Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the visibility of a web site or a web page in search engines via the "natural" or un-paid ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Other forms of search engine marketing(SEM) target paid listings. In general, the earlier (or higher on the page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search and industry-specific vertical search engines. This gives a web siteweb presence


The acronym "SEO" can refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems, images, videos, shopping carts, and other elements that have been optimized for the purpose of search engine exposure.




5 ESSENTIAL STEPS FOR AN EFFECTIVE SEO PROGRAM


Clean up your site structure

Before you can worry about achieving good rankings for your website, you’ve got to make sure the site is fully visible to search engines. This often involves making a few structural changes to the code of your site, removing any (usually unintentional) barriers that prevent search engines from seeing all the pages and all the content of your site.

Plenty of clients get alarmed when we talk about making structural changes to their sites – they are afraid that all of their lovely features and attractive graphics will be lost! But most of the time the changes made are almost invisible. The site looks the same, and it is usually a one off job that may only take a few hours, but getting a clear site structure is essential before you can do any serious SEO.    

Keyword research, keyword research and yet more keyword research

What do people really type into search engines when they look for your product? Keyword research is the only true way to find out – without it, you’ll be left in the dark when it comes to optimising your site. Key phrases range from the generic (“turkey holiday”) to the very specific “long tail” key phrases (“tailor-made spa holiday Ankara”) and everything else in between.

 

It is essential to build a very comprehensive list of key phrases, and for each one ask the simple question – “If someone types that in, do I want to talk to this person?” For example, if you offer luxury holidays to Turkey and someone types in “budget holiday Istanbul”, they probably aren’t going to become one of your customers. But you would want to be there if they type in “tailor made holiday Turkey”.  Once you’ve built a strong list of relevant key phrases, you can work out how and where to use them to enrich your site.

 Develop your landing pages

One of the essential principles of SEO is to create many relevant landing pages. Often, this simply means devoting a page to each product and service that you offer, but you should consult your list of key phrases to see exactly what people are searching for. We’ve had clients who have expanded their businesses and offered new products on the basis of some excellent keyword research.  

The main benefit of using targeted landing pages is that it provides visitors to your site with relevant answers to their search queries. If someone types in “holiday in Istanbul” into a search engine and you offer holidays all over Turkey, it is much better to direct them to your Istanbul page rather than your homepage. If they see a generic page, they may well go straight back to the results page and try another site. Give them a precise answer straight away, and they may well stay and become a customer.    

Use your keywords (almost) everywhere

Once you’ve researched and created a list of keywords and mapped out your landing pages, it’s time to put the two together. Keyword Enriched Content, or KEC, is the process of using your keywords naturally throughout the content on your site. The important thing is to use the right key phrases on the right pages, and keep each page targeted and relevant. If you have an Istanbul holiday page, you want to use phrases like “luxury holiday in Istanbul” and “Istanbul hotels” rather than “Turkey holidays” and “Turkey hotels”. It’s a simple, but very time consuming process, especially if you have a large site, but we’ve found it produces great results in the long term, particularly when combined with a link building campaign.   

Enriching your written content with key phrases is just the beginning. Meta tags, alt tags for images, the anchor text for any links you have on the site – these are all additional good places to place your juicy key phrases.

Use your key phrases as much as you can, but don’t be spammy! If any content on your page doesn’t read naturally then you’ve pushed it too far. Not only is it no good for search engines, it is off putting for users. People are getting smarter every day in how they use the internet, and excessive key word stuffing indicates a spammy and untrustworthy website. Compare these two snippets on a search engine results page:

“Holidays in turkey, luxury turkey, turkey holiday, turkey vacation, turkey hotels – TurkeyHotels.com”

“Luxury holidays in Turkey from TurkishDelight.com, providing the finest bespoke Turkish holidays.” 

The first sounds like spam, the second like a serious business. Which one do you want to be?

Build up your links

Great links are like gold dust in the world of SEO. Structural improvements and thorough KEC are great first steps, but to really achieve significant, long terms changes in search engine rankings, a link building campaign is essential. Your site needs links, but they have to be the right kind of links.  Say no to reciprocal linking – this used to work, but it won’t do you any good. Google are also seriously starting to crack down on paid links, making this an expensive and risky strategy. What you need are one way, relevant inbound links from quality pages.      

The best way of getting these nuggets still remains the same: provide great content.  Create newsworthy press releases, interesting articles, videos, pictures, widgets, Firefox extensions, or anything else that people are likely to find useful, funny or interesting, and people will link to it…and to your site!  We’ve had great success with our viral articles, which we write and syndicate around the internet. Each article has an embedded relevant link back to the client’s website, and the more they spread the more links are generated. Online press releases achieve a similar effect, and also have the chance of being picked up by one of the major news sites, leading to top quality links from authority pages. Any great content has the ability to generate links, but it is the simple, effective written content that can bring you the most links – and links with more staying power.

Benefits of SEO

- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) deliver the khid of visitors every

  buiness wants customers that are actively looking for their products/services.

- With SEO you don't have to pay every time someone click on your link.

- SEO can transfrom your website from an expense to an asset.

- SEO delivers targeted, qualified visitors resulting in better conversion rates.

- over the long haul, SEO provides a high ROI and is relatively inexpensive when

  compared to other froms of advertising...both online and offline.