Search engine optimisation, link building and social networking are not things you can ignore...
For years many companies have been focusing on search engine optimisation and link building campaigns. Recenly there has been a massive explosion in the blogging and social networking arena. All of the above of are helping to increase the exposure of the websites they support.
Getting started in seo
First things first:
Install Google analytics and other tracking software to help monitor your success on an ongoing basis.
Analyse your site:
Analyse your website with tools such as Google Webmaster tools and Internet information Services (IIS) Search Engine Optimization tool.
Analyse your incoming links (backlinks), we have listed a few of the many free tools available for doing this.
Google Webmaster tools
http://google.com enter "link:sitename.com"
http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
http://www.iwebtool.com/backlink_checker
http://www.backlinkwatch.com/index.php
http://search.live.com/docs/submit.aspx
Analyse your competition
Look at their incoming links and their website content and structure
Keyword research
You need to know what words and phrases to target.
To do this you must consider all the services you offer, all the products you offer and geographic areas you are going to target for your new customers.
After doing this you will then be able to compile a prioitised list of keywords which will form the backbone of the content you publish.
During your keyword research we will want to discover:
- How many monthly searches are there for your preferred keywords?
- Your website's keyword density - how well does your web site represent your keywords?
- How many sites are competing for your keywords ?
- Which sites rank at the top of the search engines for your keywords?
Do keep in mind that some keywords may be far too competetive and in some cases you may be better off targeting extensions of these keywords or keyword phrazes and including geographic information in your keywords if appropriate.
Social media
Social media and social networking play a big part in building brand awareness and help generating exposure for your company.
Often you can not control what people say about you online. For example there are many review sites and social rating systems. You need to know what other people are saying about your brand and there could well be negative comments out there. You should not ignore them or hope they go away, they will not, this negative exposure must be approached head on and needs to be responded to in a possitive manner.
more to come soon...