Leicester SME,s Failing at Search Engine Optimisation.
Posted on | July 29, 2010 | No Comments
I came across this very interesting article (on browsermedia ’s site) whilst carrying out some keyword research for a new client.
SMEs failing at SEO
An interesting summary of a recent ‘State of UK Business Websites 2010′ study has been posted on the excellent Econsultancy blog, which highlights that most SMEs are failing when it comes to SEO.
The study, commissioned by Thomson Local, was carried out by Analytics SEO and looked at 1,001 SME websites to review them against a range of SEO criteria.
In many ways,we are not surprised by the general findings but there are some interesting specific points:
A correlation between organisation size and level of search engine optimisation (notably, 70% of companies with less than 50 employees having minimal or no evidence of search optimisation) : perhaps unsurprising, but we have seen a growing amount of small / new businesses that do totally ‘get’ online and know how important search can be. Equally, there are still many old-school businesses (thinking specifically about legal firms) who continue to amaze us for their reticence to embrace digital, so it is likely that the size factor may be less important over the coming years in our humble opinion.
12% of business websites are not indexed at all : this is obviously crippling to the value of having a website at all – if a search engine doesn’t know your site is there, it will never send any traffic to it.
82% of SME websites do not have an html sitemap and 75% do not have an XML sitemap : Both these figures are alarmingly high, as it is very easy to create a sitemap, but it is surprising to see that there are more sites with XML sitemaps than html sitemaps.
It is an interesting study and one that would be good to see each year, to see how SMEs use of the online channel evolves.
To those involved at the coalface of online marketing, it seems incredible to think that many businesses are still not taking online very seriously, but it is easy to forget that setting up a business is demanding and business owners are pulled in a lot of different directions.
Whilst battling with the innevitable business issues / hurdles that are thrown at you, it can be easy to put the website on a low priority list and any thoughts of SEO will probably be put on the ‘only do if the world has stopped spinning’ list, so it is not really very surprising to see the results of the study.
We should also remember that search marketing is still a relatively new phenomenon and businesses have survived and prospered without it before. It would be foolish to suggest that you should ignore it, but it would be equally foolish to write off a business simply because it doesn’t have an html sitemap.
I work with companies both large and small and always enjoy the challenge of SEO for SMEs, so please feel free to contact me today if you feel that you belong to the 47% of SMEs that are currently not engaging with SEO.
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Tags: Business websites > Search Engine Optimisation > SEO
WHY YOU NEED TO BUILD BACKLINKS TO YOUR LEICESTER BUSINESS WEBSITE.
Posted on | July 26, 2010 | No Comments
Building backlinks to your Leicester Business Website.
Building backlinks to a website is an off page optimisation method that is widely used by search engine optimisation consultants,web designers and owners as a way of increasing traffic to a website. The importance of backlinking has grown to become one of the leading SEO strategies in web marketing. Given the vastness of the internet, website operators have realised the need to embed their URLs on as many sites as possible to increase the likelihood that their sites will be visited by web users.
Building backlinks or inbound links is a way that this task can be achieved. Apart from increasing the probability that your site will be found, search engines also use the number of backlinks that website have as a criteria to rank the site. The more backlinks implies that the site is more popular and important to web users. However, care must be taken to ensure that these backlinks are from reputable sites and not just from junk sites. If you have backlinks to too many junk sites, Google will penalise your website by placing it into the “sandbox”.
Backlinks may be created in several ways some of which are shown below:
- Create a Hubpage or Squidoo lens
- Forum marketing
- Blogs
Hubpages is a user generated content website that allows users to post material to the site where this web material is contained in a separate web page. The web material on the hubpages are submitted in the form of a magazine, and hubbers benefit by having their URL attached to this posting. This is a good way of obtaining a backlinking to your website and the use of hubpages is growing on the web.
Squidoo lens is similar to Hubpages in its basic design in that Squidoo lens is also a user generated content website. User, in this case the lensmaster, uses lenses to write extensively about a subject of their choice. The site allows lensmaster to earn income from link referral that are included on their lenses. By participating on Squidoo as a lensmaster, you may create backlinks for your website and increase traffic.
When you take part in online forums, you can boost the visibility of your website and promote your products. Because forums are specialised groups of person sharing a common interest, this is a sure fire way to gain traction by including your URL in the comments that you post to these discussions.
You can gain access to blogs that discuss matters relating to the goods or services that you offer and post your comments there. By so doing, you will be able to create one way backlinks to your website for visitors of this blog.
The importance of backlinking originates from the emphasis that search engines place on the popularity of websites. Search engines have algorithms that count the number of quality backlinks that a website has and use this count as a way of assigning that site’s pagerank. Backlinking is also about getting quality links for your site. Given the importance of backlinking, you should employ an experienced search engine optimisation consultant to carry out this task for you. Getting too many backlinks from the wrong places can mean trouble for your Leicester business website.
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Tags: Backlinking > Backlinks > Forums > Hubpages > Inbound Links > Leicester Business Websites > Search Engine Optimisation Consultant > Squidoo
Submitting your Leicester Business Website to the Search Engines.
Posted on | June 27, 2010 | No Comments
How to submit your Leicester business website to the Search Engines.
Search engine submission is the process of sending your website’s URL to search engines. Submitting your Leicester business website to search engines may be carried out automatically or manually.
Automatic submissions, however, are on the decline, and some of the major search engines, namely Google, have warned users against the use of unauthorized software to submit URLs. Some search engines treat automated submission as spams. Despite this, some automatic URL submission service providers have devised ingenious methods to attract users to utilize their products.
Some of these methods include free meta tag checking and offering to do a complete review of websites in order to improve site ranking. In these instances, website owners are given the promise that their site will be submitted to many top search engines.
The real challenge of the automatic submission is the proof that the work was actually done. Because indexing on search engines can take a while, providers of automatic submission services may use this fact to avoid proving that your website was really submitted. When using automatic software, the different requirements of the various search engines are not acknowledged. Consequently, mass submission software may not achieve the objectives of the submission.
If you want to ensure that you’re properly submitted, it is recommended that you do so manually. The major search engines have specific formats that must be followed to guarantee that your URL is accepted and indexed. There are tools on the market with direct links to the search engine submission pages and allow you to quickly go to the “add URL” page. Additionally, you could use the services of a manual submission service to save the time and effort of doing this yourself.
Before you hurry off to submit your Leicester business website to search engines, here are a few items you must consider:
- Ensure that your web pages are thoroughly and professionally done
- Include a site map to assist web robots with crawling
- Avoid websites that offer to do manual submission cheaply – manual submission is time intensive and does not come cheaply
The submission of an incomplete website just to quickly “get something out there” may result in your site not featuring highly on the search engine results pages. Additionally, visitors to an incomplete website may develop a feeling of distrust and may be reluctant to do business with you. Remember, you do not get a second chance to make a first impression, so do things right the first time and get your website done professionally with original content and relevant keywords.
Site maps are a good way of informing Google and other major search engines about all the pages listed on your website. Site maps can be designed to provide information about specialised web content such as video and geographical location.
The critical benefit of submitting your Leicester business website is to get noticed on the internet. Submitting your business website to search engines must be taken seriously to ensure that your site does not get treated as spam. If a site gets labeled as spam, it could spell the end of the site on the web. Therefore, you should use a trusted professional to submit your website to the major search engines.
For further information on submitting your Leicester business website to all the major search engines contact Search Engine Optimisation Leicester using the contact form or email mark@searchengineoptimisationleicester.com
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Tags: automatic submission > Google > Leicester business website > manual submission > meta tag check > searc h engine submission > site map
LEICESTER BUSINESS WEBSITES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF OFF PAGE OPTIMISATION .
Posted on | June 22, 2010 | 1 Comment
Off page optimisation for Leicester Business Websites.
Off page optimisation is an SEO technique that deals with activities off the page of a website that can maximize the site’s performance in the search engines, in particular for target keywords related to the on page content and keywords in off page direct links. In other words, what can you do apart from using the website’s content to attract traffic to your site? There are, in fact, a number of things that you can do to get more traffic to your Leicester business website in addition to relying on the quality and content of your web pages.
Some of these activities are:
- Article writing and submission
- Directory submission
- Using Web 2.0
- Forum marketing
- Social book marking
- Backlinking
This post will outline the importance of off page optimisation to getting more targeted traffic to your website, and will briefly describe the off page techniques listed above.
Some of the most effective methods to get noticed online include submission of articles to directories, the writing and publishing of online press releases, participating in forums and blogging. The submission of articles has proven to be an effective and economical way to achieve market reach and increase traffic flow to any website. When you submit articles to different directories, you have created inbound links to your Leicester business website as your site is just a click away. With high quality articles, readers may be enticed to visit your website for more details.
After writing your articles it is important that you get them submitted to the most important directories so that they are accessible by web users. In this case, you may need to conduct a survey to determine which directories to target. Doing this exercise yourself can be tedious and it is recommended that you use the services of an experienced directory submission professional. In this way you will be able to benefit from the links that the expert already has.
Web 2.0 offers users the opportunity to instantly interact with a website in ways not commonly seen before. As an off page optimisation strategy, Web 2.0 gives visitors the means to contribute the content of the site as opposed to just viewing it. This interactive capability can be very appealing to viewers, and users sometimes take ownership of the direction that the development of a site is going. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook rely on the Web 2.0 technology to drive them.
A forum is a group of people with a common interest who cluster together to discuss that interest. If you are promoting a particular commodity, joining a forum will quickly get you connected to the group of persons who have an interest in your product. Usually, you need to follow the forum’s protocol before you may post messages on the site that are promoting your goods. Once you have made the posting, your URL will be available to the group and this can enhance your site traffic.
Backlinking is a powerful off page optimisation method; the term is used to describe how many other web nodes are pointing to a particular site. It may be used as a measure of how popular a website is. The more backlinks you have is an indication that many other website are interested in your site. Backlinking, if carried out by an experienced web professional, can significantly increase the traffic to your website.
The benefits and importance of off page optimisation cannot be underestimated, and you, too, can enjoy these rewards. However, to maximize these benefits you should consult with an SEO consultant in Leicester who will guide you through the complexities of this web technique.
For further information on Off page optimization for your Leicester business website or a free, no obligation consultation and report regarding your website contact Search Engine Optimisation Leicester using the simple contact form.
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Tags: Article directories > Directory submission > Forum Marketing > Leicester Business Websites > OFF PAGE OPTIMISATION > Web 2.0
The Importance of On Page Optimisation.
Posted on | June 17, 2010 | No Comments
Web Design Leicester and the Importance of On Page Optimisation.
Given the vast amount of websites on the internet, website owners are forced to come up with clever, creative and ingenious ways to get noticed online. Search engine optimisation is the process by which websites owners attempt to enhance the visibility of their websites on search engines such as Google. The two main ways that this can be done are on page optimisation and off page optimisation. On page optimisation refers to the ranking that a website gets as a direct result of the structure and content on the website. It is critical for you to design your website in such a way as to benefit from SEO techniques that will make your website attain a high ranking by the search engines and appear on the first page when customer use search engines. Most times, consumers who search online tend to browse those websites that appear on the first page when their search results are returned. Getting on the first page is therefore an important factor to increasing your website traffic.
The elements that are covered by on page optimisation are:
- Title tag
- Meta tag
- HTML header tags
- Keyword optimisation and synonyms
- Link optimisation
The title tag determines the area on the website that the page title appears, usually at the very top. The title should be chosen so that it is says something about the content of the page and can be picked up easily because search engines use title tags to make links in search results. Your title tag should be short yet descriptive of your business. The title tag is the first thing that is shown and indexed by search engines.
Meta tags are elements used in HTML or XHTML to specify page description and keywords about a website. It is important that you use the meta tag as a selling point for the website by including elements that are not already in your title tag. The meta tags are often used by search engines to correctly categorize websites. Meta tags are not usually seen by the user, but are essentially machine-readable codes. Meta tag keywords are important because a creative webmaster may design the tags to enhance a website’s ranking by the search engines through the use of relevant keywords.
The use of HTML headers is another important tool in on page optimisation, as text within your header tags is given high priority by search engines. You may use HTML headers, h1 to h6, to obtain text styles such as bold, italics and different font sizes.
The content on your web page should be constructed so that it is suitable for both search engines and readable for the viewers. Keywords should be chosen with these objectives in mind, and synonyms may be used to avoid presenting the page with a high keyword density.
The relevant links for on page optimisation consist of internal links and anchor text, and they essentially assist the users to navigate either within a page or outwards to other similar pages. For best results, it is recommended that anchor text be selected to include an appropriate keyword or provide clear instruction or information to the web page users.
In the hands of our experienced and skilled website designers, a website can be developed to extract maximum benefit from on page optimisation. If you engage the services of our webmasters, your Leicester business website will be able to be ranked highly by the major search engines.
For further information regarding on page optimisation for your website or to schedule a free, no obligation 1 hour consultation and report about your company website and online marketing strategy simply contact Mark at Search Engine Optimisation Leicester using the simple contact form the Contact Us page.
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Tags: anchor text > HTML header tags > Keyword optimisation and synonyms > Link optimisation > Meta tag > On Page Optimisation > search engines > Title tag > Web Design Leicester > webmasters
Finding the Correct Keywords for your Leicester Website.
Posted on | June 14, 2010 | No Comments
Keywords are more than just part of the content of your web page; keywords are the words that will bring targeted traffic to your website. A great way to start is to identify the particular problems that your customers are trying to solve and select concepts and phrases that will assist them in finding a solution. Finding the correct keywords for your site is critical because you need to identify those words that are most likely to be typed in by customers when they use search engines to obtain information about a particular business category. Keywords, therefore, must be carefully chosen to increase the likelihood that your website will be returned high on the ranking for SERPs. The key to selecting proper keywords is to obtain a suite of relevant words that are associated with your business and balance this selection against the needs of search engine rankings. It makes no sense for you to choose keywords that are so unique that potential clients are not likely to use them in their search for products that you sell.
Fortunately, there are techniques that you may employ in order to find appropriate keywords that can help to increase targeted traffic to your website. Some considerations for finding the correct keywords include:
- Brain storming to create your original list of keywords
- Use spreadsheet to rank chosen words by keyword effectiveness index
- Make use of online tools such as WordTracker or Overture
- Use long tailed keywords
Apart from driving targeted traffic to your site, finding the correct keywords also plays an important role in the following instances:
- Measuring traffic potential – analyzing the popularity of keywords can help to determine the size of an online potential market
- Write effective content – the right keywords can make you connect quickly with customers and address their needs through your site content
- Understand user behavior – words used by clients can give you an idea of their needs and how best to satisfy these needs
In the beginning, search engine algorithms relied on webmasters to include search tags that were used in online searches, and in some instances this led to manipulation of the system by some website designers. Subsequently, search engines have improved their methods, and now it is more difficult to game the search engines. Search engines utilize the input of the users to return the most relevant search results for that input. Hence, knowing what words are often used by customers may result in better ranking for your website and increased traffic. Care, however, must be exercised, because over-saturation of the page content with keywords may be considered “stuffing”, and your site can be penalised. In order to address this situation, the use of synonyms is recommended.
Keyword optimisation ranks very high on the list of factors that search engines use to determine the ranking of a website. Keywords also play a vital role in how web users go about searching for information. Therefore, finding the correct keywords can determine if your website is returned on the first two pages or on page 30 of the SERPs. Remember, most persons will not go beyond 3 pages of the SERP to find what they want; finding the correct keywords is a task that must not be taken lightly.
Keyword research is one of the many services we offer at Search Engine Optimisation Leicester. To make sure your Leicester business website is optimised for the correct keywords that your potential customers are searching for in the search engines contact us now for a free, no obligation 1 hour consultation.
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Why Leicester Businesses Need a SEO Consultant
Posted on | June 7, 2010 | No Comments
Search Engine Optimisation in Leicester.
The use of the internet has become more widespread in Leicester, and most local shoppers now indicate their reliance on the web as the preferred choice to source goods and services. Consequently, Leicester businesses need a SEO consultant to assist them in reaching their targeted customers. The Leicester market has shifted to the internet and local firms need to respond to this change. If you are the operator of a business in this area, we will use this post to demonstrate how your company can benefit from utilizing our SEO expertise. The main role of our company is to get your business maximum exposure on the web and increase your sales. We are confident that we can achieve this feat because of the various methods we have at our disposal to ensure your success.
The first task that we would recommend to you is the construction of a website. A website is cheaper advertising than printing and broadcasting. Additionally, the website will have a greater reach than the more traditional mediums. Owning a website will give your business 24 hours per day exposure and provide convenience to your customers. In order to enjoy the best out of a website, you should employ professionals with the requisite expertise to help you. All our web designers have been designing websites for several years, and you will benefit from their enormous skills. The building of a website can be a tedious and time-consuming task and should be left to experts to be completed.
In the process of building your website we will apply techniques to ensure that your site is equipped with the finest on page and off page optimisation features. Our webmasters will give your website the look and feel that will satisfy your needs and entice customers to utilize site. One of the most important factors in building a website is to ensure that the site gets a high ranking from the major search engines. In this regard, we will make full use of our SEO skills and assist you in the selection of appropriate keywords to get your site top ranking from the important search engines. We know how critical a good ranking is, so we will guide you wisely.
Leicester businesses need a SEO consultant because we can explain to you the benefits of article marketing in getting traffic to your site. We will assist you in submitting your articles to our already established list of reputable directories. In this way, your site can obtain numerous quality backlinks to enhance its visibility.
Once your website is up and running, you can depend on us to use Web 2.0 as an interactive way of engaging your clients and getting their feedback. If you want to use videos as part of your advertising campaign, we will be able to do this for you, too.
Now that you have read what we have to offer, we trust that you understand why Leicester businesses need a SEO consultant. Our company is versatile and we are committed to getting you the best results, so please do not hesitate to contact us today.
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Tags: Article Marketing > Leicester > Leicester Businesses > Leicester Businesses Need a SEO Consultant > SEO > SEO Consultant > Video Marketing > Web 2.0 Marketing
Why Your Leicester Business Needs A Website.
Posted on | March 18, 2010 | 1 Comment
In todays economic climate it is essential to create a website for your business,even if it’s a local Leicester business.
You might ask why, after all your business has survived for years serving the local community so why do you need a website for your Leicester business?
The answer is very simple.The way that your potential customers or even existing clients search for services and products and just about anything they need has moved from newspapers such as the Leicester Mercury and the Yellow pages to the Internet.In fact in a recent local survey of Internet users over 78% stated that they will use the Internet to look for products and especially services in Leicester and then purchase them in Leicester!
As a Leicester business owner you are serving a generation of potential buyers that has grown up with the Internet.And with the rapidly expanding use of Internet ready mobile phones Leicester business needs to be were people who are ready to buy can find them.Online!
If you are a local Leicester service provider such as a….. solicitor,accountant,elctrician,plumber,dentist,doctor,restaurant or hotel owner and you do not have a website promoting your services to potential buyers,you are losing sales.
Just think about it for a moment.Over 78% of those interviewed in Leicester stated that they go online to search for products and especially local services and then purchase them in Leicester.
The people that find your business website online are the best type of lead that your business could wish for, they are pre-qualified.They have actively type into a search engine such as Google or Yahoo a word or a series a words that describes your product or services that you can help them with ie. plumber in Leicester or reliable plumber in Leicester.If you compare this to placing an advert in a local newspaper were 91% of the people that see your ad are either not interested in your offer at that specific time or could not care less.
But having a website and having a website that potential buyers can find in the search engines are two completly different things.Any web designer in Leicester can build you a website but there is a science that has to be used to get your site to show up on the first page of the search results.
The simple fact is if your website is not found on the first page of the search results, the number of sales and or leads that your site generates will be far less than that of your competitors who are on the first page.
This is where a professional search engine optimisation (SEO) consultant can help you.At Search Engine Optimisation Leicester we understand the search engines and employ the best practices to rank your website on the first page when someone is searching for the goods or services you provide and sell.
It is important to retain the services of an SEO professional to get your site ranked well in the local results page.This is where your site is listed based on standard search engine optimisation factors but also on geo targetted information which is embedded in the HTML code of the web pages of your site.
The Internet should be considered a major part of advertising and sales campaigns for any Leicester business.Used alongside other media, online marketing can really drive your sales and profits in right direction.
For further information on affordable website design and SEO services for your Leicester business, telephone 0116 258900 now and schedule your free consultation.
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SEO For Leicester Businesses
Posted on | February 9, 2010 | No Comments
SEO Gets Your Leicester Business’ Website Found!
SEO For Leicestershire Businesses
Is It Difficult To Conceive That Your website For Your Local,Leicester Business,Can Be Seen On The Front Page Of Google,It Can,By Means Of Unpaid (organic) Search Engine Optimisation,(SEO).
Right Now You Can get Your Leicester Business Website On The Front page Of Google.
If you are in the same boat as a lot of small businesses in Leicestershire,your website is the most undervalued and underutilised resource you own.Even though you may own a website, is it easily found by potential customers or is it lost amongst the hundreds of thousands of competing websites from all over the globe?When your clients search for you on Google,yahoo or Bing (the major search engines) where is your site, on the front page or way,way back on page 56? And if a prospective client is fortunate enough to find your site,does it work for you like a super salesman,someone who converts browsers to buyers?Or more like the cleaners on a tea break?
Now just for a moment imagine a completely different scenario,your website is amongst the top ten sites on Google,Yahoo and Bing in Leicester or Leicestershire and you have not used expensive advertising programs.Or, even better your site can be found in the number one,two and three positions.You have customers flocking to your business to spend their money.How would this affect your bottom line and improve your personal life if your business was the easiest to find in the search engines.
Are you interested,skeptical or just unsure? Well without any sales jargon, just provable facts and figures I will show you how I can do this for your business.All you have to do is contact Search Engine Optimisation Leicester using the contact form on the Contact Us page of this site.
Search Engine Optimisation Leicester is an SEO company, we do just what our name says, provide search engine optimisation for Leicester businesses. We will first help your customers find your web site and then show you how to keep them there so you make money with your website rather than just using it as an online brochure.
When potential customers see your website they must be able to find exactly what they are looking for and they want to see an attractive site that gives them the information they are seeking and holds their attention.With more and more people using the Internet to purchase their goods or to find local businesses the saying “easy come easy go” has never been more apt.If your website doesn’t grab and hold their attention potential customers will click away faster than they clicked onto your site.
This is why Search Engine Optimisation Leicester offers a very affordable website design service (prices start from under £20 per month including hosting & domain name) and every aspect of local online marketing for your Leicester business.In plain and simple terms , we make it so simple for your customers to find you, quickly get in touch with you and buy from you rather than your competition.
If you want your website to stand head and shoulders above your competitors and watch as your sales and profits soar contact me NOW. to schedule your free consultation.
Are you a local Leicesteshire based company who wants calls from your local area where you do business?
If you are a plumber in Lutterworth, a hairdresser in Loughborough or have a local service business in Leicester you don’t want calls coming in from Liverpool that just wastes time. But what if all the web traffic was carefully tailored to come from people that live in the Leicestershire area where you do business? That’s what we’re talking about, local clients who want a local business! If you’re a dentist in Leicester, the only kind of client that makes sense is someone in Leicester, who’s interested in dental treatment. We understand what local business means and that’s all we bring you.
Search Engine Optimisation Leicester is A SEO, search engine optimisation, company that specialises in getting your website found by others at the top of Google, Yahoo and Bing!We guarantee you a first page ranking on Google for YOUR local business or you pay nothing!
Search Engine Optimisation Leicester
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