Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are a list of common questions and answers for quick reference.
What is SEO and do I need it?
SEO is search engine optimisation – a way of ensuring that customers who are interested in your website see it listed when they type a relevant term into a search engine like Google. Having a prominent listing on a search engine will mean more customers discover your website.
How do SEO techniques work anyway?
Think of a search engine like a huge encyclopedia with an index. When deciding what results to show for a term, the search engine looks at three factors: Crawlability, authority and relevance. Crawlability looks at the technical side of how your website is built. Authority is about how reputable your website is and looks at factors such as how many visitors to your website you have every week or month. Relevancy means how easy it is for Google to categorise your website, ensuring that only people who are interested in what you have to sell are shown your website. SEO is all about helping the search engine understand exactly what your business does and which products you offer, so that you start appearing for the most relevant search terms.
How do I improve my SEO authority?
One of the key things that Google looks at to determine the authority of your site is which other websites link to yours. This is very much a matter of quality over quantity; one link from The Times is worth a lot more than 50 or more links from newly-established blogs with hardly any readers.
Would buying backlinks work?
We’ve all seen those deals on freelance websites offering 50 backlinks to your website for a fiver. Google however takes a very dim view on link-buying, and if you’re caught doing this, you can expect your website to slide rapidly down the rankings. If you have bought backlinks in the past and are suffering as a consequence, then the only option is to remove the links and put in a request to Google to ask them to re-analyse your website.
The best way of boosting your website up the rankings is to focus on the content you offer. Also, think about getting relevant, recognised bloggers to link to your content through their own blogs.
What’s the best way of improving my website’s relevancy?
SEO always starts by thinking about what your customers might be typing into the search engine when they are looking for your business. If, for example, you sell cakes and biscuits, use headings and contents in your website which make it easy for Google to understand what your business is about. If you wish to take a deeper look at keywords, then there are a range of keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush and Ahrefs which will help you with this. Make sure that you are using your identified keywords in your title tags, headers tags and alternate text.
How do I know whether people can find me on Google?
Go to the Google website and type in “site:[mydomain.com]”. If your website pops up, then Google knows you exist. If it doesn’t then you have to let Google know. Go to the Google search console tool, verify your site and submit your sitemap.
Should I hire a professional to help me with SEO?
It’s not compulsory. But an estimated 50% of your website traffic comes through search engines, so many businesses believe it’s worth investing in SEO. It’s like many other business decisions – you might be able to do your company VAT return yourself, but pay an accountant because you know their expertise is money well spent. Very small companies who have a tiny marketing budget are probably better off managing their SEO inhouse. Beware too of the SEO “experts” who promise the earth for a suspiciously cheap price. Chances are their techniques are less than ethical and could do more harm than good.
If your marketing budget is bigger, and you think you need professional help with your SEO, then take a bit of time to evaluate different companies and consultants before making a decision on what would work best for your business.
How do I decide which bit of SEO I should look at first?
The best thing to do us to ask an expert on SEO to ask their opinion, as every business will be different. However, you can always make a start by using the Moz toolbar to look at the authority ranking of your website. If your authority rating is 40 or under, then that’s where you should focus effort, perhaps by trying to get links from other reputable websites. If on the other hand your authority rating is 70 or over, then look instead at the relevancy side of SEO for your website. If you’re in the middle of the ratings for both aspects, then compare your domain authority rating to five of your main competitors. If you’re rating higher than them for authority, concentrate on relevance. If you’re rating lower, then try to boost your authority score above theirs.
What do I need to know about AdWords?
AdWords is a Google package which allows website owners and advertisers to bid on keywords to have their adverts displayed. It’s a form of pay-per-click advertising, which can help to get you noticed. Popular keywords attract higher bids than niche keywords
What can AdWords do to help my business?
When a user types in as search term which you have identified as being related to your business, your advert will be displayed. AdWords can help generate new leads for your business at a quicker speed than other SEO tactics. It’s also a cost-effective choice for most organisations.
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