The more things change the more they stay the same. The old days of keyword spamming and link jamming might be long gone but the main target of what search engines, like Google are trying to achieve is an overall top rated experience for the customer who uses their platform.
Search engines, like Google, look at over 200 “signals” when evaluating websites on the internet. And every year they have been adding over 400 algorithm changes or “refinements” in an attempt to improve what customers see when they do a search. This is clearly why some sites that ranked great last year are seeing a drop in rankings this year.
This may never change as search engines are in an ongoing battle to win over customers by demonstrating that they can deliver the most relevant content for a search term.
While SEO, (Search Engine Optimization) might not be Rocket Science, it is necessary to stay up on these changes and add or remove those elements which the web crawlers are looking for. It certainly keeps us on our toes.
So here we go – SEO clarified and deconstructed…
WHAT IS SEO & HOW DOES IT WORK?
There are two parts to SEO, Online and Offline.
Search Engines use algorithms or formulas to dissect information on your own webpages (Online SEO) and information about your web pages discussed on other places around the net that you do not own (
When we then look at your target audience and your competition we can then “reverse engineer” what the search engines are looking for, making sure that your web pages have everything in the proper order and location to create the proper balance, both Onsite and Offsite.
So This Is How SEO Works…
Diving a little deeper into the continuous changes search engines are making and how they go about deciding on ranking webpages to the top of the search results we can define major elements they are looking into.
- Onsite – The content on your website and the way your pages are set up.
- First, your best keywords need to be targeted in clusters
- Then we match existing content to target those specific keyword clusters
- We create new content to target those keyword clusters
- Then we make sure your pages and content are interlinking with each other to help them be found within the website.
Offsite – The way your website is referred to from other online sources. - Most important is having or setting up relevant,
high quality incoming links - Making sure you have an active social media presence (At least 2 social posts per week).
- creating citations (non-linking references) about you
- Realize that up to half of the offline data that the search engines obtain are influenced by factors outside of your direct control.
Everything else is about strategy, techniques, tactics
Consider your website like a new island appearing somewhere out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Without sending a signal or a transmission to other countries, boats or planes for that matter, no will know that your island
Our job is to make sure the search engines know your there and when the web spiders come to crawl your site, looking for your business, that you appear like a well-oiled,
Keyword Research Done Right
Keyword clusters are groups of keyword phrases that contain high volume “core” keyword combinations. New keyword phrases are searched every day. Up to 25% of them have never been seen before by search engines. We focus on creating core keyword phrases to capture the bulk of possible scenarios for that given search term.
For example, let’s say we are working SEO for a “plumber” in Philadelphia. Our keyword combinations might include “Philadelphia plumber”, “plumber Philadelphia”, “expert plumber”, “local plumber” and so on. Using the latest software and SEO tools, we work to find you the best balance in your keyword phrase list to be targeted, ones that will reward you with the best return on investment.
Matching – New & Existing Content
Your main website page will generally target your most prized or “GUN” keyword. Our approach to your onsite SEO focuses on targeting each of your keyword phrases, according to hierarchy from each keyword cluster and to create a single page dedicated to that keyword phrase.
Because many new clients are generally not set up this way, we work with you to create new pages to reach these terms and give the search engines the content and relevancy they desire.
The Coding – Behind The Scenes
Few websites are setup correctly for SEO, many are designed with just aesthetics in mind. Unless your website is designed by our team or someone knowledgeable about website optimization, it can really end up hurting your rankings in the long run.
A major part of our online SEO involves making sure the majority of your pages are indexed and that there are no technical impediments causing the search engines to not find your content. Our role is to assist you and your web developer that everything is set up so your business is found online for the keywords you’re aiming for.
Link Profile – Offsite SEO
Search Engines see links from other websites to your website as being like a vote of confidence. The way they see it, is if other websites are linking to your web pages, you must have something good to see or read about. With this data, search engines will rate your page more positively.
Of course this is pretty basic however now more than ever before search engines take into consideration other important factors other than just the sheer number of links coming to your site. Every linking site has its own measure of value. Two common considerations are a websites quality score and page rank. Search engines today are really focusing on 3 major analytics.
• The trust value of each site linking to your web site. (Is this a new website that no one is linking to or does it have some reputation?)
• The theme of site linking to you. (How relevant is the linking site to what your main keywords are?
• The “Anchor Text” (the words that the link is embedded behind).
For instance, each link can’t have the anchor text of “plumber” because that does not look natural in the eyes of the search engines.
Instead, anchor text like; (“best plumber”, “plumber in Philadelphia”, “drain cleaning”, “faucet repair”, ect). The right proportion of anchor text links will give the search engines the appearance that your site is being naturally linked to and will not devalue or penalize your site for using spam links.
Social Profile – Offsite SEO
Today it is vital to have a social presence online. The search engines are now looking for social references about your business as a major determining factor of quality score. A website or business that is getting talked about via Facebook, Twitter or Google plus is far more likely to get ranked higher because of these factors.
Just being on these social platforms is not enough, they want to see activity and communication displayed from these sites. As if a business today doesn’t have enough to do already, they want to see you involved with your customer base. But don’t worry, here at A.S.M.C. we have you covered. It’s what we do.
Citation Profile – Offsite SEO
Citations are references from other sites about your company name, address, phone number or website that may not actually link to you but are recognizable to Search Engines. Having your information stated correctly, without variations is very important. Citations are particularly useful in enhancing your Search Results as they also coincide with search engine maps and geo-location rankings.
So That’s SEO In A Nutshell
As we mentioned earlier, everything else is about technique, strategy and finesse. Getting these in the right amount and order has helped our clients achieve page 1 rankings in far less time than it would take otherwise.
At Phase 4 Makreting., we pride ourselves on knowing that the time we devote to our clients online success is a measure of our own success.
If you have any questions or would like a free evaluation for your current online or offline link profile, just let us know and we can help you get set up correctly.
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
Let’s work together
Getting your business found and chosen online is what we do. At phase 4 Marketing, your business is our business. With over 40 years of combined marketing experience, we know how to get you ahead of your competition. When it comes to marketing our business, let us do the heavy lifting so you can focus on your business. Click the button below to get started.