How Search Engine Optimisation or SEO Actually Works

keyword research
In the world of SEO or Search Engine Optimisation there are “broad” or what we call “ego” keywords” that attract superficial browsers and “money keywords” that attract buyers that are ready to act…identifying and differentiating these is the very first step in maximising the Return On Investment (ROI) of your web site with the Search Engines. Using the latest SEO tools and software, it is our job to find you the optimum balance in your keyword phrase list to be targeted.

technical infrastructure and web architecture
Not all websites are created equal. Some websites are great and ideally search engine-friendly, but many we come across are not. A key part of our role is to assist you and your web developer to ensure that as many pages of your website are correctly indexed and that there are no technical impediments to your online success.

For a preview of how the Search Engines are currently indexing your website, got to Google and in the search box type site:www.yourwebaddress.com …and see how many pages have been indexed and how Google is displaying your pages…and then call us if you have had a nasty surprise.

on-site content
People read magazines and news articles but they treat web pages quite differently…they tend to scan them first, then read when engaged…and search engines read web pages in an even more different way. Search Engines don’t actually read your web pages – they read the code that writes your web pages, and Search Engines like to see keyword-focused, original content that is presented in a particular way, a way that we are particularly familiar with.

Now, if you take away nothing else from this page, please remember this…Search Engines are blind, they cannot see images or view fancy “flash” movies…Search Engine “spiders” or “bots” see code and text, end of story.

Yes, “look and feel” is vitally important in motivating visitors to explore your website, and in guiding them to buy…but they need to find your website first.

off-site profile
In the simplest of terms, a Search Engine sees a link from another website to your website as being like a vote of confidence in your web site. Search Engines believe that if other websites are linking to your web pages, you must have something good to link to and they will rate your page being linked to more positively.

Search Engines today take into consideration several additional factors other than just the number of links when evaluating your off-site profile:

• the reputation or “Trust” value of sites linking to your web site
• the Theme or Relevance of sites linking to you
• the “Anchor Text” (the words that the link is embedded behind) in links to your site

And more recently, the Search Engines are starting to consider social media references and local citations (references to you company or website that may not actually link to you) as important signals…often, your success online has nothing to do with what is actually on your website, but how your website is referred to from all online sources.

and that’s how SEO works…
As we mentioned earlier, everything else is about focus and finesse – the Search Engines look at over 200 “signals” when evaluating web pages, and every year they add over 400 refinements…

..and it is our job to get you to Page 1 for your targeted keyword phrases and then to keep you at the leading edge…