The Secret to SEO - Search Engine Optimisation

Blue Web is a web design agency based in Somerset, between Bath and Frome and provides web design and SEO optimised websites to businesses and non profit organisations from the south west of England to London and beyond.

The idea of SEO is to essentially attract new customers via Google and the other search engines, to you via your website. The great thing about SEO (organic search) is that it is essentially free.  The alternatives, including paid search (including Google Adwords) advertise your services via Google and also direct new clients to your website and can compliment organic search.

It's worth noting that Google tries it's best to rank those organisations it considers as the most important or credible organisations for specific key phrases. For example, this website appears on the first page of Google for the following phrases.

"Web design Bath", "Web design Frome" and other variations on this.  This is no accident, this website has been optimised for these phrases and others. So here are a few basic tips to get your website on the first page of Google.

1. Think about the specific phrases that someone would actually type into Google to find your type of organisation, and be as specific as possible, for example, it's no good saying "I need a dentist" this might work if the web browser location search is active, but not if it's inactive as any website worldwide might appear in the results.
2. Include the above specific phrase as a priority in the content and title on your homepage.
3. Get backlinks (links from other websites) from authoritative websites.
4. Write interesting, relevant and compelling content, that demonstrates your expertise on your subject.
5. Don't over optimise your site or try to trick Google using damaging (Black Hat SEO) techniques.
6. Write meaningful URL's that support the content and utilise long tailed keywords.
7. Use categories and tags to aid users in identifying content, but don't overuse.
8. Install Yoast SEO plugin if you need further guidance on writing for SEO.
9. Check Google Analytics and webmaster tools for keyword searches.
10. Use web links across your website and outbound to relevant content.

Google advises that your web designer is in the best position to advise on optimising your website, SEO as a separate industry is no longer relevant or useful and can be damaging to a site if done incorrectly.

So don't employ so called SEO experts, that claim to have all the answers. To check the credentials of any SEO company, check to see if they are at the top of Google for the key phrases for their core business, if they're not at the top of Google, can you trust them to get your business to the top?

By the way, if you want the to know the most important secret to being at the top of Google get in touch, we can't broadcast our IP to the world!