SEO – The First Steps
July 21st, 2010
Website optimisation involves a lot of work, but if you want to avoid your website being a draughty space on barren plains that no one visits it has to be done. The good news is we can break the process down into straightforward stages that bit-by-bit will fashion a site that scores highly with the search engines.
The most crucial first step? Selecting a domain name. This is purchased at the start of the process and creates a home for your content. It is also referred to as a URL or web address, but actually a URL is the address of each individual page, of which there will be a number within your domain. So my own domain is nexus-copywriting.co.uk, whereas the pages within my site are part of that domain but have their own URLs, such as nexus-copywriting.co.uk/copywriting_services.html. Search engines study URLs for clues about the content of each page and since every URL on your site contains the domain name it’s a vital consideration. A domain name that uses relevant keywords for your business, for instance, will work hard to improve your ranking.
Many businesses would want to use their company name for the domain, but you must ask yourself honestly if that will generate traffic to your site. Will people be searching for your company or the product/service that it provides? If the latter, then you should consider other options. For example, perhaps the Braydels have a family lighting store and want to promote their business online. Braydel.com gives search engines no information about that business, but braydel-lighting.com provides an instant handle on the nature of the business. Going further, quality-lighting.com or essex-lighting.co.uk. provide even greater opportunity to channel likely keywords entered into search engines by customers. Naturally any business is proud of its name, but the hard truth is that customers aren’t bothered – they simply want to find what they need! The task is to help them find your site; then you can promote your brand.
Another possibility to consider is buying an established domain. It’s very possible that if you choose a keyword-based name it will already have been registered, but that only serves to demonstrate it’s a tried and tested strategy. More importantly, though, in recent years search engines have started giving great weight to domain age. The reasoning for this is that older domains are clearly not fly-by-night fraudulent sites and the search engines trust them. That’s why domains can be sold for many thousands of pounds – and if they improve your site’s search rankings they can certainly be worth the money! However, you need to be careful – used domains can be like second-hand cars. Changed ownership, movements to different servers and the types of link to that domain in the past can all affect its performance in the rankings. There are numerous online checkers that will tell you more about a specific domain’s age.
Unfortunately, if you’re not buying an older domain you will have to be patient – it will be very difficult to earn a high search result in the early days of your site, no matter how well optimised it is.
The other main consideration when starting out with your new site is how to structure it. It’s important that each page is optimised for specific searches. Mixing many different products or services on the same page weakens its strength in search results. If someone searches for “garden ornaments” for instance, and your range has been placed on a page with garden tools then your site is less likely to feature high in the search results. Don’t think simply of attracting people to your homepage, which then serves as a springboard to the rest of your site – every page must work hard to target specific and different search terms and you should arrange your content accordingly.
If you have clearly focused content on each page the search engines will love your site and see it as an authority on whatever is being searched for. Consequently, if you structure your site in this manner you will make it easier for customers to find you. But be careful not to go too far – your site must be customer-friendly too so don’t have too many pages that are difficult to navigate!
So, now you’ve taken your first steps to powerful search engine optimisation by naming your site and devising a structure that’s search engine friendly. The next stage is to start writing the content and there will be further articles to help you do so in a way that will see your site climbing ever higher in the rankings.
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About the Author:
I’m a professional copywriter who produces sharp, creative, results-driven business writing. Visit my website now to see how I can help your business connect more powerfully with customers.
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SEO - The First Steps
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