Search engine optimisation – it’s a minefield! What’s more, it’s constantly changing.
I’ve spent a lot of time researching search engine optimisation over the last couple of years, and I’ll be sharing my findings through this blog. Here’s a snippet of some of the things I’ve learned – starting at the beginning – the basics.
1. When a search engine such as Google knows of the existence of your website, it sends out “bots” or “crawlers” to scan your website and figure out what it is about. They look at key elements of the site, called “meta” data, where they gain a reasonable insight into the contents of your site. They also scan the contents of your site and look for common words in titles that are repeated throughout the content. From this, they pick out “keywords” that sum up what your website is about. Then, when people search for information, the search engines match the keywords used by surfers to return all of the websites they have stored for those keywords. So for example, if your website provides information on how to overcome depression, you will want to ensure that “How to overcome depression”, “Overcoming Depression” and other variations with the same meaning, are included within the design and navigation of your website, and within the content. BUT – not to the point where it detracts from readibility.
You can alert Google to the presence of your website at this link: http://www.google.co.uk/addurl/
2. There could be hundreds, thousands or even millions of websites that match those keywords. So, search engines such as Google also have a ranking system. When they scan each website, they rank it on a number of elements, such as inbound and outbound links (links to content within your website and links to other websites), variation and relevance of digital assets (video, text, audio, photo), regularly updated content, and back links (number of links coming to your website). This helps them to establish which order to return the websites, and which websites to put at the top of the list.
3. It’s important here to remember that this system is based on keywords, so up until very recently, there has been a huge emphasis on keyword research. What keywords should you use? Where should you place them? How many times should you use them?
More recently, however, I’ve read that Google has taken a giant step forward in intelligence. Google now claims that it can figure out your content. It can work out synonyms for each word. Some argue that this means keywords are less important in the design of your website, as Google can actually work out different variations of words to describe the content of your site. From what I can figure out – this is still debatable.
I personally would rather just make sure that I use the keywords I feel are appropriate to my business objectives, and if Google can decipher even more keywords for me, without me having to worry about it myself – then GREAT! Keywords are still important, and there are many other benefits to carrying out some research on keywords within your sector – which I’ll come on to in another post!
4. By far the quickest way to get a healthy search engine presence is to implement a pay per click campaign. You know those sponsored links that appear at the very top of the list in a different colour and the links that run down the right hand side of the page, when you search for something using Google. These are in effect advertisements. The great thing about these is that you only pay for the advertisement when someone clicks on it! Brilliant idea, an advertisement you only pay for when it works! Sounds wonderful! And it can be, when it works! Nevertheless, there is an art and a science to getting it right, as there is with search engine optimisation as a whole.
It’s worth bearing in mind that whilst there are a number of “tricks” web designers can implement in order to boost the ranking of your website, Google are working hard to eliminate the effectiveness of these tricks, in order to ensure that they return websites of quality. Be very wary of a designer who claims to be able to get you to that top spot on Google quickly and easily.
If you need support with the search engine optimisation of your website, I can help. I have experience in the following areas:
- Writing web content that is optimised for the search engines
- Performing basic keyword analysis
- Understanding the work a web designer needs to carry out in order to optimise your website within the design
- Methods and strategies for including links and generating back links to your website
I also work with web designers who can complete the technical aspect of search engine optimisation within the build of your website and marketing agencies who can implement effective pay per click campaigns. Check out the services under Marketing for Mental Health Professionals, or drop me an email.
Great article Tina! Thank you for sharing this with me!