Monday 22 August 2011

How Social Media improves your SEO...

  • Want to learn how social media improves your position in the search engines?
  • Want to know why social media is relevant to improving your business sales pipeline?
  • Looking for the missing piece in your social media strategy?
Why bother with Social Media?
In under 7 minutes this video answers this fundamental social media question using simple language and diagrams.



Some of the key points:
  • Locate the specific networks that you need to be involved in
  • Listen to what their needs are, what questions are they asking?
  • Answer those questions through the content you produce
  • Find your content "Evangelists" or communicators who will shout about your content
  • Build your community who are interested in your message
  • Choose the right community for you
Want to learn how to engage and convert your website visitors into brilliant customers?


We will give you the right advice, tools and focus to attract more people to your website on a small budget.
Our Social Media Workshops are available in Worcester & Bromsgrove, to find out more please visit our website.

Friday 12 August 2011

Choosing the right keywords for you

On Page Search Engine Optimisation
If you have been looking into improving your natural position in the Google search results (or any other search engines results) you'll probably know that the first step is improving your page content and one of the easiest ways to do this is by including the keywords that people use to search for your products/services, into the content of your web pages. My previous blog explains the two main types of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), and improving your page content is the first, easiest step to take.

Beating the Competition
What we look at in this blog is after you've got your list of keywords, what's the next step?
Most of us don't have a completely unique product or service, there will be other people who offer the same or similar products/services that we do, and therefore use the same keywords (competition). It could also be the case that your competitors seem to rank higher than you in the search results, even though you think you may be including all the top, most popular search terms in your content.

Finding your Niche keywords or phrases
This article shows you how to use the "Google Keywords Tool" to find possible niche keywords and phrases that you could use, to improve your Google ranking. It is vital that you do offer the products and services and don't just include them in your page text (if you did this people would arrive at you page expecting to find a product, discover you don't offer it and quickly leave your page resulting in a "bounce"). Bounces form part of the algorithm that lowers your position in search engine results. The three things we will be trying to achieve in this order are relevancy, least competition and then search popularity.

How do we find the best/right keywords for us?
After carrying out your initial exercise to think of all your relevant keywords, you should have a list of around 20 - 25 keywords or phrases for each product/service that you offer. When you use the Keywords Tool - you enter keywords and phrases relevant to one product at a time.

Using the Google Keywords Tool
First of all search for the "Google Keywords Tool" using Google search.
  1. Type in all your keywords and phrases - one per line
  2. Tick the box - "Only show ideas closely related to my search terms
  3. Open - Advanced Filters and Options
  4. Choose you target audience location and main language
  5. Don't include adult ideas - unless you're in the sex industry
  6. Show ideas and statistics for - Most of the time how will they be searching? From their desk on a laptop or from a mobile?
  7. Filter Keywords:
    Local Monthly Searches
    Here you want a decent online audience size, this is relative to your product/service. E.g. Here I have stated that I want at least 1000 local searches/month.
    Competition
    To find out what the niche search terms and phrases are for your business – you want to choose “Low” competition.
    Global Monthly Searches
    If you wanted to target foreign markets you could choose this to be high and local to be low. E.g. Here I have stated that I want at least 5000 local searches/month.

Discovering the most effective keywords for your business and to maximise your online transactions is an exercise that needs to be done over a period of time. The best thing to do is choose your list, check you results each month and see which terms results in the best traffic/conversions for your business.

If you would like to learn more about Search Engine Optimisation and improving your own online marketing strategy we are offering Monthly Inventive Workshops in Worcester and Bromsgrove - Prices start from just £25 per taster session - Book your place today.

Thursday 11 August 2011

What is SEO or "What is Search Engine Optimisation"?

Definition of SEO
Search Engine Optimisation simply means improving your website so that it appears high in the organic (not paid for) search engine results.

The most popular search engines are Google, Yahoo and Bing and good (best practice) search engine optimisation techniques are pretty similar across all three.

There are two main types of SEO, on-page and off-page. Generally on-page relates to having high quality, relevant content that meets the needs of your searchers (or the search queries that your target audience types) and is content generated by you or your company and therefore within your control. Off-page optimisation generally relates to links to your website made by you or preferably other people and therefore not in your control.

On-Page Optimisation
Search engines are so quick and effective, because we want people to find our information when they search for our products and services. So when they search for our products and services we try to meet that search criteria by including those "keywords" they are searching for in the content of our pages. Moreover, if someone (or our potential customer) asks us a question, we try our best to answer that question.

Search engines reward websites that are relevant by ranking their web pages higher in the search results. This ensures that the search engine is working effectively.

The algorithm (mathematical equation) that search engines have developed (and improve and change all the time) only have one aim in mind - to deliver relevant, high quality results for the searches that people enter. If you try and gain a foothold in the rankings that you don't deserve, the search engines will find you out and punish you, they can do this by excluding your website from their search results altogether. Concentrate on improving the information you provide to your customers and you'll be rewarded over time by high rankings. If you include keywords just to get people to your page and then the content is poor - people will quickly leave that page - this is a "bounce" get a high "bounce rate" and this will send you down the search engine rankings.

Off-Page Optimisation
While we can control some of our inbound links, the majority and the ones that search engines favour are links made by other people. This is a way of letting the search engines know that it's not just the person who owns the company that verifies this website has good, relevant content about the products and services it offers but that it had been recommended by a third party.

By getting more inbound links from other people, this improves the authority of your website. The longer your website has been established and the more inbound links that it has the higher it is likely to rank.

Where do I start?
If you are just beginning to learn how to improve your web ranking, start by thinking about what products and services you offer and who will be searching for these. Assuming your target audience are likely to search for your products online, next think about creating a list of keywords (words or phrases that people use to search for your products and services).


No two people search for things in the same way (or using the same words and phrases), so next ask all of your colleagues to do the same so that you have a comprehensive list. now you're ready to optimise your keywords - which is the next Coldicott Freelance Training SEO Blog - sign up and receive the next Blog in your inbox.

In the picture we can see an example of a keyword list for "Handmade Chocolates".

Search Engine Optimisation Taster Workshop?
If you would like to learn more about, website optimisation or search engine optimisation for your website - you might like to attend our Search Engine Optimisation Taster Workshop.