A guide to search engine optimisation in the UK

Many websites and their associated companies are turning to search engine optimisation in a bid to increase traffic to their website. A complex discipline that is always changing in accordance with Google’s rules, it can be done in in house or outsourced to an SEO marketing agency.

In-house SEO

While it is a complicated area of expertise, some companies may find that it is not financially viable to outsource their seo campaign and will prefer to have a go at improving their search rankings and online presence, using the resources they have available to them and also free search engine marketing tools. Pay per click optimisation Most good marketers will have a knowledge of PPC and will be able to devise a keyword campaign to ensure that you bid on search terms that will convert customers from Google’s results pages. The technical stuff Web developers at smaller companies can play a big part in governing website optimisation. Good category mapping can improve rankings as well as simple steps such as ensuring all individual pages has a relevant and bespoke meta title and description and all images have keyword-rich ALT tags. Article marketing Companies that have a press department can bolster their Google rankings through press release and article marketing campaigns. Articles that are written to favour a particular keyword can be submitted to a number of websites, which Google will pick up in order to strengthen the links to your webpage.

Outsourcing SEO

There are many search optimisation firms for potential clients to choose from currently. The best agencies will identify your goals and establish achievable and affordable ways of making them happen both in the short and long term. Finding the right agency When deciding on a search marketing agency to hire, it is important to remember that there are plenty of companies and consultants to choose from, so you can afford to shop around for the best deal. If possible, look to push agencies for a free month long trial of their services to establish how hard they are likely to work on your account. Expectations Good search engine marketers should quickly ascertain your needs and undertake a full audit of your site to ensure that it complies with Google’s guidelines and is search engine friendly. Within a month, you should see some sort of uplift in your search engine rankings as bugs are fixed and important keywords are strengthened through link-building tasks. Final word
Long term success is the hardest element of SEO, so if your SEO marketing firm aren’t even getting results in the short term, you know it’s time to look elsewhere!