Search engine optimisation

I come across a lot of confusion when it comes to search engine optimisation. How do I get the most from my site? How can I get higher in the rankings?

Here are three simple tips:

1. Make sure your key phrases are in your page title
Every web page has a page Title - you’ll see it at the top of your browser window. This Title should include your key words or key phrases. And because every page on your site will have different content, the Titles for each page should also be different. If you’ve got a website with a Content Management System (CMS) you’ll probably be able to change your Titles yourself. If you don’t have a CMS you’ll need to get your web agency to change it for you. It’s a quick job. Max 5 mins per page - so don’t let them charge you the earth!

2. Inbound links are everything - get some!
Search engines (SEs) love links. They act as a sort of popularity vote. The more inbound links your site has, the more the popular the SE’s think your site is (otherwise why would people be linking to you?). And consequently, the higher the SEs will rank your site. You can check how many inbound links your site has by going to Yahoo and typing in “Link:www.yourwebsite.co.uk”. Press return and Yahoo will show you a list of all the sites linking to you. Now of course you can do the same thing with your competitors - it’s great market research. You’ll often find that the sites that rank higher than yours will have more links. Now all you need to do is get more links to your site! Come along to one of our free seminars and I’ll show you how to do it.

3. Love your website
When ranking a site, the SEs also take into account how often the content of the site is refreshed and updated. They think that a site that has not been touched for a year or more may not be as relevant as one that is updated every other month. So show your site some regular love!

Andy Chemney is managing director of Ignition CBS