SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is not rocket science, it’s just time consuming to set up, and relies on a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of current web and search engine trends. Google and other search engines are constantly changing the way they index and rank sites, so the exact tools and tactics used to optimise a site need to be constantly reviewed to keep a site ranking highly. For this reason, many businesses choose to employ a professional to set up and maintain their SEO campaigns. You can see Enigma’s SEO services here.

We’re asked all the time what SEO really involves, so here are some ever-relevant methods:

• Awesome code. Above all else, Google needs the code to be clean, structured and standards compliant. Google loves WordPress, so if you’ve got a site built by Enigma you’re already hitting this mark.

• Meta Data, XML sitemap & Title Tagging – Basically Google pays particular attention to headings (it recognises that headings are the most important content on a page) so the trick is to use a lot of target terms in your headings. The XML sitemap & other meta-data help Google read and understand what your site is all about, which enables it to provide relevant search results to it’s users.

• Keyword rich content – it’s vital to use the target terms as much as possible within your content, particularly on the index (home) page. Obviously your site content still has to be readable for humans, but the more you can use the target terms the better.

• Reciprocal linking. You need to have as many hyperlinks in and out of the site as possible. Imagine your site as a node on a network, where the nodes (sites) are interconnected by hyperlinks. Particularly high traffic sites (eg facebook.com) are much bigger nodes, with many more connecting lines in and out. These larger nodes start to form the center of the network, while small sites with only a very few links in or out hover on the outer edges of the network. The way Google ranks relelvant content is by sending its ‘bots to ‘crawl’ this nodal network and spit out the matching search terms in ranked order (the order it finds them in). Basically the quicker Google can get to your site, the higher you’ll be ranked. Thus, the closer your site sits to the centre of the network, the higher your Google ranking, and you can bring your site towards the centre through reciprocal linking, preferably to high-traffic sites. This is also the premise on which social networking (including youtube vids) assists your search engine rank.

It is worth noting also that SEO forms just one part of a successful marketing campaign for your business. Yes, SEO is vitally important in being found online. But you need to ensure your site is attractive in order to capture the leads and convert your site traffic into sales, both in terms of the visual design, and the usefulness of your content. If you’re serious about marketing your business on the internet, it is well worth talking to a professional about all aspects of your online marketing campaign.