Whether the aim of your site is to sell a product, or simply inform and enlighten, you will want a working internet marketing plan. A large part of this is ensuring your site scores highly on searches – i.e. appears on page one or two of the search engine rankings. Many people invest in expensive SEO tools and software, and attempt to do the job themselves. However, a better idea is to invest in the services of a good search engine optimization company – who will have all the tools you need.

When a company is asked to improve site rankings, it will look closely at the internal architecture of the site, in particular at the site mapping hierarchy – if one exists. They will then look at the page URLs and ensure they are visible to the search engines. This means using clearly defined keywords in the file name, that reflect those most likely to be used in searches. For example, if you were a sportswear supplier who sells tennis shoes, the relevant title may look like this: YourDomainName.co.uk/womens-tennis-shoes.html.

You will notice we have used hyphens rather than underscored spaces. This is because hyphens are recognised as spaces, whereas underscores are not. This makes the pages more visible to the search engines. Be careful, though, not to use too many hyphens or it can look spammy. In addition, you must remember that you have a finite number of characters to fit your title into, meaning 3 hyphens should be the max.

Your site will benefit enormously from a blog. While many search engine optimisation services will happily install one, few offer a copywriting service to complement it. You can get articles expertly written, but the writers need to know what keywords to insert, and in what density. One of the best SEO tools you can invest in is WordTracker. Others include Keyword Discovery and the Google AdWords tool. Although free versions of these are available, it’s more beneficial to purchase the full product, when running a business.

One area of SEO that leaves site owners bemused is where to put primary keywords so pages score highly in rankings. The most important thing to remember is that every page should have a title, unique and relevant to that page, which includes the primary key phrase (normally a recurring term of 2 to 3 words). Titles are an extremely important part of search engine optimisation; if primary key phrases aren’t included, it’s unlikely the pages will do well in searches.

Many SEO services include meta descriptions on client pages. A meta description is a descriptive tag that is hidden on the HTML, but becomes visible below site listings on searches. Although it won’t affect page rankings, it’s a useful tool as it can be used to attract people into clicking on that page. Content should be short, descriptive and relevant, and include relevant keywords. A meta description is a good way of inserting extra keywords not used in the page text, but beware it doesn’t make your online reputation management plan look spammy.

Many people get carried away with social media optimization and backlink building strategies, while failing to realise that SEO starts from the inside out. If your rankings are low despite heavy external profiling, you need to look at your site’s architecture.

Never forget you’re running a commercial enterprise, not a long-term experiment in top ranking. People tend to put internet reputation management and ranking position under the same banner, completely forgetting that overshadowing them both is another banner yelling “conversion factors!”

The aim of SEO isn’t to increase the number of times the shop door opens – it’s to increase the number of people who actually stay long enough to buy something (or at least show a firm interest). What’s the point of paying hefty charges to get your site at the top of the rankings, if 70% of the people who click on your link promptly close it and go elsewhere?

If you don’t have a well constructed site, you won’t achieve high sales figures. It’s that simple. This isn’t necessarily restricted to navigability and artistic design. Visually, your site may look outstanding – but if the design isn’t linked to the needs of the customer, you won’t make a sale. A finance site, for example, won’t get very far if it’s laid out like a chic fashion store, with a home page full of images and little textual content.

This means your web-builder must be sympathetic to your goals and, preferably, familiar with your type of enterprise. So once your site is up and running, take a long hard look at it – and then at your competitors’. You need yours to stand out and look different – but this goes beyond snazzy graphics and streaming media. A well informed blog, for example, can work wonders if other sites are deficient in this area.

Search engine optimisation begins with making your site visible to the search engines. If the spiders can’t “crawl” easily, they won’t be able to index the pages. Sites that are well indexed stand a much better chance of appearing high up the rankings on searches.

This means a site map is essential on large sites, and a good idea on smaller ones. A site map helps the search spiders understand the hierarchy of the site, and access (and therefore index) individual pages quickly. SEO companies generally recommend a maximum of 75 – 100 links per map page, so if your site has a complex navigation menu make several maps – or even think about breaking the site down into smaller, individual domains.

However navigable your site is, you won’t get overnight results. It can take several weeks – even months – for your pages to start appearing high up the rankings. This is especially true of smaller sites, or those where the owner is new to internet commerce.

For this reason, search engine optimisation services often recommend opening a search engine marketing account, otherwise known as PPC (pay per click). Google AdWords is probably best known; Yahoo Search Marketing is another. This will ensure your site is visible from the word go, and can form an important part of your internet marketing plan.

Internet marketing is all about being aware – both to changes in the search engine protocols affecting rankings, and to problems in your own site which may prevent it being ranked highly. Whether you’re using an SEO company, or are doing the job yourself with specialised search engine optimization tools, you’ll get the best results if you obey a few basic rules.

Firstly, never forget that running a company online is not going to be an easy ride. Just like a bricks-and-mortar business, it requires constant input and a hell of a lot of work. Search engine optimization doesn’t stop just because your page reaches the top of the rankings on one occasion.

Search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, and it’s the companies which evolve and change with them that reach the top of the rankings and stay there. Never forget, also, that once your competitors have seen a successful head on the block, they’ll be scrutinising it with eagle eyes. You must therefore be constantly changing your link building strategies, and keeping your SEO tactics up-to-date, to ensure your competitors are always one step behind.

This can be nigh on impossible. Unless you’re running the site as a part-time hobby and don’t mind making regular losses, it’s best to make a monthly investment in a search engine optimisation company which offers a range of services such as social media marketing and link profiling. This will be a long-term investment, so pick the best that you can (comfortably) afford – one that’s been around a while, and has a proven record of success.

When choosing search engine optimisation services, don’t be afraid to ask pertinent questions. Gen up on the subject first; there are some terrific web resources that exist purely to help people achieve high rankings.

There are also e-books and online courses written for both novices and graduates in the science of SEO. For a small outlay you receive a lot of invaluable information. Use this to approach your would-be search engine optimization company and ask them about their link building tactics, keyword practice etc. If the information doesn’t match up to what you know already – avoid. There are a lot of companies out there who seem to run on a principle of misinformed guidance.

To make a site a success, there must be a defined system of web analytics from the word go. To understand the concept would need a PhD in higher mathematics, but your site should have some form of analytical software installed to track what SEO strategies are working and which are not. Your SEO company may have their own software, or they may buy it in, but unless your site is very small it’s an essential requirement. Your site needs to be sympathetic to the goals of the search engine spiders – analytical software provides that.

Whatever search engine optimisation strategies you use, don’t expect them to be an instant success. The search engines take time to react to new sites, and to begin with you’ll probably have quite low rankings. With the right SEO tools in place, these will gradually improve.

SEO is a term that most people running businesses online will know. However, they rarely understand the intricacies and algorithms making up the ranking system – which is why they often place their site in the hands of a good search engine optimization company. However, this creates a Catch 22 situation -how can they choose a reputable and well-informed SEO company, from the hundreds that are out there?

Firstly, personal recommendation is always a good idea. Whether by word-of-mouth or internet forums, hearing from people who’ve had positive experiences and achieved lasting results is always the best way forward. However, if you don’t have this option, look at companies who come high on your searches and have blogs, articles etc. Study these carefully. Do they have worthwhile content, or are they keyword stuffed and full of errors? Compare the information to that provided in search engine optimization literature (online or in the library), to check for accuracy.

A blog that is regularly updated, contains articles more than 50 words long, has regular comments (of approval – no flaming!) and isn’t keyword stuffed may prove the site is worth investing in – but first check the content is original. There are lots of ways of doing this, the most straight-forward being to copy and paste a paragraph, and see how many results a search brings up. If the site owner has simply plagiarised someone else’s work and rearranged the words a little, this will show (Google will still find the words, no matter what order they’re in). Plagiarism detection software is another option. Copyscape, for example, is widely used by content buyers checking for plagiarised and re-spun articles.

Non-original copy doesn’t necessarily mean the SEO company isn’t trustworthy – there are plenty of ways to get copyright-free material – but it could mean they rely on third-hand knowledge in practice, in which case they could be working in a misinformed way. This is especially true if the information has been fed to them by a competitor. Something to remember for your own blog, by the way!

A good search engine optimization company should offer a free trial period without obligation. Avoid companies that offer free or low-cost short-term trial periods and insist on having your bank account details, until you’ve Googled the company name with the tag “scam” attached. If the first listings on your search are Trading Standards, the Better Business Bureau or Rip-off Report, keep walking! A reputable company will be keen to keep its internet marketing intact, and will generally offer a no-strings-attached temporary membership period, with the option to renew for longer.

For extra security purchasing goods like SEO tools and books on the internet, invest in a prepaid credit or debit card that’s not directly tied to your bank account. Freedom, Bread, Cashplus and several PAYG mobile companies now offer these, and they cost little or nothing to set up. Operating under Visa or MasterCard, they ensure no-one can take more money from you unless the card has been loaded first.

People often think of SEO only in terms of textual content. When they look for ways of improving their number of backlinks (i.e inbound links) they forget that images these days can be worth a thousand words, and that internet journalism isn’t limited to editorial content alone. However, there are several reasons why image links are useful search engine optimisation tools.

1. Image backlinks give your site a natural link profile, which is attractive to the search engines. Search engines prefer link diversity. If you check your outbound links (i.e. those leading from within your site to URLs outside it) you’ll probably find that a lot of them are images. It’s the norm these days, especially with the growth in social media optimisation.

2. They’re more noticeable than textual links, so increase site traffic. Certain sites benefit from having a high number of image links. It’s been proven that, when the eye tracks editorial content, an image at the end of it is far more likely to generate a link.

3. They can improve your site in the way that your site is perceived. A site with lots of images portrays warmth and familiarity – a site with text alone looks far more academic and clinical (and, let’s face it, a lot more boring).

4. You should still use text links to pass on link juice, but you can combine them with image links.

5. Using images gives your site a different psychology. Whenever there are flame wars or complaints, they are always in textual form. Images are rarely used in a negative way – in fact, they’re more likely to be humorous. Hence, visitors are more likely to click on image links – because they know there won’t be anything negative or depressing waiting for them at the other end.

6. Search engine optimisation using keywords can be used on image links, just as in textual content. When you add a hyperlink to a blog post, you use embedded anchor text. The equivalent with image links is alternate text (alt) embedding. If alt text is employed, a textual description of the image appears if the image fails to load or a text-only browser or screen-reader is being used. It’s a great way to get keywords in – although if it’s overused, the search engines can look on it as being spam.

7. Images show up in image searches! Don’t underestimate the fact that many people, when a search is returned, instantly click the “Images” option at the top of the page and choose this option. This is especially true if your product has a highly visual content – paintings, decorating materials, fashions, jewellery etc.

8. SEO link building using images builds further links, and can be a great tool for viral marketing. Animals, especially, can be great for building viral links – e.g. the squirrel wedding crasher photo of 2009.

Most people use images in their sites, but few realise what effective search engine optimization tools they can be. However, they should be used sparingly, as they are apt to load more slowly than text links. That being said, if you’ve got a good photo – why not get it working for you?

A good SEO company is central to the success of any online business. You can increase your profits enormously, for relatively little outlay. However, for those new to internet trading the way in which search engine optimisation works can be baffling, to say the least. So, what will a search engine optimization company do when it comes to improving your site?

The first thing they will look at, is how your pages are indexed. Search engine optimisation is about how your pages are ranked for given searches – in other words where the search engine places your site in response to targeted keywords. Many people place a lot of emphasis on their site content, using marketing text and blog entries rich in the keywords their target customers might use. However, this isn’t enough; the search engines have to be able to find those words and, once found, decipher them easily.

If a site has keyword content in the right density, yet does poorly in search engine rankings, a search engine optimization company will look at the site’s architecture. They will check the page links are navigable and that the site has a well established hierarchy i.e. a chain of links which includes categories and sub-categories leading customers and search engines to the page links. It’s also essential the site has readability – it’s no good including keywords if they’re hidden in intelligible text.

Many new website owners perceive company success only in terms of how high they get up the search engine rankings. Yet while a high placement is important, sales success cannot be measured in terms of ranking position alone. Discerning clients – i.e. those most likely to stop at your site and make a purchase – are also those most likely to skip the first few sites on a search and pick from further down. Experience has taught them that sites placed in the top 2 or 3 positions are paid ads. In other words, those sites ranked highest may not necessarily be the best sites to visit.

Good SEO technique means knowing that different rankings get different bounce rates. The bounce rate of visitors is the percentage of those who click on a search link, but then “bounce” away to another site rather than stay and make a purchase. High rankings don’t guarantee increased sales – they just point an arrow to the way in. Just because a site is placed higher than yours in the rankings, doesn’t mean yours won’t attract more successful sales. SEO means making your site attractive, as well as visible, to purchasers.

If your search engine optimisation company is successful, you’ll start to see an improvement in the rankings and, eventually, a position on page 1 of the searches. This will mean the number of visitors to your site will increase.

However, this isn’t the key to success – the conversion rate is. This is the percentage of people who visited your site and then took positive action, e.g. by making an enquiry or purchase. When it comes to search engine optimisation, your SEO conversion rate is far more important than where you’re placed in the rankings.

Many people enter the world of internet marketing after, perhaps, years running a successful “bricks and mortar” business. However, the moment they hear the words “search engine optimization” they go all of a fluster. They do a quick web search of their own, and when they see that the first two pages of results are followed by 900,000 others, they immediately decide to hang up their mouse.

The answer, of course, is to invest in the services of a good search engine optimization company, who will help them optimise their site while (hopefully) explaining it all in a way they’ll understand. So what is the big mystery about optimization? Why is it that some people make a living out of supplying search engine optimisation services, while others despair at the thought of having their own web page?

To be fair, things are a lot more complicated than they used to be. But then, with the number of SEO scams and technological developments, they have to be. When search engine optimisation services slap their hands over their eyes at the naivety of one of their clients they forget that, while they’ve been in the business throughout its evolution, this person may be totally new to the thrills of the internet, never mind search engine optimization. Like all things in life, if something that you’re a part of is evolving, your mind evolves with it.

When you set up an online SEO company, all you’re doing is creating a virtual format of a traditional store or office. Many people find this concept easier to grasp if they have a “clicks and mortar” company, i.e. one they run from a premises as well as an internet site. Quite often, they sell the same products in both places. They soon work out that search engine optimization is basically the same as marketing the products in their store – i.e. making them visible, accessible and attractive to customers and promoters.

As with shop ownership, a new website needs to keep things simple. If you were opening a new pet store in an unknown town, would you rent the largest and most expensive emporium you could find, and fill it with all manner of exotic birds, mammals and fish life? No, of course not. Chances are, you’d start off with the cheapest site you could afford, in a prominent area, and then go and see what your competitors were up to. If you were really lucky, you might find there are no competitors. Then again, they might be hiding, disguised inside garden centres and department stores. You never can tell.

Perhaps that’s not such a perfect analogy, as a lot of pet shops are run online these days. But you can already see that, right from the start, promoting a business is stressful and time-consuming work, whether you run it from the high street or a laptop.

This is why a good search engine optimization company, with a proven track record, is the best choice for someone new to internet commerce today.

Many SEO and online reputation management companies try to tempt customers by waving a plethora of search engine tools and cutting-edge products in front of them. The result is that the customer often gets confused into making an ill-informed choice. One that won’t benefit either their company or their pocket. When it comes to running a business on the internet, your best bet is to use a reputable search engine optimization company who will go by the adage that less is more.

The world of search engine optimization is becoming ever more complicated. Search engine optimisation is no longer limited to textual content and keyword placement – social media marketing, link-building strategies, search engine marketing (aka pay-per-click advertising) and domain ownership all come into the equation as well. However, just because there’s a lot of SEO options out there, it doesn’t mean they all need to be installed on your site. The best internet companies are those with a few tried and trusted search engine optimisation tools that they know how to use, and regularly update.

So, how do you know what SEO tools to buy into, and which to avoid? Well, it’s the same as every other facet of your business – you listen to instinct. When you get cold calls and personal emails from people begging you to try out this or that product because it’s the next best thing, do you get out the credit card without another moment’s thought? No, of course not. You think very carefully about how the product will benefit your business, and if it will repay the investment. Similarly, when you see something in a trade publication that may make your business run better, you weigh the pros and cons before buying. However, when it comes to the internet, it seems traders will buy snake oil if it comes with an SEO sticker.

It’s not difficult to streamline your site’s search engine optimisation plan. It starts, as with all areas of your business, with working out what your aims and objectives are. You don’t have to have the technical knowledge of a search engine optimization company to work out, for example, that buying into a “Get rich quick” e-zine will only benefit you if it’s directly connected to your area of expertise, and has a proven rate of success.

Streamlining your business isn’t limited to commercial search engine optimisation tools. Practically everyone these days has a “Follow us on Twitter” tab and yes, social media is a proven form of marketing. However, if you decide to get a tab of your own, don’t do it just because everyone else is – do it because it will allow you to build backlinks, and connect to potential and existing customers who may be able to supply input on your product.

Likewise, when it comes to industry forums, don’t just join because your competitors have – join because you’ll get alerts to the latest news and problems. If you use paid advertising – use a reputable SEO company who will make the ads work for, not against you.

You will get a long way in e-Commerce by placing your trust in a really good search engine optimization company. This is true for both new and established site owners, as quite a lot of things have moved on in the past two years. If you’ve been in the trade a while, and are relying on old, established SEO link building tricks, you may find the search engines working against you. At the same time, things that were previously frowned upon, such as one trader having multiple domains, are today seen as beneficial if used in the right way.

Multiple domains work if your site is overcrowded with products or services that could justify websites of their own. For example, if you sell models you may find your site so overcrowded with trains, planes and automobiles that popular lines get swamped by all the sub-categories.

Remember that link-juice is most concentrated on the home page, where your page rank is highest. This value gets “diluted” as you go down through the layers. If your site is overcrowded with lots of different products, you’ll find pages that should do well getting a zero page ranking. This is not good SEO link building practice, as those pages will never appear on searches. Thinning things out by giving each category a domain of its own (RC planes, model boats, electric trains, RC cars and so on) will not only make those lines more visible to the search engines, they will enable you to diversify your stock more, thereby attracting more customers (for example, you could sell RC planes and RC helicopters, in different sizes and with battery and fuel-powered options).

Therefore a good SEO tip is to split your site into several separate domains. This means you will get more directory listings, which will considerably enhance your SEO potential as well as make your products more visible to potential customers and the search engines. The reason why some link building services are wary of advising this, is because there’s potential to abuse the system. Don’t be tempted to put multiple interlinks between your sites – allow backlinks to build naturally. Multiple domain sites with lots of interlinks are seen as spam, and will be down-ranked by the search engines even where this is not justified.

A few links with high quality, respected sites can do your SEO no end of good, so another good SEO link building strategy is article exchange – basically, exchanging links with another website. Because the domains have two different owners, the search engines will generally look favourably upon this – but only if they’re high quality links. Be wary of accepting links from scam sites and link farms – and don’t have too many links to just one site. This, too, can look suspicious.

Another top SEO link building tip, particularly on large sites, is to have a clearly defined site map. A map with links to and from every page will maximise your SEO potential, as it enables the search engine spiders to locate a page quickly and easily. Finally – don’t forget that link titles also act as SEO tools, so check yours are visible to the search engines.

People get carried away on SEO link building, but there’s much more to a successful site than just having loads of inbound links. There should be plenty of outbound ones too – linking customers to your social media pages, and your site blog. Your internet marketing should always include an informative, professional looking blog. If your own English skills wouldn’t pass a primary level SATS test – buy some in. It’s worth it.

Blogging became popular a while back, and at the time just consisted of textual content. People jotted down their thoughts and emotions in the same way they would a diary. Journalists and writers, meanwhile, used them as a platform for their talents, and a way of airing opinions in public in a way they couldn’t in their professional field. At least one blogger was actually picked up by a print publishing company, and made a best-selling book out of it.

With the technology that’s available today, you no longer need to have the writing skills of a Daily Telegraph journalist to succeed; web companies routinely use blogs as part of their internet reputation management plan. While textual content is still important, it’s backed up by video, audio, Flash media and animated presentation.

News blogs routinely add links to commercial footage of ground-breaking events – there’s no reason why you can’t have a news blog of your own company, especially if you air your products at trade fairs and the like. However, don’t get carried away on flashy images. The best blogs achieve high search engine optimization rankings because they carry relevant, quality content.

Some blogs are really microblogs – like Twitter, they carry pages filled with dozens of posts that are just a few lines long, with few images. For best results however, you need to use a variety of formats to express quality information about your product. Done in this way, it can give your site a sophisticated platform upon which you can market your services, and receive feedback.

Why is text marketing less effective than mixed media?  Consumers like to receive their information in a variety of formats. Some like to read, some like to watch, and some like to sit back with the headphones on. Combining all three into one presentation gives your site the best chance of success, which is why many bloggers take the trouble to include a textual transcript of their video content. As well as attracting customers, it makes the page more visible to the search engines. Video transcriptions can be effective SEO link building tools.

Your blog can be used as an effective social media marketing tool, bringing a diverse number of people to your site. Use link building strategies to spread the word about blog content. For example, a site selling children’s toys could look at marketing them specifically at the adult market. Placing links aimed at bridesmaids, on wedding pages, for example. Plus, look at how model cars, soft toys and Barbie dolls have been targeted towards adult buyers.

This is just an example, but you can already see how blog diversity could aid your search engine optimization plan.