DIY SEO for Small Businesses
All businesses need an up to date web site which reflects branding and products, and enhances the marketing and selling processes - but if that web site can not be seen it is close to useless.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, has become an essential task in web development.
SEO, once the Cinderella role in web development in the nineties has become very effective and an indispensable role within the web design team.
Contrary to belief, you don't actually have to pay high prices for professional SEO.
There is a great deal of SEO work you can do to get your web site seen now.
I've highlighted the four main areas below.
On-Page Optimisation As Google only reads text it is imperative your content is rich with keywords which are specific to your industry.
Put yourself in the mind of a prospective visitor.
What are they likely to put in the search box to find your site? Use Google AdWords tool to find appropriate keywords.
It will generate 1000's of keywords that are currently used along with the amount of times it is used in a month.
Text is often the area site owners spend the least time and money on when it is probably the most important.
What your visitors read will determine whether they stay or leave.
Ensure your text sells your product to your target market.
Link-Building The cornerstone of all SEO projects, an in-coming link from another site will determine how important your site is.
Starting with your own industry ask suppliers or manufacturers you have links with whether you can place a link on their site; offer free samples for a link or space on your site; research the net for parallel businesses to build links.
Remember a reciprocal link is not recognised by a search engine but it is still useful as it maybe picked up by a surfer.
Social media Social media, or web 2.
0 is a great place to create links and also build relationships with parallel businesses and organisations who can compliment your business.
You can also create your own community through a blog and link back regularly to your own website.
A customer base in the making! Useful sites are WordPress (for your blog), Twitter, Facebook (for a business account) and Linked-in.
Article submission Articles can be a great way to create extra links on the web, and increase your credibility as a professional.
It is often useful to see if web sites in your industry (not competitive) would be interested in trading articles; or many blogs accept informative articles.
Also there are numerous article submission web sites with high page ranks.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, has become an essential task in web development.
SEO, once the Cinderella role in web development in the nineties has become very effective and an indispensable role within the web design team.
Contrary to belief, you don't actually have to pay high prices for professional SEO.
There is a great deal of SEO work you can do to get your web site seen now.
I've highlighted the four main areas below.
On-Page Optimisation As Google only reads text it is imperative your content is rich with keywords which are specific to your industry.
Put yourself in the mind of a prospective visitor.
What are they likely to put in the search box to find your site? Use Google AdWords tool to find appropriate keywords.
It will generate 1000's of keywords that are currently used along with the amount of times it is used in a month.
Text is often the area site owners spend the least time and money on when it is probably the most important.
What your visitors read will determine whether they stay or leave.
Ensure your text sells your product to your target market.
Link-Building The cornerstone of all SEO projects, an in-coming link from another site will determine how important your site is.
Starting with your own industry ask suppliers or manufacturers you have links with whether you can place a link on their site; offer free samples for a link or space on your site; research the net for parallel businesses to build links.
Remember a reciprocal link is not recognised by a search engine but it is still useful as it maybe picked up by a surfer.
Social media Social media, or web 2.
0 is a great place to create links and also build relationships with parallel businesses and organisations who can compliment your business.
You can also create your own community through a blog and link back regularly to your own website.
A customer base in the making! Useful sites are WordPress (for your blog), Twitter, Facebook (for a business account) and Linked-in.
Article submission Articles can be a great way to create extra links on the web, and increase your credibility as a professional.
It is often useful to see if web sites in your industry (not competitive) would be interested in trading articles; or many blogs accept informative articles.
Also there are numerous article submission web sites with high page ranks.
