Alberon Systems Oxford - Search Engine Optimisation Guide

Search engine optimisation guide

A successful campaign to improve search engine ranking will involve some of the following steps:

1. Review current situation / decide on search terms
2. Optimise Site
3. Submit site to main search engines and directories
4. Paid Directory Listing
5. Pay per view / pay per click campaigns
6. Monitoring Search Engine Listings
7. Monitoring Site Logs
8. Link Building
9. Other Strategies

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1. Review current situation / decide on search terms

It's very important to decide which search terms you are going to use to promote your site. Initially we normally recommend concentrating on a small number of keyword phrases, perhaps just one phrase. Other successful phrases often emerge once the first phrase is working well.

It's also useful to decide on some phrases of different lengths, which describe the site and will be used in the campaign.

This stage often works best in a meeting where ideas can emerge and be discussed. It can also be done by phone or email.

2. Optimise Site

It's also important to optimise the site so that the individual pages are search engine friendly, particularly the home or landing page. The pages also need to correspond to what the human web directory editor is expecting to see. Landing pages and sites written in flash can be a problem here.

Involves : Alberon Systems / company web designer

3. Submit site to main search engines and directories

Once stages 1 and 2 are completed, it's time to submit the site. Some search engines will list the site within days. Others will take 2 - 4 months.

Involves : Alberon Systems

4. Paid Directory Listing

It is also well worth considering making a one-off payment to appear in directories such as Yahoo and Looksmart. The fees may appear high, but a good listing will pay for itself over time. It's good to get this right as listings as notoriously difficult to change.

Involves : Alberon Systems

5. Pay per view / pay per click campaigns

Some search engines, including google, now offer a form of paid advertising where advertisers bid for keywords and pay for advertisements which appear alongside regular search results. Google has now introduced a variation where advertisers pay per click through to their site and some other search engines are following suit. Some good opportunities exist here, particularly for short, quick campaigns or advertisers who need visitors quickly.

Involves : Alberon Systems / Customer

6. Monitoring Search Engine Listings

It's a good idea to keep an eye on the search engines to see how they have listed the site. This can often suggest further improvements, which can be made to the site to optimise the way it is listed.

Involves : Alberon Systems / Customer

7. Monitoring Site Logs

It's also helpful to keep an eye on the site logs (if available) to see how traffic is reaching the site. This can suggest further improvements and strategies.

Involves : Alberon Systems / Customer

8. Link Building

Not to be underestimated! A good search engine position can be further improved by link building. Of course, good links also increase traffic in their own right. It may be worth considering adding a links page or program to the site to encourage people to add links.

Involves : Customer / Alberon Systems

9. Other Strategies

It may be worth considering other strategies such as:

Setting up a separate web site to market different business areas / products

Affiliate schemes in which other sites earn a commission for referring customers

Adding other features to the site such as forums or directories to increase the site's usefulness and encourage people to visit it

Involves : Customer / Alberon Systems

If you need to increase visitors to your site and would like to discuss how we can help you, please get in touch

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