Ever wondered where to start with getting selling on Google?  A good place is to identify if your target market searches for you online.  The only way to do that is to find keywords that they might use, and then find out if there is enough searches per month to make the keyword worth going after.  Before we start, I just need to advise you that a keyword may sometimes actually represent a keyword search phrase so may sometimes actually be 2 or more words long!  I use the terms interchangeably but I mean the same thing.

The following tips are aimed at beginners and are a way to get started with Search Engine Optimisation.

• Open the Google Keyword Tool
• Research your keywords by starting off with something that describes you – such as “accountant Bristol”, “florist Clifton” etc.  Districts are easier than towns but will have a lot less traffic.  Enter the keyword in the box that is marked word or phrase, you don’t need to fill in any other fields at this stage, and click Search
• Look through the list and select 3 to 10 which are closely related.  If you wish you can download the list into Excel to work on by clicking Download then All.  You WILL need the reverse of the keyword phrase as well as plurals and singular.  This means “Bristol accountant” and “accountant Bristol” are NOT the same, as “Bristol accountant” and “Bristol accountants” are not the same either!

An example of a good, closely related keyword list is:

1. Accountant Bristol
2. Accountants Bristol
3. Accountants in Bristol
4. Bristol accountants
5. Chartered accountants Bristol
6. Bristol accountant

• Top tip – to start just plan to use your homepage as it’s easier and faster to get ranked, for the purposes of this blog we will presume you use only your homepage.  Later on you may wish to use other pages for other keyword phrases too

1. Look at the LOCAL monthly searches
2. Ignore the competition field as this is used to find AdWords competition
3. Search volumes of up to 500 are easier and faster to get on the front page for
4. Higher search volumes than 3,000 are competitive and mean it will take longer

Now you have your keyword list, you’re ready to move onto the next stage, competing the SEO Setup.  More on this will follow next week in this SEO tutorial series!

If you have any questions or if you’re struggling, please do comment below.  If you’d like to receive a quote for our SEO Services starting from £30 per month – please give us a call on 0800 3277327 or email us at sales@marketingbyweb.co.uk

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A great infographic showing the areas in which Google makes the most money. Not surprising to see insurance related keyphrases as the biggest revenue generator!

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“Getting targeted visitors is difficult”

“I don’t have time to increase traffic to my website”

“No-one is interested in my site – what can I do?”

Just 3 of the comments we’ve heard from potential clients recently, and of course we were quick to contradict the first 2 and answer the third – so here are our top seven ways you can increase traffic to your site TODAY:

1. Write a blog post

   Far too much time is spent worrying about what to write, and not enough time writing! A blog post should take no more than ten minutes of your time once you’ve thought of a subject. Don’t know what to write about? Think about the last 3 things clients or potential clients asked, and write a blog post that answers those questions. That’s what we’ve done here!

2. Post on your Facebook wall

   Whether it’s on your personal profile or your Business page, post a link to your site. In the comment below the link, make it clear what your site offers, and invite your fans / likers / contacts to pass the link on to anyone they think may be interested.

3. Send  a link out to Twitter

   As long as you’re sharing other information and having conversations, your Twitter followers won’t mind the odd link to your site. Make sure your Tweet has your main keyphrases in it so that it comes up in the search facility too! (And, if you feel comfortable, ask people to retweet your link).

4. Comment on someone else’s blog post (maybe even this one?)

   Find blogs in your industry or niche, and make a point of commenting on them – every comment gives you the opportunity to link to your own website or blog. Make sure your comments add to the discussion though, don’t just post “Great post!” or “I agree!”

5. Set up a Google Adwords campaign
   
   Simple to set up, and your ads could be live within minutes. Setting up a test campaign in Google allows you to try out keyphrases to see if they work, which you can then transfer into your SEO campaign. Keep an eye on your budget and tweak accordingly!
6. Buy some Facebook ads

   Again, up and running in minutes, and you can target to the demographic of your choice. You can control your budget and choose whether to promote your website or your Facebook page – in our opinion it’s worth testing a mixture of the two to see which provides the best results.

7. Post in a business forum

   People ask all sorts of questions on business forums, and the chance is that you can answer some of them! Help others out, post your own questions, join in the discussion – every post usually contains your link in the signature, and is a great way to get traffic to your site. Don’t abuse it though, by linking excessively – the signature link should be enough.

There are many other ways to generate targeted traffic to your website – but these 7 should give you a head start. How many will you do today?

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Image by aussiegall via Flickr

Does your site measure up?

It’s unfortunate that sometimes we have to turn away SEO clients simply because their websites aren’t up to scratch. It’s hard to tell a client with money in his hand that the website he has paid out good money for just can’t be optimised.

There are many reasons a website isn’t suitable – here are just a few:

IT’S ON A FREEBIE DOMAIN

Whether it’s a free wordpress blog or a free domain on your hosting company’s space, it’s really not worth optimising on a freebie domain. With domain names costing very little these days, take the time to buy either a .com or a .co.uk that suits your company – it’s worth it in the long run.

IT’S AN ALL FLASH SITE

Although there are ways around it, Google still doesn’t like all Flash sites, and we really advise against getting them designed. With web design standards so high now it’s possible to achieve a great looking site without having to hide everything in a Flash movie.

TITLE TAGS CAN’T BE CHANGED ON EACH PAGE

It’s a fact that you can’t optimise one page of a site for every phrase – in fact we recommend a handful of phrases per page. This means that if you want to optimise for 10 phrases, you’re going to need at least 5 pages that can have the title and META tags changed. Many CMSs don’t offer this option, and sadly we have to turn away these clients.

THE SITE IS DESIGNED ALL IN GRAPHICS

Yes, even in 2011 we still see sites designed in Microsoft Pulisher or other programs that render the site all in graphics. Google can’t read them, we can’t help you – sorry!

YOU’RE NOT WILLING TO CHANGE YOUR COPY

In some cases your copy will be fine, but in others we’ll ask you to change some of it, make it more keyword rich, add H1 tags etc – if you won’t or can’t do this then we can’t do our job properly and have to say no.

YOU WANT INSTANT RESULTS ON ULTRA COMPETITIVE KEYPHRASES

Although we have achieved great listings in good timeframes for our clients, we can’t guarantee that you’ll be at #1 in Google for the keyphrases of your choice within a week – no-one can. In fact Google themselves even say not to employ SEO consultants who say they can. We’re ethical and moral and won’t promise something we can’t achieve, so we’d have to turn down the job.

That all sounds a little negative doesn’t it? But rest assured that the majority of people who come to us are taken on board with a big smile – once we’ve checked the above points and made sure we can do the best job for them.

Not sure if your site meets our criteria? Drop us a line and ask

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When carrying out a search, a potential visitor (let’s call them a Searcher) may use a variety of keywords that indicate how far along the buying process they have moved.

Here’s an example:

• Digital Camera – Unlikely to buy at this stage as the Searcher is still undecided about the exact make of camera
• Nikon Digital Camera – Searcher has now decided upon the brand of camera.  Still undecided about the model
• Nikon 6MP Digital Camera – Seacher has now decided on the brand and 1 key feature of the camera.  May be willing to buy at this stage.
• Nikon D40 camera – Searcher has now decided on brand and model and is now actively comparing prices.  Now is a good time to advertise prices in your ads.
• Buy Nikon D40 Camera – Searcher is definitely seeking to buy and is seeking the lowest price.  Definitely place prices in your ads.

So when advertising on Google, you face a choice.  The higher up the list your keywords appear in the Searcher’s thought process, the less likely they are to convert if they land upon your site.  HOWEVER, if you only advertise on the latter keywords, your ads will have less visibility in their eyes, as they have been exposed to it once only or twice.  Therefore you need to test what will happen if you advertise at all these stages, or just one or two of the later stages.

What keywords do your buyers use?  Map out their thought processes and plan your keyword tests today!

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Dynamic Keyword Insertion can be very useful for long lists of related, similar keywords where it is too time consuming to create an ad group for each permutation.

Instead, you can use Dynamic Keyword Insertion in the advert heading, and it will automatically prefill with the keywords the searcher has used.

For example, if you have a list of keywords such as:

• chipmunks cage
• cage for chipmunks
• chipmunk cages for sale

and many other related very similar keywords, this option should definitely work well for you.

So – to use Dynamic Keyword Insertion, do the following:

{KeyWord:Phrase Goes Here}

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