Category: Search Engine Optimisation

The Secret to Getting Projects (Even Big Ones) Done Fast Part 1

Here at SEO Liverpool we know that Starting a project, especially a big one, is probably one of the toughest things for people to do, including me! Sometimes all that is needed are some ideas to get your brain started in the right direction and overcome procrastination. But often times, entrepreneurs sit quietly in their desperation waiting for the stroke of genius to come to them… something that will start their project off on the right foot. I’ve been there myself struggling, literally pulling my hair out and I can tell you outright – there is NO reason for any of this madness.

Having been in the Legal field as an office manager and legal assistant for over in a previous career, I had the chance to deal with many legal forms and processes over and over again. This form here. That process there. After a number of years doing this, I began to notice a pattern. Everything had a form, a process, a structure. Even the solicitors I worked for — whenever they would see a legal paper that they really liked and admired the format, they would ask for a copy of it to put in their FORMS file to refer back to at a later time. Many solicitors operate on the premise of working from a FORM rather than having to re-create a whole entire document from scratch. And it makes sense because it’s a time saver!

Duplicate Content Filters… Myth or Reality?

Here at SEO Liverpool I’ve spent a lot of the day chatting with various people about duplicate content filters… do they exist or not? Well, the answer seems to be yes. BUT, as far as I can tell, there are no penalties for using duplicate content. The only problem is that the page with the best PageRank, will be the one to appear at the top of the search engine results, for a search matching a phrase, which is found on multiple pages. When you think about it, it makes sense. Effectively it means, “sure, go ahead, use duplicate content, but be aware that unless you have the best PageRank for a particular page, that content isn’t going to do you any good.” … which effectively stops people who are slapping up sites with the same content everyone uses, but doing very little to promote their sites, from getting top search engine placement. … and also explains why an original article, when submitted to a high PageRank article directory, results in the article directory being listed at the top of the search engine results for a matching phrase, above your original page containing “your” article.

So… you have several options…

1: Use freely available content, and know that your site is unlikely to get good search engine rankings, unless you heavily promote your pages and get them good PageRank.
2: Use freely available content and re-write it extensively.
3: Write your own, original, content for every page.
4: Use articles that very few other people will be using… from sources such as Article Underground (http://www.scamfree.com/articles/) as I’ve been recommending. If each page you create has 20 similar pages out there on the web, do some promotion, use the Article Underground blogs as announcement services, get your page to PR3 or 4, and your page will be the one at the top of those 20 pages in the search engine results.

Wikipedia (A good value link)

At SEO Liverpool we always try and help clients find ways gaining leverage in Google. About two years ago Wikipedia certainly was… it’s popularity as an SEO tool seems to have diminished in the past year (or maybe i’m wrong)

Why?

Ever notice – when you search for a person on Google – that Wikipedia entries often come up in the top 10 search results? Have you ever wondered how you’d benefit from such a listing, and the traffic it would bring? Herein lies the conundrum.Wikipedia links are a no follow but the benefits of a wikipedia page are really worth the SEO effort.

Now you’re not supposed to write about yourself, or your company, or edit the entries about you. So how do you get in? Why not get a friend to interview you and do it for each other. Better yet get five friends and make it a team effort. Provide your buddies with a complete bio and life history. Decide on a team captain to start the entries. Then each one of your team can enter additional info. Just remember that it’s online encyclopedia, not a social bookmarking site. Read their “What Wikipedia Is” and “What Wikipedia Isn’t” pages, to stay within their TOS and abide by all their guidelines. Try to remain objective, unbiased and maintain a neutral point of view. Be sure all info is verifiable and based in fact, not editorial opinion. And don’t go crazy with links and references.

Give it a shot… If you’ve done anything significant, like won a national award, written ebooks, spoken at seminars, are a CEO, or have done anything noticeable, or remarkable, ask a friend to make a Wiki entry for you. Then, if you’re lucky, and they accept your entry, maybe your name will start appearing at the top of the Google search results.

This is a quick win!

Successful SEO with B2B part 2

This is the next part in my collective sessions on SEO and Site Architecture. I’ve be discussing creating a successful SEO campaign with a B2B site and this post is going to elaborate on keyword research.

2. Determine relative popularity

Once you’ve created a full list of potential keywords, you need to determine the relative popularity of those search terms. Often paid search keyword research tools (such as Google’s Traffic Estimator) won’t have data because traffic for these terms is low. In some cases, there will be data, but it will show very low activity. That’s okay. Don’t pay too much attention to that. Rather, use tools like Keyword Discovery to determine relative historical popularity of your keywords. This will give you some idea of which search terms are used more often than others on your list. The actual raw number of searches for a given search term really doesn’t matter much.
When you’re doing this work, remember to enter the starter keyword(s) or starter keyphrase, letting your research tool return permutations and long-tail options. Not only will this give you a larger list to consider, but the results will often lead you down a path you hadn’t previously considered.

At SEO Liverpool we use Worktracker as our Keyword discovery tool. It’s an excellent resource with the ability to dig around keywords, save campaigns and most importantly you can revisit and add to your projects. This is paramount in keeping your campaign viable and responsive to change.

When I’m looking for some quick data you can’t beat the Adwords keyword tool. It’s great for checking the value of core keywords. We use this data when meeting with clients to make them aware of potential clients numbers looking for there products or services.

Stick around for the next instalment.

Successful SEO and site Architecture with B2B

I’ve seen recently some very common mistakes here at SEO Liverpool with B2B marketing websites. They usually make mistakes with organic search and inadequate site architecture-the fact that many B2B sites don’t have sufficient content to respond to desired search terms.

The common solution is to adding more content and trust me many do… proper site architecture is also critical.

Here is the first of many key points that will help your B2B site.

1. Identify potential keywords

Keyword strategy in B2B SEO is downright difficult. As numerous blog posts will tell you this is very step in your SEO Campaign poor keyword data can debilitate your strategy before it’s even got going. Your goal in this first step is not to make keyword choices or judgements, but rather to create the gross list, being as inclusive as possible of the potential terms actual prospects might use.
Focus on generic keywords; don’t get caught up in proprietary brand terms. Think of the types of products and services you sell. What do customers and prospects call things? Will their search string express the product/service sought, the problem they’re experiencing, or the type of company potentially offering solutions? Does geography play a role in the search string? Geo-specifics are quick wins.

keep reading for more tips.

PPC Basics Part 2

SEO Liverpool understand that Using Pay Per Click without knowing the fundamentals of advertising and writing copy is absolutely pointless. You’ll be taken to the cleaners and beaten at every turn by people who have learnt the game and understand the equilibriums

There are excellent resources available for quickly and painlessly learning the fundamentals. Obviously experience, is key but practising the fundamentals will improve your results the minute you start. You can run small campaigns at relatively little cost that will help you gain the understanding needed.

Book-wise if you’re a novice their is no shame in the Adwords for Dummies by Howie Jacobson. Excellent read and still a good resource for anybody involved in running a campaign. The only drawback is Google adds features periodically to it’s Adwords dashboard and you need to keep update with the latest tools.

Also check out this PPC video… it will help you understand how the process of the bid auction works

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Pay Per Click (PPC) The Fundamentals

Here at SEO Liverpool we are always trying to implement successful PPC advertising campaigns. How successful can we be you ask? We regularly hit Click Through Ratio’s of 5 and 11 percent obviously dependant on keyword competition. Double-digit rates are common, even for most competitive of PPC campaigns. Return on investment of is our major selling point and primary aim. Depending on client average customer values it can easily hit 100% more often than not.

Always check out Google advice and Youtube videos for the free help and advice…. never refuse Google help when it’s offered and just keep A/B testing.

Most of the techniques I’m going to share are based on the science of PPC. Simplistic best practices for constructing campaigns, Understanding the data, and interpretations to improve results. The rest is creative! Writing and designing you adverts and landing pages. Best practices and guidelines have already been studied and reported for years, and various resource as mentioned above are available for free.

The basics are based around exceptional keyword research, account/campaign structure, ad writing and design, bidding strategy, landing page design, and conversion optimisation. Always try and pick up a few new tips from blogs and guidelines that are constantly evolving. I guarantee you will always discover activities you can improve on and ways of taking your campaign over the top.
To succeed with PPC advertising depends on the ability to make potential clients take action, based completly on a few well researched and timed keywords or phrases. You don’t have to understanding how a search algorithm works or use all the features of Google AdWords. (although all if not most are useful and they add more periodically).

The ability to write persuasive ad copy using just 130 characters is a big challenge. Especially if you’re up against significant competition. Your words must not only persuade; they must stand out from a page full of words all shouting for your customer’s attention. And after your words have convinced the searcher to click through to your site, it’s persuasive words (augmented by graphics) that convince the visitor to become a customer. The best of the best online marketers have been testing, and refining ad writing techniques for a years now so there are some excellent resources out there. Learn the science then work on your creativity.
If you need any help please contact Summit Online Marketing 07968 848 228 for more help and advice or wait for the next exciting instalment!

dofollow Blog Google Search Engine

It was once a legitimate SEO tactic. Everybody does it! SEO Liverpool would find a contextually relevant post and comment leaving a link to your site. Some time ago WordPress and other blog platforms add nofollow to any links in your comments — including (and especially) your name?

Try this Do follow Blog custom search engine. It takes more time and energy but it can be worth it.

It’s not as easy to find the right post… don’t just say ‘great post’ make sure you can pass the spam and naff comment filter. You can generate some love from these blogs, Summit Online Marketing have had some real luck and floated some interesting ideas. It’s a great community and growing at quite an impressive rate. Keep it up

Blogs can be a godsend for links. A previous client of SEO Liverpool would direct each member of his staff to write a post relevant to his business each day as part of the team doing their bit. After 18 months they had generated a huge amount of backlinks and search engine traffic to the site. In conjunction with a robust content strategy and strong direction they achieved the search goals have excellent search engine ranking under the selected keywords.

I’m off for a few pints in Liverpool tonight as it’s been a frustrating day… as always

Just thought i’d share.

The fastest way to gain a high search engine ranking

I’ve dug out some information for an SEO Client of Summit Online Marketing Liverpool.

This is an incredibly common question and not very easy to answer in it’s current form. I’ve read a variety of posts on the subject over the past couple of years and here’s the general consensus.

Question: What’s the fastest way gain a high search engine ranking?

Lets break it down, all seasoned SEO Consultants understand the mantra ‘Content is King’ therefore the more relevant the content the better. A natural reaction to informative relevant and contextual content are links and these certainly help the cause.

So how do you generate content;-

Answer: From your Blog/News, any website that doesn’t generate content has a massive disadvantage unless awareness of the brand is already high.

I’d like to add that you can generate links from someone else’s blog, anarticle submission, a press release, or a directory like Yahoo. It doesn’t really matter where the links come from. But it’s the quality of the link that
has the most impact. The more PR (PageRank) and link popularity that a page has, the more of its “juice” that it will pass on to you. For example, the “real” purpose of most blogs, are to get deep incoming links to my main site. I post just a portion of an article on my blog, and then I deep link to the full story on my site. That way, all stories on my main site, have at least one incoming link.

In addition to the PR of the page hosting the link, what you say in the link is very important. Use your keywords in your links. They will build a Reputation for the pages that you link to. And that’s important for good SEO.