Wednesday, November 14, 2012

What Are The Qualities Of A ‘Perfect’ SEO Link?

As anyone who knows anything about search engine optimisation (SEO) would know, Google is constantly changing its algorithms, making ranking more difficult than it has ever been before. One of the best ways to improve your ranking is with external links, but how can you tell when the ‘perfect’ SEO link has come your way?
  • The link is embedded in the content
    Your links should always be inside (or surrounded by) content. Whilst unnatural links can be used to get a quick result, they are ultimately useless for SEO, as your ranking will drop eventually.
  • You have natural anchor text
    If you always use your main keyword when doing linking work, you are making a big mistake. This is because Google doesn’t like unnatural anchor text profiles – it can tell when you’re targeting a keyword too much, which impacts negatively on your SEO.
  • You have relevant content
    How much attention do you give a website with irrelevant content? Well, Google pays the same amount of attention to a website about travel that has SEO links for external websites surrounding baby supplies and online marketing.
  • You have relevant outbound links
    The SEO links that you choose to post on your website should be relevant to your content. If you were trying to sell party supplies, you wouldn’t link to websites about plants or finance, would you?
By ensuring that you have each of the above points covered, you can rest assured that your links are ‘perfect’ for helping you to achieve the ranking that you so desire. By failing to take even one of the above points into account, you could severely damage your SEO efforts or even see yourself landed with a penalty, which means that no one will see your website.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

How You Can Sabotage Your Global SEO Strategy (And How You Can Avoid It)

When an online business is doing quite well – perhaps you’re getting a large number of sales and excellent click through rates – you might start thinking about promoting your website on a more global scale. One of the best ways to do this is through search engine optimisation (SEO), but it is important to remember that you can very easily sabotage yourself if you’re not careful.

  • Assume one keyword list will work for all countries
    Assuming that the keyword list you use for your Australian SEO strategy will work in England, the United States and India is a very big mistake on your behalf – you need to research your target audience in each country and cater a list of keywords that reflect this.
  • Add multiple languages to one page
    If you visitors to your website have to sift through dozens of languages to find one that they understand, they will quickly click the back button. This high bounce rate can have a very detrimental affect on the SEO of your website, as Google likes happy visitors.
  • Forgetting to take into account local competition
    When doing SEO research to determine your keywords for each country that you wish to market to, you should also do some research into who your local competition will be. There may be no other companies doing SEO, which is great for you, but if they are you could be in trouble.

There are, of course, dozens of ways that you could sabotage your own global SEO strategy; the three outlined above tend to be the most common ways that people do this, as well as being the easiest to avoid. All you need to do is thoroughly research your SEO strategy before embarking on it and be aware of what Google does and doesn’t like.

Monday, September 3, 2012

How To Choose A Domain Name For SEO Purposes

When it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO) for a brand new website, one of the vital first steps in the process is choosing a domain name. Whilst choosing your company name is often the first reaction, sometimes this is not possible (if a company or product in another country has the same name, for example), so a variation is needed. Use these tips for choosing a domain name that ensures SEO success:
  • Research and make note of all the important keywords and phrases associated with your company (you will need to do this for your SEO strategy anyway). Research how much competition exists for each of these keywords and phrases, then get rid of the ones that are too competitive.
  •  Try to pick a domain that is as short as possible – don’t try jamming 20 words into a single URL, as this will not be effective at all. An ideal domain has three words or less.
  • Think about what people might type directly into the URL search bar of their browsers. Try typing this in and see whether any other websites have already had the same idea. In terms of SEO, this could be a great boost of traffic.
  •  Always go for .com domain names. When it comes to SEO, .net and .org addresses don’t tend to rank as effectively, as many people believe that they are charity or government sites.
If you are yet to block a domain name for your company’s website, it is recommended that you meet with your hired SEO company and ask them for some assistance. They will be able to complete the required research for you and come up with a domain that suits both the name of your company and your SEO requirements.