0113 234 3300
The opinions in this post are my own and based on my own experience.
There are a lot of opinions and arguments about the quality vs quantity in the SEO world and the thing that keeps coming up again and again is Link Quality. But frustratingly enough, everyone’s definition of quality varies. We keep pushing for High Quality links but what ARE they? Where can we find them? How do we get them?
Or Why domain names are important.
Having a descriptive domain name is one of the easiest ways to get an important keywords in your URL. However, there is a constant debate between using your brand name in your URL (e.g. www.blueclaw.co.uk) or say, a descriptive, keyword rich URL (e.g. www.seoleeds.biz) Either way, there are a few more ranking factors that you should take into account. For example, I don’t think www.replacebrokenwindowsglassglazerglazingemergencyglaziers.info will be ranking very well. Two words - keyword stuffing.
Some other ranking factors to think about for your domain are:
Most people get into SEO by through necessity; by trying to push their own site up the rankings with little or no budget. Hence this is why many become obsessed with onsite factors – something they can learn and do without spending much money. For many, going out into worldwide web, spreading the word and getting those links seems far too much like hard work.
However, there’s no way around it. Learning the tricks of getting links is the most important thing you need to know when doing the SEO for a site by yourself.
I could give you examples of how to email people in order to do this etc. et.c, but it’s pointless me telling you. I’ve seen these tips given out (such as using a made-up girl’s name!) and now they don’t work as everyone is doing them. You have to find what works for you by experimenting. The only advice I can give you is to try and be original. The best way to do this is though making your request personal and relevant.
The same goes for blog comments or forum posts. Be original, sincere and relevant. Then the chances of your point of view being deleted as spam are much slimmer.
The key also is not to feel overwhelmed – link building is not an impossible task. To build, you have to do so block by block. If you set yourself a target of 2 or 3 links a day and just keep chipping away then you can still make a good contribution to optimising a site.
Having read (and listened to) Matt Cutt’s blog post informing the world that meta tags are useless and that description tags are only used for the listing’s ‘snippet’, I was far more interested in the latter revelation.
As everyone has pointed out, meta tags have been presumed dead for a long time. However, Matt seemed to suggest that meta descriptions are only useful for getting a good ‘snippet’ - rather than as another chance to reference your keywords.
As he pointed out, Google wants to provide your site with a good ‘snippet’. This is because it is likely to increase your click through rate.
I’ve already heard rumblings about Google using the amount of time/pages a user spends onsite before returning to the SERPs as a factor in ranking. Now I believe that Google uses click through rate as a factor to determine rankings. Maybe not a major factor, but definitely one of the many!
You may have noticed that click-through rate and impressions have been added to Google Webmaster Tools. I’m not quite sure when exactly this happened, but I am sure they have not always been there. There must be a reason for this other than purely for your information.
Therefore, if I’m right, your thinking should change (if it hasn’t already). Rather than referencing your keywords in your meta description with the aim of further increasing the relevance of your page, you should reference your keywords with the sole aim of increasing your click through rate. And you should go beyond simply informative or gently persuasive. Include an Adwords-style call to action in there. Short sharp snippets with sentences like ‘free delivery, buy now!’ etc are bound to catch the eye amongst a sea of half finished sentences.
What do you think?
Arvinder: Hi Fergus, I fully agree with you that most men wo...
Bill: Good article!
We haven't invested one penny to bu...
The hand: I forgot to add perhaps the next google will be a ...
Fergus Clawson: Howard - Articles can still work, pick the right p...