Posts Tagged ‘competitor analysis’

Google – important changes that will effect search rankings

SEO Scotland, Technology | Posted by Gavin
Jul 17 2009

google-searchWhenever you read or mention Google in relation to a question along the lines of – how does Google rank my site?, what SEO factors does Google consider the most important? or how do I get page 1 rankings in Google?, you will get a mutitude of answers from various sources both on and offline.

Over recent years Google has come to dominate all things search and most things search related by providing us with ’stuff’ that enhances our ‘user experience’ – these are key watchwords for the biggest success story in modern times, striving to improve the quality and relevancy of the information that we require, so that we continue to use Google as part of our everyday ‘online’ lives.

So I guess our answer to our questions above would be another question?!:

When I review my site and practices relating to SEO and online promotion, am I contributing or detracting from building a positive user experience? – and there is your answer

Google and the new Search Options

In line with Google’s whole ’user experience’  idea, they have added new features to the SERP’s, providing user driven options for filtering, adjusting and even expanding the search results that are displayed. Google have publicly stated that ‘a large portion’ of searches will be made using these options in the near future.

These new Show options … are displayed at the top left of most SERP’s and contain additional search filtering options such as:

  • Videos
  • Forums
  • Reviews

Further filter options enable you to display by relevancy, most recent and the option to display images from the pages.  Additionally and perhaps most importantly for SEO’s, there is Wonder Wheel and Timeline filter which has far reaching implications in relation to key phrase research & tageting.

So, what does all this mean and how can we ensure that ‘our house is in order’ so that as these options become more widely used, we know that we have acted and do not have to re-act?

… I will look at each option in more detail in coming posts on this blog 

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Popularity: 62% [?]

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Research is the ABC of SEO

SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Jun 20 2009

Following on from my recent post about competitor and online market research, when selecting the phrases to target for search engine optimisation – I’d like to throw out a few further ideas. 

It is essential that you know who, what and where your competitors are – both on and offline, in order to make informed decisions regarding the online marketing of your website. You will have an idea of the ‘primary’ key phrase that relates most accurately to what your site is about, this may or may not be the best phrase to target  (but I’d like to cover that in a later post), however for the purposes of this post just go with one that springs to mind.

Your Competitors

Who – You will have an idea of who you think your competitors are, but are they competing for the phrase that you want to tartget? Make a search for the keyphrase that you have chosen – which site is in position 1 in Google (the gods of search)?, is it the site that you thought would be there?

What – What is the site ’selling’? is it the same products/services or similar to yours? and what sets you apart in terms of unique selling points? What levels of functionality does the site have, in order to engage the user? and what call to action, offers and other ‘communication’ methods are on the site?

Where – is the business local to you or is it a national company? maybe is isn’t even a business in Scotland! Consider whether your target markets would use this site to buy something that you can provide.

With all these things considered, you can then begin to look at the competitivenes of that phrase (there are various tools availabe to help you here) and whether your budget and SEO skills allow you to compete in this ’search space’.  If so, begin to look at what value that top site has, domain age, number of inbound links, how the on page optimisation has been performed etc., then you will know whether:

  • a) this is the right search phrase to target
  • b) what your site must include and how much work is involved to rank for the phrase
  •  c) the potential return (in £’s) for a page 1, position 1 ranking

Popularity: 56% [?]

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SEO – don’t put the cart before the horse

SEO Scotland | Posted by Gavin
Jun 17 2009

I have been reading a lot online recently and the social media buzz grows on a daily basis. Yes, we all know that social networking is becoming an essential part of SEO and how search engines are ranking your site, but many of these ‘SEO/Internet marketing gurus’, offering ‘rank me quick’ solutions are focusing too much on the content distribution and link generating. 

What ever happened to good old fashioned keyword, competitor and online market research? – the phrases that you choose to optimise your site for, assuming that you achieve high search engine rankings for them, will form the foundation of your social media campaign – giving it a focus … so spare some time for the research and dont put the Social Media cart before the SEO horse!

Popularity: 40% [?]

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SEO Scotland : why it is not as scary as it sounds!

SEO Scotland | Posted by Katie
Jun 09 2009

I came across this good article the other day, it is fairly old (2008) and a lot of it is a bit Americanised (nothing wrong with that but we are in Scotland here!) and the reason I liked it was because it makes sense of why your website should have time and resources spent on it with regards to SEO.  Now anyone who knows myself and Gavin will also know that I have been known to fall asleep when Gavin starts on his quest to convert me to the joys of SEO, but this little article was short enough to hold my interest and down to earth enough to make me understand…. so here you go – a wee snippet and if you want to see the whole article then click here and when you have done that and you would like us to take a look at your website then click here - come on you know you want a local company to help you out…. we promise not to bore you!

“Think about a party: When you show up at a networking event, you’re judged first on your appearance (C’mon, admit it – would you dress like a slob for a black tie event?), then by your conversation, and then you’re invited to continue – or not continue – the conversation another time. You meet someone, speak to them, gauge their reaction, and then respond accordingly. That’s conversation.

Internet communications should work the same way. A visitor comes to your web site. If the design doesn’t drive them away (most do), then they read, or watch, or listen, or all three. If your content doesn’t confuse them (very common) or bore them (even more common) then they stay.

If they’re really interested, they give you their e-mail address, or call you, or purchase something, or vote for you, or take some other action that continues the conversation. At the same time, you analyze site traffic and other data to gauge audience response and react accordingly.

That’s the power of the Internet – next to air, it’s the best conversation medium there is. Whether you make cars, houses, legislation or software, conversation marketing plays to the strength of the medium, and makes the most of your investment”

Popularity: 51% [?]

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Keep an eye on the competition

SEO Scotland | Posted by admin
May 23 2009

It’s always handy to keep an eye on your competitors – this is equally important in the ‘online world’.  I recently discovered a great tool provides a wide range of information on any website, just by typing the URL into the search bar provided – great for competitor analysis when planning any SEO strategy,  it even provides an estimated value for the domain and its estimated daily traffic! – check it out for yourself at www.welcomia.com and tell me what you think

Popularity: 28% [?]

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