At Searchengineoptimization.co.uk, we know that each site requires its own special mix of solutions for it to make maximum progress, but we have also observed certain patterns which suggest that some general guidance is not without foundation. With regard to traffic management, it can be of assistance to break it into two distinct stages. This can break up the continuity in what is being done in practical terms and could be criticised for being a little arbitrary, but for educative purposes it seems to fit the bill. The two stages can be summed up as obtaining the attention of traffic and ensuring it comes to you.

Obtaining a large volume of traffic is the aim of much of the work which is done for a site. In practice, the basics mean assessing what words and phrases are likely to bring visitors to your site. They may well be long tail searches, or they might be words in unusual orders, or they could be misspellings, so keyword research deserves a lot of thorough attention. It is of central importance to research your target audience as much as possible to assist you in this task. Looking at the sites of your competition may give valuable clues. The guidance of an individual well versed in SEO may prove very handy in this regard. When you have come up with a list of appropriate keywords, read it and make sure there are no significant omissions. Nothing is permanently set in stone, but your list of keywords will have to do the business so this set of related words and phrases must be of a high quality from the beginning.

However, once users are on the right search engine results pages, there are no guarantees that they will elect to venture on to your specific site. After all, there may well be some decent alternatives close at hand. The second stage in this model is to persuade users to enter your site. Once there, they can be directed to the information they require and conversions can be possible.

This stage of proceedings has to include getting your title and description tags word perfect. If you do this, users will know that you can help them and they will be seduced onto your site. It may be possible to achieve this even if you are not ranked first in the search engine results pages.

A lot of effort and resources often go into getting a site to make progress up the search engine results pages. If this is achieved, it is important that the site is a welcoming one which makes it easy for users to linger on the site. In terms of information provision and other incentives, a site has to persuade users that it is worth sticking around. If a community spirit can be generated on the site then so much the better for potential outcomes. The enabling of comments, the stimulation of debate and the use of social media marketing can all contribute positively to the community aspect of a site. A perceptive blog on industry news may work wonders. However, if users are not tempted to buy goods and/or services off the site then all this positive activity may not be contributing to profits.

At Searchengineoptimization.co.uk, we perceive that our job is not completed when more users are present on a site than used to be the case. Even when repeat visitors have increased and when the time being spent on the site by the average user is up, the work is not finished. More needs to be done and it is not just a question of performing all the necessary maintenance. Active steps have to be taken in order to maximise the number of conversions which are being made. Whether the site is offering goods or services or both, adjustments need to be implemented to ensure that sales and profits are as impressive as they can be. While no guarantees can be made, it is much more probable that positive outcomes can be achieved if additional measures are implemented.

Some SEO firms are content to leave improving conversion rates to the online firm. However, many such firms lack the experience and expertise to do the job as well as it can be done. Also dividing the work up in this way can lead to some confusion in terms of causing lack of continuity. The important thing is to assess which target groups are getting on to the site and how diverse groups are behaving onsite. Some restructuring is often required and users may need additional assistance with navigation. Closely looking at those bits of the site which have to be improved may prompt further minor but significant alterations.

It is commonplace to reiterate that quality counts more than quantity when it comes to links. It is logical that an association with a high ranking site of credibility and relevance, should be considered as being of greater importance than having a connection with an irrelevant site. However, too often a client can stop thinking at this point, and leave the technicalities to their SEO consultant. Although this can be a very sensible division of labour, it can be useful for a client to take a bit more interest in the different categories of links, which can be attracted by diverse means.

Links to increase PageRank

Although the importance of PageRank is a matter of some considerable degree of controversy, many people do feel strongly about the score their site has. If a link is obtained from a site with an impressive PageRank, then it will help the specific site the SEO strategy is being implemented on in its competitive struggle for a higher PageRank. Boosting these rankings may not matter as much as things like obtaining higher levels of traffic and better conversion rates, but arguably it should not be neglected.

Links to promote a site’s position in the search engine results pages

These types of links are very useful as they aim to get links for specific keywords. Keywords can be contained in anchor text and this can be very effective. For example, if a site is concerned with a creative industry, then the links should be tightly focused on keywords which are of relevance to it. It is possible to generate further interest in the firm by guest blogging, for instance. The aim of this, and similar activities, is to attract links gradually from sites in such a way as to advance up the search engine results pages.

Links that are squarely focused on traffic maximisation

The basic strategy is to get the site under scrutiny on to the pages of sites which are fortunate enough, or rather planned and maintained with sufficient skill, to attract higher traffic volumes on a regular basis. This can be achieved in various ways. The aspiration is that being mentioned on these traffic-heavy sites will get some of that traffic to head in the direction of the site which is being optimised. Posting on a forum, guest blogging and commenting on interesting articles are all worth a shot.

It is worth recalling that some sites should be targeted for link gathering, because they do well in more than one category.

Before dismissing the idea of images as part of your link building strategies or increase of online traffic, consider web user trends, including your own. Chances are there is not a person out there who does not love Google images, whatever the reason. Perhaps it is for a quick joke to mock a friend, or it could be for a presentation at work and you do not have any suitable images on your system. From a personal perspective, most people are attracted by images and want to look at them, so with this in mind, including them within your search engine optimization does not seem like such a silly idea after all.

Images are also a lot more user friendly. For example, if a person is browsing the web for various pieces of information, then they are more likely to stop and look at an image than they are to stop and read a full web page crammed with content. Research in website readers has shown that people are more likely to skim online text as opposed to thoroughly read it, but it is highly unlikely that they will not stop to view an intriguing or interesting image. Images can also be controversial and amusing, which not only makes them great for grabbing attention, it also makes them more likely to be shared amongst web users.

Clever images which are mocking current situations or giving a controversial opinion in a more funny or jovial way are usually very well received. Get as much input as possible from web developers and design teams to come up with the most imaginative images. Always ensure the images have clear title tags so that they will show up in searches and entice users to click through to your website. Images can become very famous indeed if done correctly, so take a bit of time and effort into deciding what image content to display to get the most out of them.

One of the best things about images over any other form of SEO content is the speed in which it will be distributed to other people. Most images are easy to download or save, enabling people to re-distribute them to people for either personal or business reasons. There is not much else that spreads as quickly as an online image; videos do get some exposure, but not as much as images. For this reason, it is a very good idea to put your company name or logo, or at least a website, onto the actual image. That way, wherever in the world the image goes, it can always be linked back to you.