So, your business website looks great, has excellent graphics and is easy and intuitive to use – job done, right?  Well no actually, the problem is that your website cannot be found at all in the first five or six pages of the search results.  Having a beautiful website that nobody can find is a waste of time and money.  It is the same as investing time and money on producing an excellent poster and then putting the poster up in the middle of a remote forest!

To resolve the problem you must optimise your website content for the search engines and we give below the key areas you need to focus on:

1.      Set clear objectives for what you want to achieve. Prioritise what you want to do.  You will not be able to achieve page one ranking for all your keywords straight away so focus your efforts on your most important keywords – the keywords that relate to your ‘bread and butter’ products and services first.

2.      Carefully select your keywords—and remember they’re likely to be keyword phrases. If you sell doors, you’ll get nowhere with a generic term like doors. “ better keyword phrases would be aluminum external house doors or solid wood internal doors.”

3.      Group your chosen keywords into themed silos.  For example continuing the ‘doors example’ your business might be a joinery company selling various types of doors – internal doors, external doors, garage doors etc.   Specific door types in each category can be grouped together.

4.      Write your website copy for people, not the search engines. Remember it will be people who will buy your products and services—not the search-engine spiders.

The Search engines may think your content is great but if it isn’t compelling to your website visitors and they choose to leave your site, you will sell nothing.

5.      Every page in your website should have unique content with a defined purpose: Be sure about what you want the message on each page to be, and state it clearly. 

Implementing a common-sense SEO strategy is the best way to achieve sustained improvement in your search ranking position.

Keyword Research – How do you find the best keywords for your audience?

There are many online tools for both novice and professional search marketers which will help you identify the best performing keywords for your business, your products and services.  These keyword tools should also be used to help you develop an ongoing content marketing strategy – here are a few ideas to get you going:

Make use of social media to monitor conversations—and get keyword ideas. Keep an eye on what is being talked about in the appropriate social media networking sites and communities.  This will provide you with an accurate and immediate insight into the current topics relating to your business. Refer to search.twitter.com or socialmention.com to see how your intended customers phrase their search requests.

Use the tools available for SEO keyword research.  Use the free or low-cost keyword research tools to refine your content strategy.  The following tools are worth a look:

• The Google Wonder Wheel – this shows alternative search terms that Google believes are related to your original search query, a bit like a thesaurus.
• The AdWords Keywords Tool – this shows which keyword terms have been searched most frequently.  It also shows the most specific or long-tailed keywords, relating to your search subject, that have been searched for in the recent past.

Brainstorm your keywords list. View each of your keywords as a question being asked by your customers and prospects. If you can provide useful answers to these questions you will be more likely to convert your visitors into customers.

Organise your keyword research. Create a spreadsheet for each new project, and identify just one primary keyword, and no more than two secondary keywords,  for each page of content to be placed online.

The ideal keyword phrase considers local search volume, global search volume, and keyword competitiveness.

Avoid using your industry’s jargon, use the same language that your customers are using in their search phrases.

If you would like more information about Search Engine Optimisation or Content Marketing please leave a message below or visit WSI IMS – WSI Digital Marketing Services in Surrey, Sussex, Kent & throughout the South East of England.