When planning a Search Engine Optimisation Strategy, you core objective is no doubt to enhance your website in search engine page rankings to generate sales leads. Your may decide to plan a Search Engine Optimisation Strategy to boost new products or services, or to significantly increase the visibility of your website.

Search Engine Optimisation Strategy checklist:

Keywords

– this should be the starting point of your campaign. You’ll need to prepare a list with all relevant keywords. These are words that people looking for your products or services will enter into search engines.
o Select a group of around five to eight niche keywords.

Content

– compile engaging and relevant content that gives users further detail of your products and services. Layout of your content is essential, try to maintain nuggets of information that is easy to read by people visiting your website. Structure the website architecture so it’s simple to navigate and doesn’t cause confusion. Make sure the user experience helps them find what they’re looking for quickly.

o Thread your chosen keywords throughout your content. Keep your list of keywords at around 15 to 25 (maximum) per web page.
o Title tags should be clearly worded so they describe your web page. These appear in the user’s brower and are also used to describe the page if a user adds it to their favourites.

Incoming links

– Incoming links is a channel of directing relevant traffic to your website. You can achieve this by making use of online business directories and related community or industry sites. There are many business directories that allow free link referrals. This method generates organic traffic to your site, and also increases Search Engine Optimisation as it enhances your ‘popularity’.

o Link to trusted sites – an incoming link from a trusted website is generally acknowledged by search engines. Links on trusted sites are therefore accepted as trusted and from a trustworthy source.
o Set up your link text with a keyword that’s relevant to your company – rather than your company name.
o Get in touch with websites that relate to yours and request a ‘link exchange’

Ongoing monitoring

– A successful Search Engine Optimisation Strategy entails planning, actioning, monitoring and tweaking. It’s an ongoing project that keeps evolving. To ensure you maintain momentum of your Search Engine Optimisation Strategy make sure you:

o Review the traffic to your website. Try and get a monthly traffic report from your site’s host company. Within these you should see information about referrals from search engines. This is one route of measuring your campaign results.
o Use your chosen keywords on search engines to see how your website ranks.
o Update your Content and keywords regularly, at least once a month, to keep your website refreshed.
o Always check for suitable sites to place your links and make sure sites that already have your links still do – and continue to remain relevant to your website.

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