‘Optimisation techniques should not overshadow the priority of quality content’
Maximising your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is achieved by using keywords (or anchor links) to attract and guide visitors to your site and bolster your ranking on Google searches. SEO techniques should not overshadow the priority of quality content and over optimisation is something to avoid, especially with Google developing stronger methods in assessing the organic quality in what we write.
Google decide where their traffic should flow based on the quality of information available for its consumer and will penalise websites that ‘over-optimise,’ i.e., those that demonstrate a clear intent of forcing traffic toward their website through overuse of keywords and URL links etc.
Google have launched numerous algorithm updates that reduce poor quality content from a user’s search engine results, namely the Panda and Penguin tools, which will ask many questions of your content before ranking them on Google search, i.e., Would you trust the information presented in the article?
‘Organic and Inorganic SEO’
You may have heard the terms of Organic or Inorganic SEO and wonder what these are.
Organic SEO is the method to obtain a high placement on the search engine results using unpaid and algorithm-driven results. This can be achieved through using keywords throughout your website, site titles and meta descriptions. Using internal links on site pages and creating regular blog updates are great ways too.
Inorganic SEO is the opposite of organic. This is using paid ads/ campaigns or affiliate marketing to boost your website ranking on a search engine results page. Types of paid advisements include banners ads and PPC (Pay per click) which can help boost results to your website. Even though it can be expensive going for this option it can bring in quicker results and more traffic in a short amount of time.
‘You can’t view Google as the bad guy’
These algorithm tools are smart enough to find websites that are over optimised or structured in a way that indicates they have been set up solely for SEO. Thin content, overuse of your website’s keywords or an overload of URL anchor links are examples of this and Google can then pull potential traffic away from.
You cannot view Google as the bad guy here though. Their priority is getting the right people to the right websites and they will judge the right websites as places where informative content is available to help consumers find the answers they are looking for, which in turn should be our goal as a business landing page anyway.
Your main goal of providing good quality content should not change but here are some tips to help you find the right balance of a well-structured, well optimised website:
‘The instant visual aid’
The use of images on your website is important. Used correctly, images can provide the instant visual aid that catches your visitors attention and informs them what the business is all about without them having to read a word.
‘How will this affect SEO’
Be mindful in how you use images because these will affect SEO and so optimising the use of your visual content, is just as important as that of your written content. Ensure the images you use are scaled to suit your website. This not only refers to the height and width of the image but also the resolution assigned to it. It is imperative you set your images correctly as Google’s algorithm will notice extensive loading times, or the amount of time visitors spend on a web page. If you are trying to access a website that is taking an age to load the image on its landing page, how long are you willing to wait for? Will you be back? Your website Google ranking will suffer, along with your visitor count.
‘Be aware of what images you can legally use’
Be aware of what images you can legally use for your website. Taking images from a Google search or other websites is not legal. You will need to obtain permissions for other people’s images, but you can purchase images through websites such as ‘Shuttershock,’ and there is also plenty of free sites offering images. The other option is to use your own.
‘doorways’
Sound use of URL links on your website will ensure the structure of your site is sound. It can be a challenge to find the right balance in how many links to use around your site and what to name the links that are displayed for the user to click on, but if you focus on the idea of these being doorways in and out of each of your subpages, you shouldn’t go too far wrong. Name the images by ‘where they are taking you.’ This will ensure your website is easy to navigate and consumers are finding the source of information they are after easily.
‘External links’
Google algorithms will focus on your credibility too and if you have got another website displaying external links to divert traffic to your website, this will really help on that count. This is not something that you will be able to rely on, not in the short term at least, but a goal to work toward as your website and following grows to keep it moving in the right direction.
‘Google search tips’
Arguably the most important part of your website optimisation process is the use of good keywords. Picking the right keywords is key and you can use tools such as Google Keyword Planner to help you do that, it will provide you with useful reporting on the number of times your selected keyword has been used to search for over a monthly period. This will help you to determine the best keywords for your website.
‘Search for it yourself’
When you think you have selected your keywords, it is always a good idea to test it on Google and see what results you get, you can also investigate your competition. Those first few sites listed on that returned Google search will be your main competitors. Visit them all and ask yourself, what are they doing? How are their websites structured? Are they missing something that perhaps I could fill?
‘Maintaining good quality content’
There are many factors that go into the successful structure of a website and avoiding the bad habits that Google will pick up on, over optimisation can sometimes be difficult to avoid. Worrying about these negatives can cloud your objective, so always try to focus on maintaining good quality content.
‘Beat the gridlock’
Still confused? Let’s start a conversation. We specialise in this area and can help your website beat the gridlock and start generating the traffic you are looking for.