SEO

What is SEO

SEO (search engine optimisation, search engine marketing) is a method of keyword and content targeting to improve a website's organic search results on search engines.

Organic search results are the webpage listings determined as most relevant for the keywords entered by users searching the search engines.

SEO involves many complicated and delicate methods for improving your a webpages relevance for target keywords however the most important practise to keep in mind is to focus on your users!

Search engines also love content, at Queensland SEO, we can't emphasise this enough. Useful content that your users will find engaging or interactive will be considerable favoured by search engines especially when keeping your webpages relevant. Using our 'cat' example above, if you wanted to optimise a site for both 'dogs' and 'cats', you would create a webpage for each topic, one webpage for 'cats', one webpage for 'dogs'.

And always keep your content unique, don't just copy and paste others content and expect results...

Why do I need to optimise my site?

There are many benefits to optimising your website and your webpages.

Optimising your website allows you to reform your website content so that search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, AOL and others are easily able to determine what your website content is about.

A correctly optimised website is more likely to achieve higher search engine rankings than a website that isn't correctly optimised for the most relevant target keywords.

The benefits to optimising your website include but are not limited to;
* assists search engines in both crawling and indexing your website content for indexing
* increased search engine rankings and exposure on organic search result pages
* increased relevancy on search engine rankings for target keywords
* provides relevant content to your target audience

How do I optimise my site?

Optimising your website yourself can sometimes be a hit and miss effort, however, if you stick to the basics and focus on your content, half the work is already complete.

Before you begin to optimise your website, you will first need to perform some keyword research and analysis to determine the most common and relevant keywords relative to the content you will provide on your website.

You will then need to include the target keyword into your webpage title, meta data, h1 tags and body content but without overdoing it.

Below is an example comparison of two webpages that want to appear for search results for the keyword 'pumpkin growers':

Site A
Webpage Title: Jack's Veggy Patch
Meta Description: Jack's Veggy Patch grow lots and lots of vegetables. Really fresh.
Meta Keywords: pumpkin, pumpkins, vegetables, tomato, apple, onion
H1 Tag: Welcome to our website
Body includes keyword: Yes, 15 times

Site B
Webpage Title: Pumpkin Growers Australia
Meta Description: Official website of the Pumpkin Growers of Australia. Australia's best grower of pumpkins.
Meta Keywords: pumpkin, pumpkins, pumpkin growers, australia, pumpkin grower
H1 Tag: Pumpkin Growers Australia
Body includes keyword: Yes, 6 times

As you can see above, one website clearly appears to be more relevant to our target keyword of 'pumpkin growers' than the other. Can you identify which website seems to be perfectly optimised?

If you would like to arrange a suitable time to discuss how Queensland SEO can help optimise your website, please don't hesitate to contact us.

How do search engines find my site?

There are many ways a search engine can find your site. Once a search engine has discovered your site, it will be added to a list and scheduled for crawling.

Crawling is when a search engine computer browses through your website and indexes your webpages, finding out what content is available on your website such as images, text, links to other sites, links to other pages on your site and so on...

Typically, most search engines will find your website through one or more of these methods;
* Direct submission to the search engines Add URL or Submit Listings pages
* Create and submit an XML sitemap for your site to the search engines
* DNS records of new domain registration
* Other websites that are already indexed linking to your new website

If you would like to manually submit your website to the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing, please see the links below;
Submit your site to Google | Submit your site to Bing | Submit your site to Yahoo

How long does SEO take to produce results?

There is no guarantee on how long it takes to provide improved results to your search engine rankings and traffic after optimising your site for your target keywords.

Many companies claim to be able to get high rankings within a set time period however, there is no guarantee and if there was, then organic search engine results would begin to take the form of pay per click advertising with the highest budget always staying on top of the rankings.

At Queensland SEO, we don't make guarantees and prefer to use data such as your website's monthly traffic, number of referrers and incoming links, improved rankings for target keywords and Google PageRank prediction to make an analysed and informed decision on what expectations you can expect for your desired target keywords.

Based on our current and previously completed SEO campaigns, at Queensland SEO we usually anticipate the following timeline for first page search engine results:

Bing.com
Usually 2-4 weeks to attain number 1 position for website's primary keyword

Google.com
First page results expected anywhere from 2 months to 12 months dependent upon existing rankings, competitors, regular relevant content and other variables

Yahoo
First page results expected after approximately 6 months to 12 months

Note: These results are based on a monthly campaign for a minimum of 6 months for highly competitive keyword terms and phrases although for smaller, less competitive local sites, 1 or 2 months of dedicated SEO should be adequate.

What content do I put on my site?

At Queensland SEO, we enjoy reminding everyone that Google loves content, yes once more Google really, really, really loves content. But, so do all of the other search engines, social media sites like Facebook and of course so do your users.

When creating content for your website, it is important to consider the a number of critical aspects in order to maximise your exposure with search engines and thoroughly engage with your audience

Content Readability
Ensure your text content is able to be read by your audience by being written for the correct target audience such as sites for kids, teens, adults, different levels of education and other demographic aspects of your target audience.

Content Originality & Duplication
Don't just copy and paste other peoples content from other sites, sometimes it may be of need to your users, other times it may just be more effective to provide a link to the content so you keep your audience at your site. Google and other search engines perform checks on content originality and duplication to ensure website's aren't just copying content or committing plagiarism. User's want to read and be informed about new and exciting content, especially when it's written by you and related to the topic or subject matter of your website.

Relevant content on relevant webpages
Keep your content organised by creating a page for each target keyword, sometimes referred to as a landing page. Using the keyword in the links file name such as 'this-is-our-keyword.html' can also be of benefit. There is no point putting all of your content on just one page, this would just confuse and disorientate your users.

Keep your users in mind
Creating a simple and easy to use menu navigation for your users to access different webpages of your site allows your users to find what they are searching for and the same applies to search engines.

What is Black Hat SEO?

Black Hat SEO is trying to manipulate or using unethical techniques and methods in order to achieve an improved search engine ranking for target keywords.

While search engines such as Google actively penalise websites that are deemed to be utilising Black Hat SEO strategies, some companies will still use these methods either consciously or without intending to.

Some methods of Black Hat SEO include;
* Keyword spamming and keyword stuffing
* Invisible text
* Unethical link building strategies such as sudden appearance of thousands of back links
* Cloaking and URL header redirection
* Duplicate content and mirror sites

Most Black Hat SEO techniques will eventually catch up with the website as search engines are constantly being updated in order to provide safe content for their users. Too often some SEO companies provide SEO results that peak in a short period of time, only to disappear of the charts about 6 to 12 months later.

At Queensland SEO, on average, our ranking reports indicate a consistent and steady climb instead of a sharp peak and rapid decline as is evident with Black Hat SEO techniques. Our SEO services are provided with one thing in mind, your target audience and what they want to see, click or order...

What is White Hat SEO?

White Hat SEO is regarded as ethical or as using approved methods for optimising a website for the most appropriate and relevant target keywords.

White Hat SEO techniques involve comprehensive analysis including keyword research combined with safe or search engine approved optimisation techniques such as using the target keyword as the page title, including in the content of the body text, even the webpage's filename itself can provide benefits as long as it is short, simple and to the point such as 'target-keyword.html' compared to what may be considered Black Hat SEO -> 'this-target-keyword-page-is-about-the-target-keyword.html' which could be considered overkill or keyword stuffing/spamming.

Although White Hat SEO may take a longer period of time to produce results for your target keywords on search engine results pages, your site's rankings will not only benefit from increased stability and longevity for your search engine rankings but if you monitor your rankings regularly such as Monthly SEO Reports, you will notice a consistent improvement each month until your website has achieved it's appropriate search engine ranking.

From this point on, your rankings may move both up and down slightly each month for a period of around 3 to 6 months usually influenced by your click-through-rate for your organic search engine listings, meaning the percentage of people that see your listing (impression) and clicked on your listing. This period of adjustment is also a great opportunity to review your SEO campaign and take action if required.