SEO Advice
- Thread starter MorganYole
- Start date
In a nutshell, the key to high ranking on Google is having (1) a clean-coded and fast-loading website, (2) quality content that engages the user (indicators: time on site, bounce back, social shares, social mentions, etc.) and (3) authority sites linking to you.
All your efforts should be focused on improving your performance in those 3 areas. As for keyword research, identify long-tail keywords that have low competition and start focusing on those. Once you rank for them on the first page and start getting traffic, you can start aiming for more competitive keywords.
SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Be very careful about following people who promise you "tricks" and "guaranteed methods". If you piss off Google, they can and will penalize you. And, it can be very hard to recover from that.
Study well-known resources. Don't ask in forums, because you never know who is giving you the advice...
Good luck!
All your efforts should be focused on improving your performance in those 3 areas. As for keyword research, identify long-tail keywords that have low competition and start focusing on those. Once you rank for them on the first page and start getting traffic, you can start aiming for more competitive keywords.
SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Be very careful about following people who promise you "tricks" and "guaranteed methods". If you piss off Google, they can and will penalize you. And, it can be very hard to recover from that.
Study well-known resources. Don't ask in forums, because you never know who is giving you the advice...
Good luck!
Upvote
0
Knowing what to do is step 1. Knowing how to do it is step 2.
Walk those 2 steps before anything, especially if you're mucking around with backlinks or on-page optimisation.
What's the easiest way to get up to speed on these 2 steps? Take a course from a reputable provider, like the one Tin runs over at FreshBananas.
I'm not accepting any commissions or compensation for endorsing that service. Instead, it's a matter of me having personally met the man and reviewed the course and it is without question the most thorough, accurate and easy to follow, full stop.
Walk those 2 steps before anything, especially if you're mucking around with backlinks or on-page optimisation.
What's the easiest way to get up to speed on these 2 steps? Take a course from a reputable provider, like the one Tin runs over at FreshBananas.
I'm not accepting any commissions or compensation for endorsing that service. Instead, it's a matter of me having personally met the man and reviewed the course and it is without question the most thorough, accurate and easy to follow, full stop.
Upvote
0
However, if you google MorganYole you will see they have been posting all over the place with no indication on who they are or what the website/blog is about. I suspect they are just timewasters.
Upvote
0
As you mentioned in your post, you don't have an ideas about the link building. I suggest you to hire a local seo experts that can help you.
It's very difficult to share full link building strategies and techniques, here. I would like to suggest site searchengineland.com, moz.com etc. to understand the seo and link building.
It's very difficult to share full link building strategies and techniques, here. I would like to suggest site searchengineland.com, moz.com etc. to understand the seo and link building.
Upvote
0
Hi Morgan
SEO is not that complicated! Build a website and post good quality content based around your keywords. Write articles and give good advice to your visitors. Make sure you have your correct name, address and phone number on the site and on all directories on the internet. Start there are you are on your way to ranking on the internet!
There is a lot of info on how to get good SEO just root around - but remember - there are no secrets or tricks - just good content and a few basic rules to follow.
Good Luck!
SEO is not that complicated! Build a website and post good quality content based around your keywords. Write articles and give good advice to your visitors. Make sure you have your correct name, address and phone number on the site and on all directories on the internet. Start there are you are on your way to ranking on the internet!
There is a lot of info on how to get good SEO just root around - but remember - there are no secrets or tricks - just good content and a few basic rules to follow.
Good Luck!
Upvote
0
If 90% of the type of product you sell is being sold on eBay & other marketplace sites, a focus on seo is futile. The focus needs to be on converting customers from other platforms to your website & converting those customers to buyers. You take the ranking, I'll take the sales.
That's just too general and not true for many sectors.
Upvote
0
It's hardly futile. Platforms like ebay, Amazon, Google PPC, Facebook ads, etc. often change how they work and present products and ads. They can also be very expensive.
Diversification is key and not relying on any one source for all of your business.
We have clients that use Etsy and Amazon and Google Shopping...but their most profitable sales are generally organic search driven.
I know it's different for every niche but it's also good to use multiple channels, and one can hardly ignore the biggest search engine in the world.
Upvote
0
My point is, if people aren't searching Google for the products you sell, take the focus off SEO and concentrate on dragging people away from their regular buying habits. Experience tells me that in the two sectors I deal with, Sporting Goods & Cosmetics, having the #1 spot for major search terms, doesn't equate to sales anywhere near what can be achieved on eBay and other platforms. For the major keywords, you get the crumbs. The highest conversion rate comes from a Google search for the business names.
Sure, there's money to be made in organic traffic but some small business owners are kidding themselves if they think it's a goldmine waiting to be tapped.
Couldn't agree more.
Upvote
0
S
Scott@KarmaContent
SEO isn't essential for all businesses though. Another business that I have completely ignores SEO because it's not where our clients come from. It's very, very niche and because we've done our market research and tested various ways of marketing, we have found some very fruitful channels for acquiring business. We rank number one for one of the key search terms and on page one for many of the others but Google is simply not where our (small) target market is looking.
Upvote
0
My grandfather chewed tobacco until he was over 90 years old, ate 3 squares a day - all of which included high cholesterol, fried foods and rarely did what his doctor advised. He lived to be over 100 years old. A couple of decades before his death, he was still able to do more chinups than the local high school physical education teacher (and ex profession footballer who was in the prime of health and fitness).
Exceptions are the exception, not because they're what we should all be doing, but rather what some are able to do, despite most others doing the same and failing.
Exceptions are the exception, not because they're what we should all be doing, but rather what some are able to do, despite most others doing the same and failing.
Upvote
0
Indeed, but it's not essential to their business. And I suspect the SEM bill is a lot higher than the SEO bill.
The point being made is that you don't need SEO to succeed.
These sort of discussion abound, the one about needing a logo or a Facebook page reoccur regularly.
Some thing work for some people, some things don't. There are no absolutes.
As an aside, a client used to work for the Agatha Christie estate. They stopped doing any SEO as it proved pointless. Google gave them all the ranking that needed because of all the links everybody else created. The system worked exactly as it should. They also stopped SEM for much the same reason.
The point being made is that you don't need SEO to succeed.
These sort of discussion abound, the one about needing a logo or a Facebook page reoccur regularly.
Some thing work for some people, some things don't. There are no absolutes.
As an aside, a client used to work for the Agatha Christie estate. They stopped doing any SEO as it proved pointless. Google gave them all the ranking that needed because of all the links everybody else created. The system worked exactly as it should. They also stopped SEM for much the same reason.
Upvote
0
S
Scott@KarmaContent
That's a really interesting point and something that I have thought about before. Google says it wants to provide the user with the best and most relevant search results so for big brands, they are going to get rankings by default, regardless of SEO spend.
Take Vue cinemas for example. I don't know if they spend any money on SEO but if they stopped, would it really harm their rankings? Especially as they will be the most 'relevant' result in a host of 'cinema near me' types of search.
Upvote
0
What I've experienced is that while I might have a keyphrase which shows for a large number of search queries, in the #1 spot, my organic result is actually placed at #5 on the page. Any keyphrase that converts well is worth paying for, and competitors do, including me. I have paid ads running for all the terms that I have a fantastic ranking for because paid ads ranked in those top 4 spots do convert and pay for themselves.
Adwords ads are now so flexible and contain such long headlines, so much detail & so many sitelinks, they leave organic results in the dust, if used properly.
The big picture in my sectors though is that there are more shoppers purchasing through eBay and other selling platforms, than there are searching on Google. Sales achieved through organic results pale in significance when compared to other channels. Worth having, but not where the money is.
Adwords ads are now so flexible and contain such long headlines, so much detail & so many sitelinks, they leave organic results in the dust, if used properly.
The big picture in my sectors though is that there are more shoppers purchasing through eBay and other selling platforms, than there are searching on Google. Sales achieved through organic results pale in significance when compared to other channels. Worth having, but not where the money is.
Upvote
0
But surely someone who is an expert in SEO would have done the keyword research and found that other 1,000 phrases that draw more traffic, and which are highly related, after having spoken with the business owner.
They would have identified the fact that people are actually searching for ironmongers, wrought iron gates and fences, horseshoes and 996 other phrases, which, when combined, would suddenly bring that blacksmith more customers than they could shake a stick at.
Local SEO can, alone, make or break a small business. Sure, they can rely on other sources, and should for diversity and disaster prevention.
When the business grows, and becomes big enough to buy most of Someshire, like Kashflow, the organic SEO could be worth millions, even though they don't continue to spend what they used to spend on it. [not a great example because Kashflow, after their change of ownership, have completely lost the plot about how SEO should be handled]
Upvote
0
Whilst all that may be true, if the Blacksmith is maxed out with work because of all the referrals and other marketing he doesn't need to rank for all those keywords - all it will do is bring in more enquiries that he will have to refuse.
This is what has happened to a local tradesman. So much so that he has taken down his website.
Not everyone needs SEO.
This is what has happened to a local tradesman. So much so that he has taken down his website.
Not everyone needs SEO.
Upvote
0
If a blacksmith is maxed out on work, then he needs to focus on hiring and training his apprentices to that he can focus on SEO while he holidays in some sunny spot.
I'm sure that he could benefit by focusing on the higher paying jobs with higher margins and less busy work where he barely breaks even.
SEO would help him generate more profit from the same amount of hours worked per week. I've seen this with sparky's, plumbers and attorneys, first hand.
I'm sure that he could benefit by focusing on the higher paying jobs with higher margins and less busy work where he barely breaks even.
SEO would help him generate more profit from the same amount of hours worked per week. I've seen this with sparky's, plumbers and attorneys, first hand.
Upvote
0
But once again, that's all depends on the person and the business. He already holiday's in sunny spots. He hasn't worked a full week in years. He has the lifestyle he wants (see lifestyle thread).
He could hire or train someone up but he doesn't need to or want to. He (and many others) don't want or need to make more profit.
Getting off track a bit. SEO is just part of the marketing mix that may or may not add value to a business.
He could hire or train someone up but he doesn't need to or want to. He (and many others) don't want or need to make more profit.
Getting off track a bit. SEO is just part of the marketing mix that may or may not add value to a business.
Upvote
0
S
Steve Alphabet
...yes that's what I wrote. Not "ignore organic traffic", which is what you wrote.
Unless a business offers very niche services, without big competitors, there are loads of better ways to attract customers online. Create a free resource for visitors landing on your site in return for their email address, build a basic online tool/spreadsheet that helps your target audience, run some PPC & landing page campaigns... you can do any one of those for a few hundred quid and get real results.
Or you can throw it away on a short-lived SEO campaign and then be surprised because your business isn't ranking above Amazon, Wikipedia, PPC ads, "top 10" articles. For mainstream products and services, these are what appear on the majority of Google page 1 SERPS these days.
Upvote
0
1) SEO campaigns are not short-lived. Kashflow raked in millions of pounds of revenue from a single term being optimised, which continued to rank top 5 for years. They invested further in other terms which ranked and pulled in revenue as well. The notion that SEO campaigns only last a brief while is exactly the opposite of true. I call BS.
2) "Create a free resource for visitors landing on your site in return for their email address". This is called lead capture. It is done by attracting an audience to the site which then sees the free resource and signs up/downloads it. Organic SEO is generally the most cost effective way of driving traffic to that resource, done so by optimising the landing page and surrounding pages.
I have no idea what you think SEO is all about, but it's about building an inbound funnel to pull traffic so that when people search for your service, or your lead capture content, you grab it. That's for today, tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. That's not for a day or two then it disappears.
Search for 'accounting software'. None of those sample sites you mention as always on top, rank top 5 for the phrase. It is not an exception. Those sites you mention rank top 5 for generic informational searches, not product solutions.
Upvote
0
The effects of good SEO can last for years. Social Media campaigns are short lived, PPC campaigns are short lived (stop paying for the ads and traffic stops)....
If SEO didn't work we wouldn't have a growing business. It doesn't work for everyone but getting it right can work wonders for a business.
Upvote
0
However, search results are personalised and so you gain an average ranking for terms over time. Ranking isn't static but dynamic.
So when you have a site optimised for terms your target customers use, then this can be a long-term strategy toward sales. But a dormant site with dormant social, etc., will slip over time.
The effect for Keywords can change as markets change so you need to be active with SEO and not passive. Hence why there are businesses out there to do this work for you - it's not something you can do then walk away from.
But Google are making SEO easier for those who wish to DIY the basics. It's more about delegating it out to save time and money, and to thosecwith more technical know-how.
As we all know, Google are making the SEO basics easy for DIYers to do when starting out so they can appear online locally to grow the number of small businesses using Google.
So when you have a site optimised for terms your target customers use, then this can be a long-term strategy toward sales. But a dormant site with dormant social, etc., will slip over time.
The effect for Keywords can change as markets change so you need to be active with SEO and not passive. Hence why there are businesses out there to do this work for you - it's not something you can do then walk away from.
But Google are making SEO easier for those who wish to DIY the basics. It's more about delegating it out to save time and money, and to thosecwith more technical know-how.
As we all know, Google are making the SEO basics easy for DIYers to do when starting out so they can appear online locally to grow the number of small businesses using Google.
Last edited:
Upvote
0
Google making it easier? Oh heck no they aren't!
On page optimisation has never been less understood amongst site owners and even big agencies.
I've seen one man SEO boutique shops take client sites to the top 5 for some hugely contested terms, then large agencies that purport to be the best of breed at doing SEO who then managed to blow those rankings out to beyond position 10. This is happening OFTEN.
I'm sure Tin, the moderator on here, could tell a dozen stories of similar - if you could pry him away from doing SEO training.
On page optimisation has never been less understood amongst site owners and even big agencies.
I've seen one man SEO boutique shops take client sites to the top 5 for some hugely contested terms, then large agencies that purport to be the best of breed at doing SEO who then managed to blow those rankings out to beyond position 10. This is happening OFTEN.
I'm sure Tin, the moderator on here, could tell a dozen stories of similar - if you could pry him away from doing SEO training.
Upvote
0
Latest Articles
-
At What Point Do Courier Losses Just Become a Cost of Doing Business?If you sell physical products online, you already know the feeling. You...- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
What I Wish I'd Known Before Using AI in My BusinessSomewhere between the headlines promising AI will transform everything...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
Is AI Making the Internet Worse?It started with a comment about music. @JEREMY HAWKE , a courier...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
The AI Divide: What UKBF Members Really Think in 2026Every few months on UK Business Forums, a thread appears that refuses...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
-
When the Algorithm Gets It Wrong: What eBay's AI Moderation Problem Tells Us About Platform RiskA thread appeared on UKBF this week that, on the surface, looks like a...
- Ozzy
- Updated:
