If you do not use the Internet a lot then the basics of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) may confuse . Ok lets be honest it can be completely confusing and once the terminology gets flying glazed looks tend to dominate conversations.
So lets look at some of the basic terms to help you understand SEO.
Keywords
Keywords are the words that you type into the search engine to try and find what you are looking for. There is a n unlimited number of keywords that you type. The more keywords you type often the more successful your search will be. In the example above I typed in “Best Website Design Company in Cork“. Look its my post so I can be selfish with my keyword choice. So in this cae I typed 6 keywords.
The word long tail is a phrase that is used a lot in SEO and relates to larger quanmtities of of keywords that people can type. It is a reflection of someone with a more focused search like Black Golf GTIs with Leather seats is a more focused search than Golf GTI . The general consensus is that even though the search volume for a long tail keyword may be lower than that for a two or even three word phrase the person searching is more likely to click on a good result.
So it makes sense that you should if possible write content for this type of search volume.
Search Volume
Of course people aren’t always searching for what you think they are. Google provides an online tool called funnilly enough Google Keyword Tool that very effectively gives you god indicatgions as to what people search for. Spending some time with this tool is of great benefit for when your are structuring your site and creating content for it.
If you think that you want to rank for a specific keyword set you should visit this site and pay attention to what it is telling you.
Now you shouldn’t write exclusively with keywords in mind but it does not make sense to write without some sort of site structure and content strategy in mind. I always say look at the keyword tool as an aide memoire but still write naturally and with your normal tone of voice and as a result the search engine notes this and rewards you accordingly. Don’t just believe me Matt Cutts says the same thing and most major SEOs will tell you this as well.
Ranking – SERPs
SERPs stands for Search Engine Result Pages. For some keywords it is literally impossible to rank for the keywords without a medium to long term SEO campaign. The reasons for this are simple. For high volume and value search terms the rewards for click through are significant and most comapniues in this space are spending marekting and SEO money to retain their positions.
The rewards however for this effort can be significant if you can get some of the top 1-4 positions on the above SERPs even for a range of keywords.
With a more focused effort on long tail keywords on and off your site you can get good results and perhaps generate a better level of engagement with visitors as the content you have created is exactly what they needed and this can lead to solid engagement.
No Its Not Just Links !
There are many factors that influence your ranking for the above keywords. Yes. Links from other websites do help but they are not everything. Of course getting a good reputable link from a business in your niche or general area is of great benefit but there are many many other ways that complement this. Link building IS a part of an SEOs toolkit but there are many other methods that are very important and are part of the whole approach to ranking. This post isn’t goingto cover these but have a look at this chart which I use regularly from SeoMoz a respected blog on SEO which shows an estimated breakdown of the relative importance of the different factors.
FInally….
In the very first place after reading above my core advice is to get active with your site and start creating content that is valuable, useful and do this regulkarly. Once a week is good, 3 times a week is great 5 times a week is amazing (only if it is useful content though). Then think about some of the factors above and how you want to publicise your business online thoruh a host of other mathods. Select a plan and go for it. Be prepared to review regularly and accept that everything doesn’t always work perfectly.
