get in both the number and quality of visitors.
When you search for something on a search engine some results will be ‘pay per click advertising' or ‘paid inclusion listings', usually on the right hand side of the screen aka sponsored listings. However, the bulk of the findings will be page upon pages of natural organic or keyword specific listings - these are the ‘free' or ‘natural' listings shown on the left.
Websites that are listed within the top 10 results can expect to receive many hits each day, increasing the amount of interest in their business and vice versa. Search Engine Promotion (SEP) can often generate a good return for a business that is willing to spend the time and money improving the content, code and structure of their website.
Getting into the top 10 listings isn't easy unless you can afford to buy your way to the top, or employ an agency, like Something4, who has the know how and expertise to help promote your business over the web.
Why you should adopt search engine promotion techniques?
Imagine that you run a flower business in London. A possible buyer goes on the web and enters the search criteria ‘flower shops London'. Your listing is number 29 within the google.com search results. There are another 28 results (ie 3 pages) of flower shops in London that have a higher listing than you. Chances are you won't be getting much, if any, business!
Most people believe that if the companies are listed within the top 10 search results, then they are the top brands in their field. 65% of people use a search engine as their primary step to buying online and four out of five of these people in the UK use Google, the majority preferring to click on the free/natural left listings - not pay per click! The majority of people won't even consider looking further than the first page of results if they don't find what it is they are looking for!
When searching for a particular company a third of people will often guess the URL and hope that they will be directed to the website automatically. 83-84% of people however, still search through the free listings! Of this group, 60% is likely to only use the first page of results before altering their search criteria, leaving only 30% looking beyond to the 2nd and 3rd pages.
If you consider these facts, then it seems obvious that you should be considering Search Engine Marketing (SEM) as a key way to start increasing your business online especially when we see trends in the behaviour of people searching on the web. If you focus just on pay per click, you could be aiming for only around 9% of web users with a well thought out optimisation strategy you could be targeting, and hitting, 40% or more..
How do I do it?
Getting to the top of the listings isn't easy! You should take into account the composition and content of your site, especially the tags, amount of text and proportion of key words! A primary, secondary and niche keyword set per page or phrase per page is generally preferred, as the search engines are more likely to miss out pages that have been filled up with masses of them.
Looking at site maps, RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, downloadable white papers and press releases are things you can use to enhance your website and increase the chances of working your way to the top of the search engine results pages (SERPS).
Different search engines use different strategies. One that may work for Google doesn't necessarily mean it will work with Yahoo or Ask Jeeves. It takes a large amount of know-how and expertise of Search Engine Analysis (SEA) to achieve these goals.
something 4 - the online innovators have the necessary experience and expertise to enable your company to optimise its search results! If you want to improve you chances of increasing business from the web, you may want to consider using the team of experts in our netcallidus division and help your business boost its potential using Search Engine Optimisation.
