Advice Needed On SEO

redrosephotos · Oct 8, 2012

Evening,

we're a relatively new business trying to forge our way in what is quite a competitive market. We specialise in Photograph Restoration/Editing and if I'm honest we're really struggling with our listing.

From my limited experience I've looked at various tips and advice re keywords, page titles, having a blog that's update regularly, Facebook and Twitter pages. I'm now at the stage when I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile getting some proper SEO help and if so what sort of price should I be looking to pay?

To give a bit of a background our website currently has a approximately ten pages and when I look at our target keywords there is one competitor who dominates the searches every time. Every one else is a bit of a mixed bag and you see them popping up on PPC but the main competitor never does because he doesn't need to. I'm therefore thinking that it shouldn't be that much of a job to at least get on the first page but I'm not having much joy.

Any advice would be gratefully received. I'm more than willing to take this on myself but I don't want to waste my time doing the wrong things if I can get someone reputable at a reasonable price to make some real impact.

Cheers

Brent

OldWelshGuy · Oct 8, 2012

Please note that the sending of unsolicited private messages is against the rules. this post is asking for advice.

Ok so why is this other guy everywhere? have you looked at his backlinks? have you looked at his use of internal linking within the site? Have you got comparable pagination to him?

In SEO it is certainly posible to try too hard, maybe that is what you have done.

have a look at his domain/url structure, also the age of his domain.

redrosephotos · Oct 8, 2012

Thanks for the response.

To say I was a novice when I started out would be an understatement but I'm picking things up as I go along and am keen to learn. From having a website that worked, which I was really proud of, I now find myself going back over the site and popping chunks of text in h1 or h3 tags because I read that's good for SEO? So any tips or advice on things I can do would be gratefully received.

As for the main competitor I'm not too sure about his site in depth. He doesn't appear to have many links to other sites but he does have lots and lots of content.

Another thing that I have been pondering is changing my domain name. Red Rose Photos is my domain and company name and I think I may have been naive in it's choice. Choosing the name because I liked the sound of it I ploughed ahead but essentially when I look at the competition they are all using domain names that use words around photo editing. Will it be worthwhile to change the domain name to something more specific to what I'm doing or won't it make that much of a difference to SEO?

Jolt.co.uk · Oct 8, 2012

redrosephotos said:
Evening,

we're a relatively new business trying to forge our way in what is quite a competitive market. We specialise in Photograph Restoration/Editing and if I'm honest we're really struggling with our listing.

From my limited experience I've looked at various tips and advice re keywords, page titles, having a blog that's update regularly, Facebook and Twitter pages. I'm now at the stage when I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile getting some proper SEO help and if so what sort of price should I be looking to pay?

To give a bit of a background our website currently has a approximately ten pages and when I look at our target keywords there is one competitor who dominates the searches every time. Every one else is a bit of a mixed bag and you see them popping up on PPC but the main competitor never does because he doesn't need to. I'm therefore thinking that it shouldn't be that much of a job to at least get on the first page but I'm not having much joy.

Any advice would be gratefully received. I'm more than willing to take this on myself but I don't want to waste my time doing the wrong things if I can get someone reputable at a reasonable price to make some real impact.

Cheers

Brent

Brent,

Spend a bit of time reading the following.

- http://www.distilled.net/blog/
- http://www.seomoz.org/blog
- http://www.searchengineland.com

These should give you a general feel of what SEO will involve and whether it is something you wish to take on yourself.

You may wish to share your website so we can see where it currently ranks and how well optimised it is.

redrosephotos · Oct 8, 2012

Thanks, I'll definately take a look at the above.

<removed>

Ultimately I'd consider paying to boost my SEO ranking and visitors to the site if it wasn't going to be too expensive - is £100 to cheap? I don't know.

On the other hand, I know I'd get so much more satisfaction doing it myself. It's just knowing your doing the right things.

redrosephotos · Oct 9, 2012

Thanks,

not sure I'm allowed to post up the link to my site. Ultimately it's about whether it's something I can do off my own back or whether for a bit of expense and expert is going to do a much better job quicker. I'd love to do it myself but it's whether I'm doing the right things.

WhiteRoseSEO · Oct 9, 2012

When targetting keywords, do not fall into the trap of only looking at the ones that have the highest number of searches per month. They are very general and do not always provide the best results.

Never ignore long-tail keywords. They are far more targetted to what your potential customer is looking for and can provide higher conversions. Ask yourself what services you offer and what you would put into Google if you wanted to find your website - that would be a good start.

Good content is always crucial; are you giving your customers what they are looking for and providing valuable and relevant information?

When you are link-building, ensure that your anchor text is varied. Do not simply link using one keyword, as this is considered poor practice. Additionally, quality over quantity is important when it comes to link-building. You get what you pay for!

With regards to domain names, it is not a requirement to have your main keyword in your domain name. I would, however, advise that you have your main keyword in your Title, Keyword and Description Meta Tags and also in your H1, H2 and H3 header tags within your content.

Finally, make sure that you have at least one internal link using your main keyword and an external link, again using your main keyword, to a trusted website.

Hope this helps a little.

redrosephotos said:
Thanks for the response.

To say I was a novice when I started out would be an understatement but I'm picking things up as I go along and am keen to learn. From having a website that worked, which I was really proud of, I now find myself going back over the site and popping chunks of text in h1 or h3 tags because I read that's good for SEO? So any tips or advice on things I can do would be gratefully received.

As for the main competitor I'm not too sure about his site in depth. He doesn't appear to have many links to other sites but he does have lots and lots of content.

Another thing that I have been pondering is changing my domain name. Red Rose Photos is my domain and company name and I think I may have been naive in it's choice. Choosing the name because I liked the sound of it I ploughed ahead but essentially when I look at the competition they are all using domain names that use words around photo editing. Will it be worthwhile to change the domain name to something more specific to what I'm doing or won't it make that much of a difference to SEO?

redrosephotos · Oct 9, 2012

Thanks for that. I trust you mean one internal link would be a link to another page on the site and the external link would be to something like Facebook? And do this on every page.

Working around key search terms is a good idea and I'll look in to that. Although from what I've looked at over the last while the number one guy seems to have it covered. Am going to have a thorough look over his site though and see if I can pick up any tips.

clara_butler · Oct 9, 2012

Try to increase number of pages. You said you have only 10 pages and specially if your domain is keyword rich. do a proper analysis on your competitor's site. Use proper link-structure (internal linking) and try to get some back-links from other high PR sites.

redrosephotos · Oct 9, 2012

More pages then with more description on the page and then links to other pages and external links on each page? Coupled with header tags containing your keyword phrases and images with alt tags.

Also, other than looking over a competitors website are there any other ways/programs I can use to determine what external links they have and how they've built their site?

clara_butler · Oct 9, 2012

redrosephotos said:
More pages then with more description on the page and then links to other pages and external links on each page? Coupled with header tags containing your keyword phrases and images with alt tags.

Also, other than looking over a competitors website are there any other ways/programs I can use to determine what external links they have and how they've built their site?

Yup, more pages with your keywords related. Put unique & informative content, all meta tags (title, description) on each & every pages with proper inter-linking. Then you should try to get back-links from other site for each page.

You can know about your competitor's backlink via Back-link watch tool or any other tool.

ChoosyReviews · Oct 9, 2012

In response to someone asking about links you said:

redrosephotos said:
As for the main competitor I'm not too sure about his site in depth. He doesn't appear to have many links to other sites but he does have lots and lots of content.

The most important aspect in being ranked well by Google is links FROM other sites coming into yours - yes, it matters how you link to other parts of your website - but if there's nobody linking to you then you have nothing to pass on to your other pages via your own internal linking.

In very basic terms, it's like your website having a penny and passing it between your pages and back again - that's fine - but if there aren't more penny's coming in to your site from others then your internal links will only ever be worth 1 penny.

Equally, if you were 'given pounds' from other sites it would not be making full use of the money should you not be internally linking well.

Hope this helps as opposes to confuses!

SimonAntonySEO · Oct 9, 2012

Hi Brent,

Great to hear from you - getting the SEO right can be a difficult one to work out.

Firstly (as already suggested!) I recommend getting a clear picture of what your target phrases are. A professional SEO will definitely be able to make a difference, but only if they know what to aim for from day zero. You understand your customers better than anyone, so next time you see this competitor ranking where you don't, I recommend making a note of the search phrase you are using and keeping careful track. This information is invaluable both when starting up an SEO campaign and also in giving you something to compare against later on to see how things are progressing.

The price of SEO can vary a lot, anywhere from £35 per month to a few thousand pounds (depending on the scale and scope of the SEO work agreed on). If you did decide to get a professional to work on this, I recommend going for the budget/mid range price wise to start with (not too cheap, but definitely nearer the cheaper end of the spectrum).

The sites Matt recommended are good, I would also like to suggest:

seobook.com

But if you do hire someone to do SEO, often they will be happy to discuss any questions with you, particularly in the early stages to make sure everything is set-up correctly!

Good luck!

Mystro · Oct 9, 2012

Change your title as way too busy and look at the descriptions keyword stuffed,

also Im using chrome and you have your navigation bar all over the place, it could just be a chrome thing (just looked again and the navigation seems to have righted itself) Just the logo now over writing the home page button

I always try and get the on page done first then start a link building campaign as often many sites are overlooked and people think getting links is the answer, sometimes on page changes can restrict your site from moving regardless of how many links you can get.

It was just because your using the SEO all in one plugin normally there is a seperate part on the home page to adjust titles and if overlooked it can over populate your title and looking at your other pages which are not stuffed this could be something you are not aware of

redrosephotos · Oct 9, 2012

It does help and thanks.

Looking for external links, any suggestions?

I'm thinking of ezinearticles and Ehow etc and writing articles. Are these a good idea? Already have Facebook and Twitter.

OldWelshGuy · Oct 9, 2012

One thing to consider, this competitor who appears everywhere. is he doing so as a result of Google personalised search? That is another consideration.

One thing gents.

please rememebr that site reviews are not allowed on the forum.

Pm might be more appropriate

redrosephotos · Oct 9, 2012

Thanks,

Mystro if you want to PM please go ahead as your advice would be welcome.

I've just spent the last couple of hours working on the pages trying to get them all seo ready - have used a plug in called Yoast that goes green when the page has good Seo. The plan is to focus on the site before looking for links. How long will it take to see if it's made any difference though.

I'm thinking then, once I've done all I can do, if there's no change I'll look for some SEO help.

OldWelshGuy · Oct 9, 2012

The Yoast plugin is great, but be very mindful that chaniging url's isn't always a good idea. If you are changing urls, on a Wordpress site, then install the 301 redirect plugin, and redirect old to new.

This will ensure that anyone who has bookmarked the old URl will instantly get to the new page, as will the search engines, along with the 301 (permanent move) message that allows them to update your index.

Mystro · Oct 9, 2012

Don't look for fast results in Google, gone are the days where you change something today and expect results tomorrow.

If it were my site i would initially check all pages Titles and description are unique, informative and relevant (written for the customer Not for the search engine) avoid keyword stuffing and don't target too many keyphrases per page and mix it up a little,

Make sure the main keywords you are targeting are on that page

don't add content to article directory's (why give them your content) add it to your own site and hopefully people will link to it, or you can refer to it when guest posting or advertising or answering questions in forums like this but on you subject.

from what i have seen your competition is not massive, and with a bit of work you can move.

Also remember there are trust issue too, i cannot see no mail address or phone number,

So in theory there are lots of little things you can change and they all make a little bit of difference.

Its worth reading a few threads on here and if serious contact 1 or 2 members that offer this service, it will cost you, however if you have the time its also great to learn

OldWelshGuy · Oct 9, 2012

As Mystro says, pick the brains of the SEO's on here,

redrosephotos · Oct 9, 2012

Thanks guys. Am more than willing to pay if it's going to boost the site and ranking but in the first instance I'm going to take on board what you've advised and give it a go myself. I think I'll then upgrade and submit my site so I can garner some more feedback/advice.

Mystro · Oct 9, 2012

redrosephotos said:
Thanks guys. Am more than willing to pay if it's going to boost the site and ranking but in the first instance I'm going to take on board what you've advised and give it a go myself. I think I'll then upgrade and submit my site so I can garner some more feedback/advice.

Take a years subscription, you get footer links which are followed links but best of all there is a members section where you can get people to review your site,

From their you can get a feel of who can and who cannot really help you from the advice they give, and the advice is free, (sometimes critical) however will be a real good way to get a impartial site evaluation before you go and spend on SEO

Good Luck

redrosephotos · Jan 3, 2013

Signed up today.

Astrogy · Jan 4, 2013

You know, SEO rankings is something that depends not only on what you're doing, but also on what your competitors are doing. They fluctuate, and you even if you pay someoene to boost your rankings, if you stop then rankings drop -this should be maintained.

So I guess you'd better take this on yourself. Plus, remember that rankings don't rise immediately after you're doing something - Google takes its time to index your site, so it can be about two weeks before you see any changes. Don't go for black SEO, or you'll get penalized.

OldWelshGuy · Jan 4, 2013

redrosephotos said:
Signed up today.

Now do yourself a favour, and make use of the UKBF members blog facility. make sure you write a nice peice and use some nice anchor text in there.

COA_INC · Jan 5, 2013

Does the number of pages on a website really impact SEO? I thought that it was more content (and saturation of key words), length and header tags? Creating effective backlinks is certainly key also.

SDGSteve · Jan 5, 2013

redrosephotos said:
I'm thinking of ezinearticles and Ehow etc and writing articles. Are these a good idea? Already have Facebook and Twitter.

Don't do it! Link building is about quality not quantity, find high profile photography blogs and offer to write guest blogs about your expertise in return for a link at the end of the post. Hang out on high quality photography forums and use the autosignature feature. Trade links with industry relevant suppliers/colleagues etc. It feels slow but that's because it's a quality approach, take a short cut and you'll get a short term benefit then in 6 months Google will change something and you'll be back where you started, do it quality and you'll be fine long term.

Facebook and Twitter are good for building general traffic but have almost no effect on SEO, they probably will in future but right now Google+ is much more useful for SEO. You need 500+ retweets of a link to get a search benefit, you need about 70 +1s on G+, I've never seen anyone figure out Facebook as having any effect at all; think low hanging fruit.

Spamming out articles to article sites used to be useful and there are a couple of article sites which are still OK but it's a dying method, I really would advise against putting time into it.

COA_INC said:
Does the number of pages on a website really impact SEO?

Of course, 30 well optimised pages is going to be better than 10 well optimised pages. Sometimes certain keywords are not very competitive or the competition has lousy SEO, I had straight top tens for a 7 page site with one short paragraph on each page, but that's because the competition was worthless, this is partly why a good blog is often recommended, over time it builds a huge amount of site content.

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