STEP 1

WHITE HAT SEO, BLACK HAT SEO

Prior to embarking on any SEO or inbound marketing endeavor, it is crucial to grasp the fundamentals of SEO Best Practices. Familiarizing yourself with the concepts of White Hat and Black Hat is of utmost importance. The realm of the web remains somewhat untamed, with Google reigning supreme. Adhering to its guidelines is paramount. Failure to do so, and opting for black hat techniques, will inevitably expose you to severe and incapacitating penalties imposed by Google.

WEB SPAM

Again, before you begin any SEO or inbound marketing endeavour, you must understand the definition of Web-Spam, and how to avoid it. Use spam at your peril! Not only will it make your website look extremely amateur, and put off the majority of your target market, but it will also get you in lots of trouble with the Search Engines, and can lead to a search engine visibility black-out!

LINK METRICS

Take the time to acquaint yourself with Link Metrics, a significant factor in Google’s ranking algorithm. This comprehensive guide will delve extensively into the topic, providing in-depth discussions and insights on its importance.

STEP 2

WEBSITE DESIGN

Make sure that you are familiar with Google’s Panda Update. This is a new but incredibly important factor for SEOs and Inbound Marketers. Panda takes into account the Social Media Metrics and the design of your website. Make sure that your web design is compliant with Panda Update best practice.

1. Submit an updated sitemap: Generate and submit an updated XML sitemap to search engines, allowing them to crawl and index your redesigned website effectively. This helps search engines discover your new pages and understand the overall structure of your site.
2. Set up proper redirects: If you have changed your domain name or URL structure during the redesign, implement 301 redirects from old URLs to new ones. This preserves SEO value from the old pages and directs users to the appropriate content on the new website.
3. Build a solid internal linking structure: Create a logical and user-friendly internal linking structure to guide search engines and visitors through your website. Use descriptive anchor text and link relevant pages together to help search engines understand your website’s structure and content hierarchy.

TRANSFERRING DOMAINS?

If you are in the process of redesigning an existing website, altering your domain name, or revamping your branding, it is essential to stay informed about the best practices concerning Domain Transfers and Redesigns. Keeping up-to-date with these practices will ensure a smooth and successful transition.

STEP 3

CHOOSE YOUR TECHNOLOGY

Choose the technologies that you are going to build your website in. We recommend using HTML and CSS as the basis for all websites, wherever possible. Avoid basing a website in Flash, Java, JavaScript and AJAX. These technologies can be used as cool snippets to spice up the site, but only to spruce up the HTML and CSS. Search Engines find it extremely difficult to read the content of anything that is not based in HTML or CSS, and if the Search Engines can’t read it, it can’t rank it.

CHOSE A GOOD, SEO FRIENDLY CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

A poor, non-SEO friendly Content Management System (CMS) can cause havoc to any websites SEO efforts, creating duplicate content problems and not allowing many on-site optimisations to be performed. Make sure that you use an SEO friendly, extremely flexible and adjustable CMS system.

RESEARCH YOUR KEYWORD PHRASES

Now that you are familiar with Google’s governing principles, and how its algorithms select which websites to rank and which ones to tank, it is time to get cracking on the optimisation process. Keyword Research is the basis of any SEO campaign. You should not even begin to plan your website architecture, design or strategy until you have decided upon a set of key keyword phrases to target.

PLAN YOUR WEBSITE CONTENT

If we had to pinpoint the single most important inbound marketing factor for any website, it would be the website’s content. Create high-quality, valuable, and unique content that satisfies the needs of your target audience. Incorporate relevant keywords naturally within the content, but focus on providing informative and engaging material that keeps visitors on your site and encourages sharing.

We believe that Content Creation is the most essential part of any SEO/ SMM (social media marketing) campaign. It is also the most time-consuming stage. Find that time, and put in 100% of your effort. It will pay off.

PLAN YOUR INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

Building an easily navigable, sensible Information Architecture (or website navigational structure) is critical, both to Inbound Marketing and all-round user experience. Make sure that this site navigation is Conversion Optimised. Provide an exceptional user experience to visitors by optimizing website navigation, improving page layout and design, and enhancing site usability. A positive user experience leads to longer visit durations, lower bounce rates, and increased engagement, which can positively impact your search rankings.

STEP 4

CONTROL YOUR INTERNAL LINK JUICE

Controlling Internal Link Juice is an important SEO tactic. We discussed Link Juice in Link Metrics. Link Juice is the amount of ranking juice passed by a link from one web page to another. It is important to control the flow of link juice throughout your site, so that it is spread evenly throughout. This will give the best chance for all of your pages to rank, which in turn helps in the targeting of the long tail keywords and elevates your overall domain rank. You also want to make sure that you are not passing link juice to pages that would serve no purpose in the rankings, such as ‘contact’ pages. You can do this by the use of NoFollow Tags , Robots Tags and Robots.txt and Google Parameter Blocking.

OPTIMISE YOUR META TAGS AND META DATA

Meta Tags and Meta Data are some of the first on-page indicators looked at by the Search Engines, which use them to help identify the content and relevancy of the webpage. Their relevancy to SEO has diminished significantly in the past five years, but they are still a very good starting point for any optimisation strategy. If your Meta Data is relevant to a Google search request, your website will be ranked in the search results pages. Where it is ranked depends on your link metrics, social media metrics and brand exposure across the web, as well as the many other factors that are discussed in this guide. Be warned, Meta Tags are often subject to extremely Spammy activity. Avoid spam at all costs.

OPTIMISE YOUR ALT ATTIBUTES AND NOSCRIPTS

The Alt Attribute was initially designed to help the visually impaired understand the content of an image. Search Engine Spiders read the contents of the Alt Attribute, hoping to learn more about the image and the page that it is on. Make sure that the content of the Alt Attribute accurately describes the image, and avoid putting keywords in there that are not related to the image itself. The NoScriptworks on a similar premise to the Alt Attribute. It should be used to describe the content of a video or Flash animation. Again, make it relevant and non-spammy.

OPTIMISE YOUR ANCHOR TEXT

Anchor Text is the text used in a hyperlink. Every hyperlink that you see on this page has anchor text. It describes the page that a link links to, and is an important ranking factor in SEO and inbound marketing. When a search engine spider is trying to understand the content of a web page, it will often look at the anchor text of all incoming links for clues. It is therefore a key ranking factor. Make sure that all of your internal hyperlinks are optimised to be accurate descriptions of the web pages that they are linking to. The same applies to any incoming links- see if you can’t request that they are relevant, unique and specific. Don’t over-optimise all of your anchor text, as this can be seen as a sign of spam.

STEP 5

Building inbound links (also known as backlinks) is an essential part of SEO. Here are some effective strategies to build inbound links for SEO:

1. Create high-quality content: Producing valuable, informative, and engaging content is the foundation for attracting inbound links. When your content is exceptional, other websites are more likely to link to it as a reliable resource.
2. Guest blogging: Offer to write guest posts for reputable websites in your industry. Ensure that your guest posts provide valuable insights and include a link back to your website within the author bio or within the content when appropriate.
3. Outreach and relationship building: Reach out to other website owners, bloggers, or influencers in your niche and establish a genuine relationship. Offer to collaborate, provide expert insights, or contribute to their content. If they find value in your expertise, they may link to your website.
4. Social media promotion: Share your content across various social media platforms to increase its visibility. If your content resonates with users, they may share it on their own websites or social media profiles, generating inbound links.
5. Influencer partnerships: Collaborate with influencers or industry experts to create content together, such as interviews, podcasts, or co-authored articles. By leveraging their reach and authority, you can attract more inbound links.
6. Create shareable assets: Develop unique and shareable assets like infographics, research studies, comprehensive guides, or interactive tools. These assets are more likely to attract inbound links from other websites looking to provide valuable resources to their audience.
7. Participate in industry forums and communities: Engage in online forums, discussion boards, and industry-specific communities. Provide valuable insights, answer questions, and contribute to discussions. Include a link to your website in your forum signature or when relevant to the conversation.
8. Directory submissions: Submit your website to reputable online directories or industry-specific directories. Ensure that the directories are relevant and trustworthy, as low-quality directories may have a negative impact on your SEO.

BEGINING YOUR LINK-BUILDING CAMPAIGN

Link Building is still one the most important ranking factors. It is absolutely vital to create a link-building culture within your office. Requesting links should be second nature, and should be done every day, not every month. If you avoid spammy Link Building, and stick to white-hat links and plenty of them, the rewards will be quick and plenty.

Earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites in your industry. Focus on natural link building through content promotion, guest blogging, influencer outreach, and social media engagement. Quality backlinks improve your website’s authority and visibility in search engine results.

Local SEO

If you have a local business, optimize for local search by creating and optimizing Google My Business listing, ensuring consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across online directories, and generating positive customer reviews.

Remember, the key to successful link-building is to focus on quality rather than quantity. Aim for authoritative and relevant websites that naturally link to your content. Building inbound links takes time and effort, but the results can significantly improve your website’s SEO and organic search visibility.

STEP 6

OPTIMISE FOR THE SEARCH ENGINE VERTICALS

Optimising for Vertical Search provides a vast array of opportunities for any inbound marketing strategy. The results are often staggering, frequently surpassing traditional optimisation in traffic volumes and conversion ratios.

OPTIMISE FOR LOCAL SEARCH

We have put this near the end intentionally. To have a successful local SEO campaign, it is first important to tick all of the standard SEO boxes. As long as your regular optimisation efforts are well under way, Optimising for Local Search is fairly straightforward, but the rewards are often breathtaking!

AVOID DUPLICATE CONTENT

Duplicate Content is a major problem in the world of inbound marketing and SEO. A website is only as good as its content. For content to be truly great, it must be unique. It cannot be unique if there are multiple copies of it across the web. This confuses the search engines, as they see multiple versions of the same content, and must decide which ones to rank and which ones to remove from the results pages.

Duplicate Content is one of the biggest problems facing any web publisher, and must be identified and rectified. Useful tools for removing duplicate content are the 301-Redirect, Rel=Canonical Tag, Robots NoIndex, Rel=Prev/ Rel=Next Function, the Syndication/ Source Tag and Google Parameter BlockingBetween these nifty techniques, you should be able to do away with any duplicate content issues. It is worth paying particular attention Duplicate URL Issues.

STEP 7

UTILISE THE POWER OF USER REVIEWS

User Reviews are a crucial factor in both consumer confidence and in Google’s ranking algorithms. Not only does it prove to Google, Bing, Yahoo and your target consumer that you are a trusted site, it also increases your brand mentions across the Internet, which ticks another major box in the world of search. Make sure that user reviews are included in your website, and try to persuade happy clients to write positive reviews on multiple reviewing sites.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

It is a time-consuming, ongoing process, but one that will produce heaps of benefits in the long run. Getting in touch with Singapore Influencers, and finding

Social media can have an impact on SEO in several ways:

1. Increased website visibility: By maintaining an active presence on social media platforms and sharing your content, you can attract more attention and increase the visibility of your website. When your content is shared and engaged with on social media, it can lead to more inbound links, which are a crucial factor in SEO.
2. Social signals: Social signals refer to the likes, shares, comments, and overall engagement your content receives on social media. While social signals themselves may not directly impact search engine rankings, they can indirectly influence SEO by generating more visibility and potential backlinks. Engaging and shareable content has the potential to attract more attention and, subsequently, more organic links from other websites.
3. Brand authority and reputation: Building a strong presence on social media can enhance your brand’s authority and reputation. When users perceive your brand as trustworthy and reputable, they are more likely to click on your website in search results. This increased click-through rate can positively impact your organic search rankings.
4. Social media profiles in search results: Social media profiles often appear in search engine results pages (SERPs) for branded searches. Having well-optimized and active social media profiles can increase your online visibility, allowing users to find and connect with your brand more easily.
5. Social media as a content distribution channel: Sharing your website’s content on social media platforms can amplify its reach and attract more visitors. When your content is widely shared and receives engagement on social media, it can lead to increased traffic, improved user metrics, and potential backlinks—all of which can positively impact your SEO.
6. Influencer partnerships and collaborations: Collaborating with influencers or industry experts on social media can expand your reach and attract more attention to your website. When influencers share your content or mention your brand, it can drive more traffic and potentially generate backlinks, contributing to your SEO efforts.
7. Social media and local SEO: Social media platforms provide an opportunity to engage with local audiences and promote your business to a specific geographic area. This can be particularly beneficial for local businesses, as increased local visibility can improve local search rankings.

While social media may not have a direct impact on search engine rankings, its influence on SEO lies in its ability to amplify your content, increase brand visibility, generate engagement, and potentially attract organic links. By effectively leveraging social media as part of your overall digital marketing strategy, you can enhance your SEO efforts and drive more traffic to your website.

the right local communities, Social Media Marketing not only greatly accelerates a brand’s progression up the Search Engine Results Pages, but it also gains you a vast amount of traffic directly from the Social Media Platforms. Use it well.

STEP 8

ANALYSE YOUR CAMPAIGN

Tracking the successes of your SEO campaign takes time and commitment. But it is a process that must be done, especially if you have spent considerable resources and time in optimising your website in the first place.

Implement tools like Google Analytics to track your website’s performance, monitor keyword rankings, and analyze user behavior.

Performing ongoing Performance Analytics on your campaign is vital for its success: work out what’s working and what isn’t, and then hypothesise, trial, and refine. Regular analytics will provide you with a wealth of knowledge. Knowing how many backlinks, retweets, shares, and likes is crucial to running a great campaign. Also, regularly review your SEO efforts, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to refine your strategies.

For more detailed and specific user behaviour information, place Action Tracking Code on your website, and learn exactly how your users interact with your brand.

Stay informed about the latest SEO trends, algorithm updates, and industry best practices. SEO is an evolving field, and keeping up with changes helps you adapt and stay competitive.

Remember, SEO is a long-term process that requires patience, consistency, and continuous optimisation. It’s recommended to seek professional assistance or consult with an SEO agency if you require expert guidance in implementing an effective SEO strategy for your website.