SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a term that evolves at the same pace that Google changes it’s algorithm. If we look back at what was needed to optimise a website 5 years ago and we look at what you need to do today, it has changed a great deal but for the better.

The ultimate aim is to make websites better for their customers. Google is filtering out sites and content that doesn’t represent good value to its customers – the searcher. Google wants to make sure that its customer has the best results possible for his or her query. But how does it determine that? Traditionally, Google would look at the amount of links back to your site and give it effectively a thumbs up rating based on the number of links, but gone are the days when you could get links from any Tom, Dick or Harry to boost your rankings. They are now looking for targeted links from relevant websites.

In the “old days” it was pretty easy to optimise your website for search. You highlighted the keywords that you wanted to target, you built a page, added the keywords and made sure the page contained the correct amount of copy, alt tags, page titles and URLs mentioning the desired keyword and hey presto, you had an optimised page that should rank well. Google didn’t really care too much about the look or the quality of the site, as long as it has the above you would get the results.

So, what has changed?

Google is now looking for quality, user-centric content that is well written and delivered on a regular basis. They want dedicated, insightful content on a given industry. Although adding meta tags is good practice for Yahoo and MSN, Google actually doesn’t look at these anymore as a source of ranking a webpage within its algorithm.

Anyone who has a website and is looking to rank strongly organically in Google, Yahoo and MSN need to make sure they have a proper keyword strategy to help with targeting and optimisation. If you don’t then your website will fail to live up to your expectations.

Of course SEO is not solely based on the copy you write for your website, you still have to make sure your “on page” optimisation is correct and in line with the copy/content and the target keyword on that page. This can be a tiring and pain staking job if you have a large website but a worthwhile one none the less.

Adding a blog or updateable news section to your site is essential to allow you to write good keyword rich articles, but it needs to be more than just a blog. Google is looking for a strong mix of content from web pages, blogs, social media and videos etc - the more variety the better. The content needs to be relevant to the keywords that are being searched for to find your services or products.

For example, if you are a Wallpaper supplier that offers cost effective products, then writing content on “Discount Wallpaper” is a good idea. But, as well as that, maybe develop a video to explain your offering which links through social media channels to back this up. This will help your business drive sales of your “Discount Wallpaper” products by increasing inbound traffic to your site.

But…

If when they arrive on your site they encounter a poor user journey, badly designed pages, poor imagery or your prices aren’t actually as “discount” as you say they are, then you will not convert these visitors into paying customers!

I think a good way of looking at SEO is to understand what Google actually wants. Your agency should be on hand to communicate with you if there are changes that need to be made to your website should Google add some unique algorithm to their latest update. If you know what Google wants, then it is easier to optimise your site to gain large benefits. In reality, Google is looking for a well-structured, well designed website with a clear, concise user journey, with content that will enrich and educate the end user. You have basically got to do it better than your competition.

So don’t forget to keep an eye on what they are doing and don’t get left behind. Google wants this delivered with a clear mix of media as mentioned earlier in my blog. The reason they want a mix of media is they believe that this gives the end user a more educated and more complete content delivery and you are serving their “customer” well. Google evaluates your content for a lot of different characteristics - relevancy, usefulness, quality, consistency, positive feedback and diversity of format (web pages, blogs, social media, videos etc…). They are also looking for websites that are regularly updated with great articles. So if you don’t already, do some detailed keyword research on what keywords you should be targeting, and then develop a blogging strategy with your team that is regular and consistent. Engage with different aspects of your business to chip in and help. Create articles from a sales perspective, production or even research and make sure you do at least a couple per week.

I used to use the quote a few times when in website pitches for Absolute and I would say “A picture sells a thousand words” and then when discussing video I would say “A video sells and thousand pictures” and in reality that is what Google thinks as well. Video is great, entertaining content that can really add value to your website. A good video has 80% more chance of being viewed if it is placed in a good clear location on your website. With inventions such as GoPro cameras, videos don’t have to be expensive to put together. You can experiment with factory tours, interviews with the team and just company overviews etc. Google also loves web pages that receive lots of positive ratings (especially Google Local or Map pages with Google +1 ratings and four or more stars).

One point I would like to finish on, is don’t try and cheat the system. Gone are the days when you could keyword stuff content on pages or create duplicate sites or linkback farms as Google is far too clever for that. In my last blog earlier this year I included a video of Matt Cutts explaining how Google works and it is even more complex now. So take my advice, do the above and you will start to see some great results without the need to get black listed from Google.