SEO Consulting

SEO website optimisation can be confusing because search engines, like Google, have secret methods of ranking a web page. They remain secret so people can't take advantage of the "rules". Historically it was easy to get ranked highly - you just stuffed your content with keywords and that was it. It was open to abuse and as more and more websites were created the need to become more sophisticated in how to assess a web page became essential. Google technology advances made it possible to evaluate content in a far more complex way.

Today Google rewards content of high informational value with a sensible number of relevant keywords naturally distributed throughout the page. The top of the page is the most important but the content should be a natural read throughout and not a keyword-driven nonsensical page. Google's algorithm is extremely powerful and getting more complex all the time. Some say it has now got too complex making SEO very challenging. The thing is, you can't beat it you have to do the hard work in creating a quality website to beat your competition. The alternative is Google Ads but not many businesses can afford the cost of running ads for a long time especially if margins are low.

SEO Website Optimisation and Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other sites to your pages. The more respected the site that links to your website the more value is given to your site by Google. A backlink is, in effect, a testimonial that Google deems as an indication of the value of the information on your website. Google measures your page value by the quality of backlinks to the page and not the number of links you have.

These links also need to be created naturally. Google does not look favourably on sites that have a large number of links from free directories, paid-for links, forums, paid blogs and more. Google believes that links are only naturally created by other people who find your page interesting. Links that you create yourself are now frowned upon as it is not a measure of your content's worth.

This doesn't mean you can't add your details to a directory or a forum but they should be relevant to your website. If you sell shoes in Sydney and are in Russian directories for used cars then these links will do nothing but harm to your ranking potential

The idea is to force people to create interesting relevant content that people link to because they find your pages informative. The better the content you create the more chances you have of getting more natural backlinks.

If you can get a backlink from a government site, an educational site, or a highly ranked site that is relevant to your website then you will be rewarded. A proper backlink strategy can be the most important aspect of SEO and ranking success.

Local SEO Northern Beaches

Local SEO is another factor to your SEO strategy. Targeting local opportunities is of great value and for some business vital. If your business is a local retail outlet or requires local interaction with your clients you need Local SEO. For example if you are a tradesperson from the Northern Beaches you are not interested in reaching out to people who live in Melbourne or Perth. You want to target people in your service area.

With location services provided by mobile devices it is very important that you rank on these local searches and google maps. Getting it right for SEO on the Northern Beaches means that you have to have content that targets local searchers and promote your business with a Google Business profile. Siteshack can implement all the required local SEO requirements to maximise your Local SEO Northern Beaches.

Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising - The SEO alternative

The opposite side of the SEO equation is paying Search Engine Companies to advertise on their listings pages. As you then become a paying customer these advertised listings are positioned normally above or along side or below the unpaid listings called organic and our charged on a Pay Per Click (PPC) basis.

Simply put, every time someone clicks on your ad and goes to your site, you pay a price for the keyword(s) you have selected that were used to find your ad. The higher the agreed price the higher up the advertisement listings you go. It's an auction system and the more popular the keyword the higher the price. Your advert only appears as long as you continue to have a PPC campaign in place.

If you have a big budget available it can create results. There is also a quality element that assess the relevance of your ad to the page your ad is sending the viewer to ( the landing page) This was introduced so that ads could not use non relevant keywords to encourage people to click on the ad. Again Google wants a level of relevancy even in its ads.

SEO is a more durable method as it is an evolving process that will last. It also is of benefit as it goes hand in hand with website improvements. A mixed approach can sometimes be a smart way to go especially in the start up period when your SEO has not really started to generate site visits. There are many articles on this on the internet.

The Search Engines and Good and Bad SEO

A word here about Good (White Hat) SEO and Bad (Black Hat) SEO. Despite, anger towards how search engine companies keep changing how they rank websites and penalise SEO "tricks", we think in general they are trying to "police" the internet with pretty fair principles to ensure that good content is always made available.

What this does mean however is that SEO is not a simple procedure anymore. It requires a great deal of work.

The cynical see this as a way to make people use Google Ads rather than spend time and money on SEO. The problem is to create great Ads and low cost campaigns you need to work just as hard and SEO applies to your ad Landing pages. Otherwise you can waste a lot of money on non converting clicks.

All the latest round of Google algorithm updates mean that Google ranks sites favourably if they follow the guidelines and white hat principles including -

• Content is unique - If your article is merely a copy of some other article on the internet you can be penalised.
• You do not keyword stuff content - If your article mentions your keyword(s) too many times and does not really read normally you can be penalised.
• Content is relevant to the keywords. Using popular keywords that are not relevant just to attract visits will lose rank.
• Your meta tags are informative and not stuffed with keyword repetitions and irrelevant keywords.
• You are not hiding keywords in "hidden content".
• Your site is healthy - minimising errors and broken links, fast loading, images optimised, Search Engine Friendly URLs....
• Your images have relevant file-names and are preferably unique and not from libraries.
• Quality backlinks to your site are considered a huge endorsement of your site and your content value. They are a very big influence on site ranking.

In general terms Google is now penalising sites that it believes are of poor quality and are trying to unfairly manipulate the ranking process with Black Hat SEO tactics. Black Hat SEO tactics are those that contravene Googles Webmaster Guidelines Good SEO techniques and philosophy will minimise any penalty potential and only help to improve listing ranking.

If you write content that is informative and relevant and you are not trying to manipulate the search engine guidelines then you should be on the road to higher rankings. The process does take time and requires patience.

There are two categories of SEO - Onsite and Offsite

Technical Onsite SEO Website Optimisation

This, as the name implies, involves the steps taken as part of the site design, site management, content creation, and keywords and meta data to promote your site to the search engines. Part of this is merely good practice in the design, the elimination of errors, site speed, an a honest approach to SEO and quality content.

Offsite SEO Website Optimisation

All that is done to create quality backlinks to your website. Quality backlinks are those from authority sites (highly page ranked sites and relevant to your keywords) that link to your content and preferably with anchor text. The theory being that if an authority site links to content on your website, using relevant keywords as the text hyperlink, this indicates that this highly regarded site values your content.

The basic concept of Offsite SEO is to have hyperlinks with anchor text on authority websites or blogs that link to content on your site. Google potentially penalises the use of paid for backlink schemes. Your content should ideally promote these links naturally but you can inform people of the existence of this content in various ways - personally tell people, use social media. link internally from your own blog.

Spreading the word is the way to get people to see your content and then hopefully these visitors spread the word themselves and links to your content grows. Be aware that a big spike in the number of backlinks you get all of a sudden is an indicator to Google that something unnatural might be going. Anything you do to promote your brand and your information will naturally increase your number of backlinks.

You need a mix of both Onsite and Offsite SEO strategies and by adding a proportioned amount of Pay Per Click and Social Media marketing it only adds to potential visits and brand exposure.

SiteShack SEO Consulting

We offer White Hat SEO Website Optimisation services. We have a range of flexible SEO plans available. We also advise and manage Per Per Click campaigns and Social Media marketing. Feel free to contact us for an obligation free introduction. You can also try our free SEO Site Audit