Tasha Harrison

SEO is the art of driving relevant traffic to a site from search engines.  This is done getting a site to rank well on search engines for selected keywords that are most relevant to that site’s core message or product.

There are several elements that search engines look for in a site:

• Page title: this is the title that you can see at the top of your browser and that Google uses when it lists your site.
• Meta description: this is data that sits in the code of your site. It is used by search engines as the description.
• Meta keywords: keyword stuffing used to be a very effective way of ranking highly on Google, but it is now considered to be spamming.  They are still worth entering into the code, but be very specific with them.
• Headings and content: the content on your page is very very important.  Google will look at the content and judge how useful your site will be for the user. The easiest way to get your content right is to create it for your user.
• Links: other sites linking to your site shows Google that they think your site is useful, so Google sees links to your site as a recommendation.
• Site structure: when Google’s bots visit your site they need to be able to find all of your pages easily.  A logical structure makes it easier for them.

These are the basic foundations for optimising your site.

For more on SEO I recommend these articles:

Cheap SEO is not always the best SEO – Cheap is what it is
Beginner’s Guide to SEO links

The internet has come a long way since its inception.  A big part of its evolution has been the growth of broadband, enabling users to share media content easily and efficiently.  The following video is an excellent visual representation of how the web works today.

Back in the day, before Facebook and Google, a website was no more than a catalogue.  Generally it generated little business, but made the company appear professional and was usually no more than a supporting sales tool.  Now a corporate website is the cornerstone of any company’s marketing and sales. It is often the first place a potential customer will go once your sales people have made an initial appointment.  Most websites now generate a fair few leads for companies.

In the past couple of years it has no longer become enough for a company just to have a website.  People no longer access the internet through search engines alone, they use social networks, instant messenger, forums and blogs.  Some people now access the internet via their games console and mobile phone.  For businesses this increases the opportunities to communicate with potential and existing customers.

It is, therefore, key for companies to have a presence where their customers are ‘hanging out’ online.  Find out where your customers are and create a presence in that place, whether it be a fashion forum if you’re selling jewellery, or a business forum if you’re selling corporate gifts.  And you don’t need to sell yourself too hard, just join in the discussion and the leads will come.

Imagine you are opening a shop. You spend time and money decorating the interior, buying your stock and filling the shelves.

You plan a date for a big opening, send out invitations, place some advertising in the local press and make sure that your opening is going to be a success.

The same principles apply to your website. If you build a site and don’t let anyone know it is there you will have no visitors. At least with a shop people will walk past it. Generally people don’t accidentally stumble on websites, they search for them or find them through links on other websites. Sometimes they are recommended a website and type the address straight into the address bar.

Online marketing is getting people to visit your website, people who want to buy your products and become your customer.