WordPress is a fantastic application for any company, or individual, wanting to get the best content for their web pages. One of the best things about WordPress is its versatility. It is simple enough for beginners to use, yet offers endless choices of add-ons and plug-ins which enable you to do just about anything. This means that not only is it great for beginners, but also a favoured tool by even the most established search engine optimisation company – as the ease of use, not to mention the speed in which the system works – is invaluable.

The way in which all these additional services are offered via WordPress is through widgets, plug-ins or downloadable themes. The amount of choice on offer can be daunting, but there are some add-ons which are probably the most used by anybody undertaking search engine optimisation, or content management. A good place to start is to gather a strong understanding of what these do, and how they work.

For anyone who wants to make regular changes, or have a bit more of a website overhaul, then WordPress offers an all in one SEO pack. This pack is actually not an add-on, and is already installed, but does require you to activate it before you can fully use it. The all in one pack is particularly good at altering and amending meta and description tags, and even re-doing your title tags. You can also use the package to select the best URL, or canonical URL, to ensure the best for your site in searches.

Another tool which comes already installed, but again requires user activation, is Akismet. This is arguably an essential tool, as its basic function is to use a filtering method to eliminate spam links and content to your site. We all know how devastating the effects of spam can be, so this is one tool you should not be without.

Google tools available as additional plug-ins include Ultimate Google Analytics and Google XML Sitemaps. If you already use Google Analytics (which most of us do), you probably do not find it particularly difficult. However, the ultimate version on WordPress does filter out users slightly differently, so can offer more detailed data. Sitemaps pretty much does what it says on the tin and produces a sitemap for the whole of your website, which can be read by search engines in GZip and XML versions.

Although most people will have a strong backup system for their hard drive, we all know that incidents happen, and it is better to be safe than sorry. WordPress offer a Database Backup, which you can basically set to send you regular backups via email. This may not be necessary if you already have an extensive backup system in place, but it could be your saviour one day.
Lastly, where would we be without our Twitter plug-ins? The WordPress version offers a backlink from Twitter to your website, which can be automatically posted whenever any new content or tweet is made.

In the world of search engine optimization, nothing is certain. A strategy that seems to tick all the right boxes does not always lead to the anticipated progress for the specific site to which it is applied. However, if an online firm does not engage in SEO then it can suffer in the search engine results pages. It may never become visible to a sufficiently large audience in the first place, undermining its profit-making capacity. As search engine optimization becomes a more and more complex affair, it is the case that if an online firm attempts to do its strategy on an independent basis failure is all too probable. This is due to the comparative advantage that many reputable SEO firms have built up over the years.

The comparative advantage with which a SEO company can outperform a non-specialist rival is based on several factors. Firstly, SEO of the highest quality demands experienced personnel to get it absolutely correct. Secondly, high grade SEO can only be implemented by individuals with access to, and knowledge, of the most effective SEO tools. Thirdly, the sphere of search is complex and evolving, meaning that only individuals with sufficient time and resources can achieve sustainable success. Fourthly, it is necessary to compete against top quality SEO firms who are doing their very best for their sites. How can your site do better than theirs if you possess a more rudimentary knowledge of the pertinent aspects of SEO? Fifthly, the most effective modern SEO often includes a SMM (social media marketing) component, so therefore the employment of experts is a wise step.

The use of SEO tools is particularly relevant to distinguishing between substandard and excellent tactics. Few individuals, who have not spent some time within the industry, are fully conversant with the most efficient and up-to-date tools. The use of these tools can help analyse the reasons why a site is located where it is in the search engine results pages of a major search engine. Working with these tools can discover key facts about the site under scrutiny. For example, if a site is not making the most of its traffic level, if it has a high ‘bounce rate’, then adjustments may well prove to be essential. In a brief article of this nature, it is not necessary to delve any deeper into the mechanics by which the positive impact the clever manipulation of SEO tools can deliver is enabled.

What is important to be aware of is that new, and more effective SEO tools, are produced quite often. Thus, trying to keep up with the pace set by innovation is quite a dilemma for those who lack the requisite experience. Even those who are fortunate enough to be confident with older SEO tools are likely to find adaptation tricky, unless they work a hundred per cent of their time in the industry. Reading blogs, visiting forums, discussing with colleagues, and researching the relevant sector-based sites are the ways in which experienced individuals keep ahead of the pack.

There are many SEO tools available to help you get the best out of your website and achieve the highest search rankings. Search engine optimization tools are available online in most cases, and whether you are using the services of a particular website or downloading some software, there are not many companies who will not benefit from using some of these tools.

When measuring performance, it is just as important, if not more important, to monitor your competitors’ activity as well as your own, and one tool which is fantastic for doing this is Google Reader. Google Reader is basically an SEO tool which makes online periodical checks on your chosen websites to identify when new content has been published. This is great for checking when a competitor has launched a new press statement, given details of new products or simply written a new blog. Google Reader enables you to stay up to date on activity, without having to check every other site individually yourself. You can simply tell it your favourite websites, and it will check them for you.

When Google Reader first launched, it could only pick up new information via a feed from the website, however technology has advanced and now Google Reader can identify when new content has been added even if there is no feed from the website. This is great news as it helps cover any areas which would be missed from standard feed checks which most companies make regularly anyway.

One of the major things that Google Reader is good for is sharing information. This facility is used on a personal level quite frequently, however from a business point of view; it also enables any relevant industry information to be shared with other business associates quickly and easily.

The ability to recognise and respond to new content in an instant means that companies are on top of their game and not getting left behind.

Another advancement which Google have been working on with their Reader tool is its mobile accessibility. Using Google Reader from a mobile is now much easier to use than it was originally and is good for online reputation management. Previous applications and downloads which were only available when accessing the web as standard are now available to mobile users. Google Reader have also tidied up their page a little and compacted menus to give mobile users as much freedom as possible.

Keeping an eye on your competitors’ moves is not only crucial from an industry point of view; it also helps towards maintaining your search engine ranking position. When any new content is added you can check for keywords or links which could push you off your spot within SERPs. Google Reader is also useful in terms of checking real time searches, as updates are so frequent.

Using Google Reader alone is a good way of checking for fresh content, however if used alongside Google Alerts you can really get a decent insight into what your closest competitors are up to and take action before any damage is done.

Some firms try to perform their own search engine optimization campaign. This can sometimes be an expensive mistake. Even when it comes to the SEO basics, it is easy to err and stall progress. This is because the ‘basics’, on close inspection, are not so basic after all. Understandably many people may think that the more technical aspects of SEO are where they are least suited to do well, but while their lack of proficiency in this area may be substantial, it may be that some of them are over-confident with regard to their capacity to perform the less specialised tasks.

SEO tools like tracking software can be of great utility at various stages in a continuous SEO campaign. Conducting an independent campaign may mean that the staff concerned are not experienced in the use of such tools. This may make any discernible progress that much harder to deliver. However, depending a little somewhat on the nature of the firm, outsourcing its SEO campaign may be a particularly shrewd choice in any case.

The regular supply of top quality content is much more difficult than it might appear to the novice. It requires a combination of research, imagination, accuracy and determination. If there is a shortfall in any of these areas, users will be the first to let a site owner know by not lingering on a site. Striking balances between the provision of entertainment and information can be problematic. Focusing on the needs and wants of the target audience may not be a straightforward affair.

Adding keywords to web copy or blogs might not superficially seem so arduous. However, it is tricky to know the appropriate keyword density. If the writing flows pleasantly and reads naturally, the correct balance may have been attained. Nevertheless, an expert copywriter will normally be able to subtly insert an extra couple of keywords without disrupting the user experience as much as someone else typically would.

The matter of adopting appropriate and effective link building strategies is probably best left to those with expertise and experience. Without links, unless sites connected to other sites, the net would not be a net. However, link acquisition is a much more complex topic than simply registering this point. Especially when a link with a lot of link juice can be subject to change, through, for example, business failure, a high degree of awareness is essential. Links can be behind a lot of the vicissitudes which sites experience and therefore treating them casually is a far from prudent option.

The logic of outsourcing SEO to specialist SEO services is normally compelling. It can be about effective management of firm expenditure. Equally, it can be about the acquisition of the very best SEO expertise available. Ultimately, it is usually about acknowledging that a firm does not have the internal resources necessary to effectively address the challenges associated with a continuous campaign. To maximise the benefits of such a campaign, to hit and sustain top spots in the search engine results pages, it makes sense to engage with the people who do nothing else other than SEO.

Toolbar pagerank shouldn’t be confused with the plain PageRank metric. PageRank is an important concept in search engine optimization, and we’ve discussed the basic measure in greater detail elsewhere, so many of our readers will know that it’s a metric of the quality and number of inbound links any site has. It can be though of as describing how likely a randomly wandering user is to land on a particular site within a network. Unlike Alexa Rank and some others, a high PageRank is good and a low one poor.

Google toolbar users will see a little PageRank box for every site they visit. This Toolbar PageRank doesn’t return the standard PageRank value. It is normalised so the relative PageRank levels of any two sites can be easily compared. The toolbar version is a number between zero and ten, ten being the return for the best ranked sites.  It’s not so much a factor in SEO as guidance for Google users, to help them understand the good standing of any site they might look at.

So Toolbar PageRank is obviously a simplification. It’s also not updated nearly as frequently as standard PageRank- possibly only once every month or two. Toolbar PageRank is easy to check, but as an SEO tool it’s very limited because the values returned are often out of date.

Google Directory PageRank is another version and displayed differently again. Go to any category in the directory (Google directory only- PageRank is a term owned exclusively by the Goog) and you will see sites ranked not alphabetically but in PageRank order. There is a little green bar beside each one that graphically displays that site’s Directory PageRank. If you are listed in Google Directory- and if not, why not?- this is an interesting search engine optimisation metric for you to look at, and is directly relevant to the amount of traffic you can expect from the directory listing.

And now a note of caution. PageRanks of all kinds are some of the best known SEO metrics, and there are plenty of black hat operators waiting to exploit anyone looking for a quick way to boost any of their PageRank returns. One of the most effective methods used to be Google Jacking- using redirects to grab PageRank from any other page, but usually Google, which has an outstanding PageRank as you would expect. This does not work any more, and like any black hat SEO, trying it can get you banned from the SERPs.

Be aware of anyone offering a ranking checker and then asking for money to improve it. You may end up paying for a guaranteed improvement in a black hat SEO company’s own proprietary metric and not for any real change in Google’s PageRank or any measure that counts. Not all metrics are useful or meaningful.

By all means use our free SEO tools and other people’s rank checking tools to investigate how you and your competitors come up, but stick to established metrics- PageRank, TrustRank, Alexa Rank, and other well known measures

The very of best SEO link building strategy is to create great content. We do say that a lot, but it is the absolute truth. SEO and online commerce more generally have two steps, and it’s important they go in the right order. First, build value. Second, make money.

You will notice that we give access to a lot of free SEO tools on this website – which most SEO companies wouldn’t give free access to. Almost all the big players in social media do the same- YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter. Most of what’s on offer is given away free to the consumer, but that doesn’t stop these websites from becoming billion dollar enterprises. It’s a little different for online retailers- a hardware shop can’t give away a free hammer to everyone who visits. That would cost too much money, where the cost of providing space for someone’s Facebook profile isn’t much after the initial coding has been done, servers bought, and the infrastructure put in place. But there is a lot to be learned from the approach these guys take, because they are the ones leading the way on today’s online (and business) world. If you feel that you are giving a little too much information away for free – you are probably on the right track!

In any field, people (and shoppers) need information. The online hardware shop can’t give every visitor a hammer, but they can give them access to DIY information, suggest projects they might like to undertake using a hammer, provide help choosing the right kind of hammer for a specific job, and remind them to keep their thumbs out of the way.  The online shop becomes an online resource. That’s good SEO from every angle.

It is absolutely the most important thing you can do for social media marketing, link building and getting repeat custom. Remember, it’s not enough to bring traffic to a website, that traffic needs to hang around and buy some products or at least leave impressed with what’s on offer.

But surely everyone does that? It’s obvious, right? Nope. Do a Google search for a popular topic, like ‘online hardware shop’. The first few links on the search engine results page are for major retailers, and some of them have forums or a question and answer section, but if you’ve been following this SEO blog, you can probably see straight away that their SEO strategies (if they have them) are incomplete. We are sure you’ll see ways they could improve and things they aren’t doing.

And that is just the first few on the first page. The results lower down are much less likely to be putting determined effort into search engine optimization. They might be putting a lot of effort into choosing desirable products and keeping prices competitive, but most searchers will never know. They simply won’t get that far through the SERPs to find those pages.

The reason SEO works so well (and this is the big secret) is that very few businesses- especially small or specialist businesses – do it effectively. Those that have a try often don’t carry through with an ongoing fresh content and fresh link building strategy, or ignore social media marketing. Even Google, the big daddy of search engines, recently released a self-assessment of their own SEO and found it seriously wanting.

The good news is, this all means huge opportunities for people who take SEO seriously and use it as part of their everyday business strategy.

Achieving maximum benefit with your search engine optimization means that you have to cover all of the angles and adopt a comprehensive approach. Here are some of methods you can implement to gain the most appropriate visitors to your site through improving your search engine rankings; and what’s great is most of the tips are free as they rely on clever wording, free search engine optimisation tools etc and they are all things that be integrated for free on your website.

Tip 1 – Title Tags

Title tags are basically what appear when someone searches for something in a search engine and your website appears. The title of your website is not your website address but a title that appears when a search engine picks up your site. To make your website more versatile and to appear in more search results you should have a different title tag for each page of your website. It is also recommended to include your keyword in the title tag as even though the search engines look at a whole variety of aspects before throwing out the top results, a customer looking for something is more likely to be drawn to a title tag that has the keyword they are looking for in it. For example, someone looking for silver jewellery may simply type “silver jewellery” into the search bar and the search engine will subsequently throw out a whole host of websites offering this jewellery. Thus, when appearing on the search engine page you want to draw that customer to your website as opposed to other competitors. Hence a title tag that says “Buy Your Cheap Jewellery Here” may not attract them as much as “Exquisite Silver Jewellery at Fantastic Prices” because the keyword “silver jewellery” has been specifically mentioned.

You will also need to make sure the title tag is very catchy and will draw customers to your site as well if you want the best out of your SEO efforts. Some websites may get it right with the use of the keyword but get it so wrong in being enticing to customers. Many companies find that they want to use their brand name in the title tag; but title tags are generally limited to around 63 characters, which really isn’t a lot. Therefore the title tag needs to catch the attention, be keyword specific and all in a short space, so the choice of including company branding is entirely up to you, but should be considered only if the title is still catchy. For well-known brands the use of a brand name is a guaranteed way to attract customers but for less well-known brands the focus should be more on catching attention. If you do choose to brand your title tag then it’s a good idea to brand before or after the tag line; e.g. “Silver Sensation – Exquisite Silver Jewellery” or “Exquisite Silver Jewellery – Silver Sensation”.

Our website and SEO blogs offer a fantastic resource of information on how to optimise your website with our fantastic free SEO tools and help with your online reputation management.

Keep your eyes peeled for Part 2 of this blog.