SEO Blog

Even seasoned marketers tend to refer to ‘Google’ as the generic search engine. Many people focus huge attention on getting to the top of Google and treat the others as also-rans. But is this attitude out-dated?

Here in the UK, Google commands a huge percentage of the overall search market. Recent figures suggest that they receive 9 out of every 10 searches. This puts them in a commanding position and, in many respects, justifies why they receive so much attention from SEO types.

But whilst they remain the safe bet and the most likely to deliver high quantities of traffic to your site, it isn’t fair to simply dismiss the likes of Yahoo, Bing and even Ask. After all, between them they do still command 10% of the search market.
(more…)

Plenty of people have tried, but almost all have failed to get around Google’s pretty strict rules. All search engines hate to be made to look stupid, they dislike even the notion of another individual profiting from breaking their rules. Therefore they work doubly hard to detect such issues and are inclined to punish suitably.

So how might you consider gaming the system?

How about getting a few sites ranking for the same phrase? Clever in principle, horribly transparent in reality.
(more…)

Whenever people ask about SEO, they tend to just refer to improving their Google ranking. This isn’t a huge surprise, particularly as Google have a 90% grip on the UK search market, but it might be a little short sighted.

Of course SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, not just Google Optimisation. This means you are looking to increase your site’s strength in the eyes of all search engines, not just a select few, or even just one. However, each different engine employs a unique algorithm. There are numerous similarities, but there are also subtle differences.

You might get only a trickle of visitors from the likes of Bing and Yahoo, but every little counts. The danger with being entirely Google-centric is that you can often find yourself falling foul of major algorithm updates, perfectly demonstrated by the recent Mayday issue.
(more…)

There have been murmurings for some time that Google are planning to enter the world of SEO. These murmurings have recently turned into shouts, with many seeing the move as imminent.

So what threat does this pose to your rankings and to SEO professionals like myself? Well, initially not a great deal. For a start the service is likely to cost thousands of dollars each month (initial claims suggest $25,000), so it will be well out of reach for most websites.

This is a service set up for the super rich. It is supposed to help the big brands achieve the rankings they ‘deserve’ and keep them out of the clutches of companies who leach off of them. For Google, the major advantage is that they can have a better control over their rankings and ensure that they aren’t getting gamed.
(more…)

I won’t need to tell you how important content is to search engine rankings. As one of the two major factors, alongside links, content gives your site focus and it also provides vital contextualisation.

Whilst having content on every page of a site is ideal, it can become tired and worn over time. This is noticed not only by frequent visitors but by the search engines too. If there is nothing new on a site to index, the search engine spiders won’t visit. If you don’t get the search engine spiders crawling your pages, then what hope for improved rankings?

Of course you don’t want to be chopping and changing your content constantly. This would be impractical and wouldn’t necessarily have the desired result. But the occasional spruce up can always pay dividends.
(more…)

The work of an SEO is never over. Not only does a site require continual development in order to stay competitive, but the techniques and best practices update with equally frequent regularity.

It isn’t something that you need to be nervous of, but awareness is certainly a benefit. Search engine optimisation isn’t a linear story. Whilst there is a beginning, the middle and end are elusive. This is why it is so important to keep your SEO fresh.

By fresh, I mean you can’t get stuck in a groove. Yes, you might have been doing some great SEO work that has always gotten you results in the past, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have the same good fortune going forwards.

Search engines and their algorithms are changing, which in turn influences how we optimise them. Most adjustments are only very slight and won’t make a jot of difference to how you perform SEO. However occasionally these small alterations build up and create something more substantial. This is where keeping an eye on industry commentary can be a real benefit.
(more…)

If you’ve been reading an old SEO manual, it’s probably best to discard much of what you’ve read. This is an evolutionary industry. It is also very much in its infancy. Therefore what worked a decade ago, might well be surplus to requirements today.

Fundamentals like a strong linking structure and good quality keyword optimised content will always endure. They are the foundations on which almost everything else is built. But the algorithms don’t stand still. What was once accepted is now frowned upon.
(more…)

Many of us are inclined to prioritise our work. This is particularly true when we are snowed under with work and don’t have the time or resources to cope. A situation that many website owners find themselves in at one time or another.

So where does everything fit in then? What should be first and what can wait? You’ve got to plan time for designing the architecture of the site as well as the on-site aesthetics. You have to consider marketing your site, perhaps with SEO, PPC, social media or a combination of the three. You also have to fill the pages with content at some point. But which of these is most important? Well, there isn’t one simple answer sadly.

Each component is essential. You can’t have a great design and no architecture to base it one for example. But I’m here to make the case for content.
(more…)

Sometimes, even as professionals in the field, we all have to step back and remind ourselves that it is called Search Engine Optimisation, not simply Google Optimisation. What works for Google might not work as well for Bing or Yahoo, which is why it is so important to become too focussed on just the one.

Okay, we are all well aware of the fact that 90% of all the searches performed in the UK are done so using a Google site. Therefore, it makes a good degree of sense to go after this vastly superior market. In fact it would be somewhat churlish and a little foolhardy to instead focus on one of the competitors.

Fortunately, by and large the optimisation processes are very similar across the board. If you do things right and you do them well, you ought to be rewarded by the full quota of search engines. To be sure though you might want to install the Webmaster Tools from each and see how the search engines perceive your site.

Often it will be the smallest issues that can cause you to lose rankings. So by implementing just a few small changes - changing a few broken links, implementing permanent redirects or adding some copy - you can be boosting your Bing ranking in no time.

As I’ve said before, you can’t ignore the 10% of other potential search traffic providers; however, with the complexity of modern algorithms and the tendency for them all to focus on the quality of links and content, this is a good place to start if you are broadening your horizons. You certainly don’t want to be doing anything to appease a lesser search engine, say Yahoo, which will undermine your Google presence - unless of course you are convinced that this will be the best source targeted traffic.

Open up your horizons by making sure you are getting plenty of decent links and all of your pages are full of excellent, unique content. Keep an eye on how the other search engines view your site and make sure that nothing could be ruining your rankings elsewhere. But always remember that Google is just one of many search engines; granted, it is by far the biggest, but that doesn’t give anybody license to simply forget the others.

As Google post net annual profits of almost $2billion, they have not only shown their own dominance of the online environment, but that search engines today are as strong as they’ve ever been.

The reason that most websites are able to source the vast majority of their traffic is by tapping into this extremely lucrative market. Whilst Google make their profits primarily from selling advertising space on their SERPs - through AdWords - website owners need to get traffic through their site to achieve their goals.

It doesn’t take a massive leap of imagination to determine therefore that your aspirations and those of the search engines actually mirror one another. A search engine needs people to pass through and click on adverts to ensure their income, you need targeted traffic; the more the merrier in both cases.
(more…)