SEO Blog

Newcomers to the world of Internet marketing might be surprised to hear and SEO Consultant suggesting that SEO isn’t an exact science. So what is it? How does it work? And what will it take to get to the bottom of how it all works?

Well, expert or not, it’s very unlikely that anybody can truly say that they have the one finite key to exceptional SEO. The reason for this is that SEO is determined by the search engines. Their algorithms are what ultimately decides where a website ranks; unfortunately Google and friends aren’t very forthcoming when it comes to revealing their inner workings.
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Christmas is a special time of year for everyone. Children look forward to Santa bringing lots of presents, adults look forward to some time off work and the party season, whilst etailers prepare for their busiest time of year.

According to the latest statistics from Econsultancy, up to 93% of consumers will be doing some of their Christmas shopping online. This means that Internet based businesses everywhere have to be in full swing, anticipating new festive searches and adapt their websites to accommodate this festive theme.
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It’s not always an easy to decision to make. Perhaps you’ve got a website that is underperforming or are just starting out and have no clue about the technical aspects of SEO; either way you need help, but where can you get it from?

Well, there’s two things that you can do: 1) go and learn everything that there is to know about search engine optimisation and implement all the changes yourself or 2) hire a professional SEO consultant.
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If you have added toxic links to your site, deliberately or inadvertently, the consequences can be dire. Search engines may dock you numerous rankings across the board and could even have you removed entirely; this is the very definition of an SEO disaster.

So if you have these links coming into your site and it is suffering as a consequence, what can you do? Well, first of all, get rid of the link and any others that may be devaluing your linking strategy. Whilst a good number of links is key to improving the strength of a site, they have to be the right kind and can’t be ill-gotten.

A toxic link is essentially anything coming from a website that is considered disreputable; perhaps they are known to sell links (often known as a link farm), have a reputation for spreading malware or have been found to be spamming Google – none  good news for you. Don’t pay for links from questionable sources and always keep an eye on who exactly is linking in at all times.

The recovery of search engine rankings can take time. Although after your pages have been re-indexed and the linking process evaluated again, you should begin to notice a few upward arrows. Essentially you’ll be starting again, although with the significant advantage of already having your content and other SEO work already intact.

Essentially, when you upset Google its best not to try and fight it. If there is something on your site that shouldn’t be there, whether or not it is there by your own hand or not, get rid of it. If you can’t immediately find the offending toxic link in your midst, then I’m afraid you’ll have to go through and remove any links that you can’t knowingly trust. This is the only sure-fire way to ensure that you get the offending article and make your peace with Google, Bing et al.

If you are suddenly plummeting down through the rankings, then you should try to contact Google directly. Their advisors will be able to let you know if there are any reasons, beyond simple algorithmic changes, that you should be aware of. This is often the only way that you can find out if the issue lies with toxic links or elsewhere in your optimisation attempts.

Fundamentally though the best advice is to not get involved with anything online that you don’t fully understand. If you’re paying money for links, make sure that it is from a legitimate source or don’t bother – you’ll just end up wasting your time and money. Don’t do anything that contravenes search engine rules – which basically means using your common sense.

There are, believe it or not, still thousands of businesses who are yet to create a website or, for that matter, any kind of online presence. Of course the Internet isn’t for everybody; if you’ve got a good local base of customers or don’t have the resources to manage a website then it probably won’t add much value to your business. But for everybody else, there’s no excuse.

The Internet has become a modern day pastime. It has outgrown its original existence as just another communication medium in a sea of media to become vital to many people’s everyday existence.  When we seek information it is often the first place we turn to, the same too can be said when we are looking to find products and services.
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With the revelation that Google is likely to adopt page load time as a ranking factor, it begs the question: what else are they measuring on your site? Search engine algorithms are a closely guarded secret and very few are privy to the most intimate of details, especially not the ranking factors, of which there are reputed to be hundreds.

For anybody looking to optimise a website, a basic understanding of ranking factors is essential. What is known of these algorithmic determiners has been discovered through various messages from the search engines or decoded through extensive research and shared amongst the SEO community. So what do we know?
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You don’t have to go against the grain. You don’t have to do anything extra special (although there’s no harm in trying. For good SEO you just have to focus on being unique.

The benefits of being unique are manifold. Individuality should seep into every area of SEO and help a website distinguish itself from the hordes of competitors out there. So where should your site be distinctive? Well, here’s a short list:
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A bit of an open question this. But it’s all well and good optimising a website, but you have to know exactly who it is that you’re targeting. Is it the customer? If so what is your demographic, what language do they use and how should they be addressed? If it’s the search engine, then which one and how are you going to focus efforts?

The truth is optimising for a search engine is likely to be fruitless. The kinds of websites that actually do this aren’t out there for visitor satisfaction, they just want traffic. They’re the kind of black hat SEO sites that have endless links and a few Google ads on the side. As I’ve mentioned previously, optimisation is a balancing act between the audience and search engines; but your visitor must always be given the priority.
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It seems slightly ridiculous to say it, but the vast majorities of stores and businesses have a certain catchment area. Yes, clients may also come from afar, but their core customer base is located within a certain proximity of their office, or at least one of their offices.

Local search targets this key demographic. Internet users searching for services within a certain county or city are looking for something specifically, something that you could ultimately help them with.
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Results in search engine optimisation are rarely immediate. If you want instant results, you should probably consider Pay per Click (PPC) advertising instead. However, despite this lack of immediacy, SEO is still very much the forerunner when it comes to Internet marketing.

If you are just setting out on your voyage of SEO discovery, then you have to be prepared for the trials and tribulations that lie ahead. There will be times where nothing seems to be working, but you have to learn to ride these out. SEO, despite what you may hear elsewhere, isn’t an exact science. It is made up of a series of educated guesses based on the successes and failures of the wider community’s efforts over the years.
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