How SEO Works

It might be close to Rocket Science or Brain Surgery but SEO isn’t as mysterious as many make out…so here it is – Search Engine Optimisation demystified and deconstructed…

130224 SEO Works-Onsite-Offsite-400-365

Well, Search Engines like to see certain things either on your web pages (Onsite SEO) or to see information about your web pages elsewhere (offsite SEO).

Search Engines then use formulas to analyse huge amounts of data about all the web pages they can find in order to determine which web pages they should present when someone searches for a keyword phrase, and in what order they should present them.

We then look at your target audience and your competition and “reverse engineer” what Search Engines want to see…and then make sure that your web pages have everything in place in the right order and balance, both Onsite and Offsite…pretty simple really.

How SEO Works…

Although the Search Engines are continuously refining how they rank web pages, there remain two key elements that are the foundation for successful Page 1 result…

Onsite – your content and website infrastructure
Offsite – how your website is referred to from other online sources
- developing a profile of high quality, on-theme incoming links
- having a relevant and active social media presence
- creating citations (non-linking references) about you
- at least half of your SEO outcomes are influenced by elements outside your direct control

…and everything else is about strategy, techniques, tactics and finesse – the Search Engines look at over 200 “signals” when evaluating web pages, and every year they add over 400 refinements – so a key part of our job is keeping your website at the leading edge…because we do really know how SEO works!

keyword research

Every day 25% of the search terms the Search Engines see, they have never seen before. So, we focus on creating what we call “keyword clusters” – groups of keyword phrases focused around high volume “core” keyword phrases. For example, a core keyword phrase might be “accommodation” and that cluster may include “accommodation New York”, “luxury accommodation” and “boutique accommodation”. Using the latest SEO tools and software, it is our job to find you the optimum balance in your keyword phrase list to be targeted, that delivers the best ROI (Return On Investment).

matching – existing and new content

Our approach to Onsite SEO is to try to match one keyword phrase from each keyword cluster to a single page on your website. Typically your home page will be focused on your “gun” keyword phrase and your main navigation pages will target your next most important keyword phrases and so on through your web page hierarchy. Often your website won’t already have web pages to target some of the important keyword phrases you will want to target; in these case we work with you to create new pages to reach these terms.

behind the scenes – the code

Not all websites are created equal. Some websites are great and are ideally search engine-friendly, but many we come across are not. A key part of our role is to assist you and your web developer to ensure that as many pages of your website are correctly indexed and that there are no technical impediments to your online success.

For a preview of how the Search Engines are currently indexing your website, got to Google and in the search box type site:www.yourwebaddress.com …and see how many pages have been indexed and how Google is displaying your pages…and then call us if you have had a nasty surprise.

Yes, “look and feel” is vitally important in motivating visitors to explore your website, and in guiding them toact or buy…but they need to find your website first.

offsite link profile

In the simplest of terms, a Search Engine sees a link from another website to your website as being like a vote of confidence in your web site. Search Engines believe that if other websites are linking to your web pages, you must have something good to link to and a Search Engine will rate your page that is being linked to more positively.

Today Search Engines take into consideration many additional factors other than just the sheer number of links when evaluating your offsite link profile:

the Reputation or Trust value of sites linking to your web site
the Theme or Relevance of sites linking to you
the “Anchor Text” (the words that the link is embedded behind) in links to your site

offsite social profile

More and more, the Search Engines are starting to consider social media references as important signals about your website and your company in general. It’s not just about having a Facebook page, a Twitter account or a Google Plus page, but also how active you are and in what manner your social media associates refer to you, your company and your website content.

offsite citation profile

Citations are references to you company name, address, phone number or website that may not actually link to you but are recognisable to Search Engines. Although these citations are indeed helpful across the board, they are particularly useful in enhancing your Search Results in the Search Engines’ maps and geo-location rankings.

So that’s what SEO is and how SEO works…

As we mentioned earlier, everything else is about strategy, techniques, tactics and finesse – the Search Engines look at over 200 “signals” when evaluating web pages, and every year they add over 400 refinements to their formulas and data analysis methodologies.

The next steps…

You can discover more about the difference between SEO and Pay Per Click advertising by visiting our “How DO Search Engines Work” page and then visit our “Choosing The Best SEO Company” page.