SEO ... The more I learn ... the less I know [Archive]

View Full Version : SEO ... The more I learn ... the less I know

FaerieB

22nd April 2010, 20:45

Hi Guys ... Am feeling proper fed up today :(

I know I need a new site which is SEO friendly and I know I then need to work on the SEO side of things.

There is so much info on here that sometimes I think I've found a thread that I understand and that makes sense and then you lot all start discussing and arguing about whether it's right or wrong ... and I'm back to square one :redface:

Clearly I'm going to have to pay someone to do the SEO for me as I'm just getting more and more frazzed in the brain ... trouble is how do I know who's the right person when I don't understand anything about it :|

mud-stx

22nd April 2010, 21:00

You shouldn't confuse yourself with all the ins and the outs about SEO....just start off slow with the necessary basics and let it go from there.
If you dive in the deep end straight away, you are just gonna drown in all the info out there because there's too much to take in immediately "...white hat/black hat, link or not to link? who to link to? how many links should I do? keywords in my URL or not etc...." There is too much to wade through!!!! :eek:
Ask anyone SEO is kinda crazy!! ;)
BUT you just got to keep a straight head and go through reliable and trustworthy sources, and here in the UKBF that is what you can get - from what I've learned in my short time here, there is plenty of good help available :)

Ultimately to get your site sorted you will need to pay a real professional to do the work properly, and this will give you the opportunity to learn some more along the way.
You could try along the likes of Ali-V-8 or sirearl or Tin to name a few of the reputable guys to do the SEO, drop them a PM to see if they can help.

sloggingaway

22nd April 2010, 21:43

First assess your budget; a decent SEO firm is going to charge at least £1000-1200 per month for a three month campaign.

You may not necessarily need to employ an SEO team for now!
Speak to your website designer your website needs a few tweaks to make it more search engine friendly.
a) Your content management system (CMS) you need the ability to create search engine friendly custom urls. Example thetillybalouheartcompany.com/page16.htm the landing page is selling interior design products. To increase the SEO strength of the page the url should be something like thetillybalouheartcompany.com/interior-design.htm etc.
b) Tell your guy to install an auto generating xml sitemap script. How this works; each time you publish a new web page the url of the new page is published in the sitemap.xml then what you do is resubmit your sitemap to google via your google webmaster control panel. By doing this google will index your new content quicker. Google like .xml sitemaps
c) Where is your links page are you not exchanging reciprocal links?
d) Install a blog on your domain, try and publish at least 1 article per week.

Keep us informed of how you get on. :)

RedEvo

22nd April 2010, 21:43

Keyword research to establish what people search for. Check the competition to make sure you are not optimising for phrases that other more established sites have nailed.

Keep doing the above until you find phrases you have a chance if ranking for.

Market Samurai will help you with this. The Tool costs $97 and the training videos are free.

Then optimise your content using your key phrases in the title element, meta description and on page content.

Then start looking for links. Concentrate on links you'd want if Google didn't exist, links that will send traffic that might buy from you.

Now I'm not suggesting there isn't more you could do but cover this lot and you will be on the right track.

Clear?

Get to work :)

d

sirearl

22nd April 2010, 21:48

Have a read through redevo's blog :http://seo.redevolution.com/best-matt-cutts-video/

its gonna take some time to read all.

Also take a look at Matt Cutts videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=matt+cutts+seo&aq=1

Its gonna take time to take it all in.

SEO for dummies is well worth a read if you are starting out.

Earl

FaerieB

22nd April 2010, 21:54

cmcp

22nd April 2010, 21:56

chin up :)

RedEvo

22nd April 2010, 21:59

Thanks guys ... I guess I'm just really tired ... I have to design the stuff ... make the stuff ... photograph the stuff ... make up random stories about the stuff ... put it all on the website with some copy that makes some sort of sense ... find oultlets for it (the stuff that is :rolleyes:) and even then ... the outlets that have been with us for years and sell the stuff within a week of getting it on their shelves, can't afford to replace the stuff because the economy is so dire!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow is another day I suppose :rolleyes: ~x~

Don't take this the wrong way but perhaps it's time for a change? Life's for living and it sounds like you are in a heck of a rut and if you are going to tackle all your SEO as well you will be swamped.

Take a long weekend and think hard perhaps. Oh, and grab and read the E-Myth Revisited, 7 quid on Amazon I think, it will help you see things more clearly.

d

Coppock

23rd April 2010, 10:27

Hi again, if you want I can create a free seo report (http://www.coppockmedia.com/seo) for your site if you like?
It will cover everything from titles and content, to the inbound links?
Might just be a good thing to take a few glances at whilst brewing up :)

Pm me if you're interested and i'll get one written up to help you out,
have a good weekend - and relax!

Life is all about the journey and should be enjoyed, and so is business.
You're the boss, and if you want to spend your time making and selling the jewellery then that's what you should do!

Delegating your SEO to someone can be a costly decision so don't jump into it, but at least with a good report will give you a good insight into what's left to do... then when you're scouting around for help if you find one "SEO expert" says X and the other "SEO expert" says Y, then you can at least try and decide which one knows what they're talking about and which one doesn't...

Let me know, don't get too disheartened

Good luck!
Jen

SFD

23rd April 2010, 10:41

RedEvo

23rd April 2010, 10:44

Then we wonder why SEO's are viewed with such suspicion ;)

d

Coppock

23rd April 2010, 10:44

we're number 5 now :)

Just a little bit more to go for number 1...

It's amazing what some good training and employing an SEO expert can do to your service range.

Jen :)

sirearl

23rd April 2010, 10:50

we're number 5 now :)

Just a little bit more to go for number 1...

It's amazing what some good training and employing an SEO expert can do to your service range.

Jen :)

At last a vote for us poor snake oil salesmen.:)

Earl

SFD

23rd April 2010, 10:58

It's amazing what some good training and employing an SEO expert can do to your service range.

Jen :)

Brilliant, they should be able to answer your question (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=152573) then.

Coppock

23rd April 2010, 11:13

what's with the attack anyway? i was only offering some free help?

I think it's a valid question as nobody seems to know - Darren recons that the .sch addresses will be just as valid as the ac ones because they cannot be bought, but there doesn't seem to be any proof of whether they are just as good or not and I was wondering if anyone had come across anything in their travels...

Are you having a bad day or something?
If so i hope it gets better for you, think you need some coffee!

Jen

SFD

23rd April 2010, 11:23

You aren't trying to give free help, you are trying to flog your new SEO services, like you have been constantly trying to do in your previous 15 posts or so.

sjr4x4

23rd April 2010, 11:25

Clearly I'm going to have to pay someone to do the SEO for me as I'm just getting more and more frazzed in the brain ... trouble is how do I know who's the right person when I don't understand anything about it :|

Chin up, you understand you have a problem, and there are plenty of decent SEO consultants out there that can help, as there are plumbers and brickies.

Same principle, a bit of homework, go from recommendations, not cold callers. Anyone promising to get you on page 1, run a mile :eek: SEO is a longterm stratedgy, which if applied properly will more than reward you for any initial outlay. If you want a quick fix, then its Pay per click.

The basics of SEO rarely change, and are fairly straightforward to pickup. Applying, tweaking and manipulating the techniques are what you pay a SEO geek for. Or if you get sick of link building, one of lifes most boring activities, find someone who can do a good job for you.

I did an SEO 101 post (http://www.mylocalforums.com/seo-webrankings-google-yahoo-bing-etc/846-search-engine-optimization-101-laymen-newbies.html) for newbies that might help give you an understanding. It is what it is, basic and in English ;)

(http://www.mylocalforums.com/seo-webrankings-google-yahoo-bing-etc/846-search-engine-optimization-101-laymen-newbies.html)

Coppock

23rd April 2010, 11:37

You aren't trying to give free help, you are trying to flog your new SEO services, like you have been constantly trying to do in your previous 15 posts or so.

It's what's keeping us busy at the moment, i'm not pushing any purchasing, just hoping to help people find how to improve their sites. It makes sense to let people know what we can offer at the same time, but i'm not battering people with mindless spam and hassle to get a sale, i've got better things to do with my time.

Stop complaining, it's stopping you from climbing to a better place. You're clearly upset and have got all your negativity across, which i hope makes you feel better.

If FaerieB wants the report then fine, if she doesn't - then fine, it's up to her.

I hope you all have a good weekend,
Jen