De-mystifying Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
19.11.2009
There is much talk currently about search engine optimisation (SEO). It appears to be the latest buzz word, and is often misconceived as being a dark art of marketing communications, no thanks to the many spammers who gave it a bad name in the 90s.
However, SEO is no longer a black art. It is quite simply, the technique of improving the quantity and quality of traffic to a website from the search engines via the natural ranking results.
The above definition is a top-level analysis of the goal and desired outcome of SEO, however is not descriptive of the process involved. Many a digital agency now provides SEO in-house, and recommends it as a key stage during web development.
With the new digital movement, most companies are now competent enough to know that an online presence is vital for success in business in today’s competitive marketplace – and will therefore invest in an all singing, all dancing website. However, many do this without giving any consideration to how people are going to find their site when it’s live.
Contrary to popular belief, companies will not reach out to peopl e simply by ranking first in the search engines for their brand name. Companies need to rank highly in search engines for popular keywords that are relevant to their products and services.
SEO splits into two definitive areas when it comes to conducting a campaign, these are; onsite and offsite. Onsite – as the name would imply, involves manipulating all aspects of heavy weighting within the website itself. This involves ensuring the websites content is search engine friendly and targets the relevant key phrases to bring in the right customers.
The offsite element of SEO is centred on building up link popularity online. There is in fact a best practice way to do this, ensuring that links are of the highest quality and work hard at contributing to the SEO campaign.
The SEO industry may be classed as the latest ‘buzz’ in online marketing, but it is a long standing and important part of the digital world. For more information about SEO please talk to us and we’ll put you in touch with our digital partners.