subject: Top Tips To Increase Your Search Engine Optimisation Knowledge [print this page] Top Tips To Increase Your Search Engine Optimisation Knowledge
For many people, search engine optimisation (SEO) remains something of a mystery. However, as online advertising spend continues to climb - even in the wake of worldwide economic uncertainties - the importance of SEO and online marketing strategies to businesses has never been greater. If you're a businessman and you want to learn more about SEO, here are a few tips on how to find out more information.
First, it's important to understand what SEO is. Primarily, SEO involves improving the visibility of a particular website in the rankings of search engines, in particular the market leader Google but also others like Yahoo! and Bing. Essentially, the easier a website is to find online, the greater chance it has of potential business success. It's also worth considering the other elements of a good online strategy that work together with SEO for instance, pay per click, conversion rate optimisation, well-written copy and high quality web design.
Perhaps the best way of getting to grips with the fundamentals of search engine optimisation is to attend a training course. Many online marketing agencies run training courses for people in business who want to learn more about SEO. These may last a full work day or take up most of the week, so however much time you have to devote to expanding your SEO knowledge, you should be able to find a training course to suit.
Once you've covered the basics, it may be useful to take a look at case studies of good and bad examples of SEO in practice. Good search engine optimisation focuses on the long term growth of websites through ethical strategies, while unethical techniques - like hidden text - that offer a short-term spike in visitor numbers will only offer temporary gains. In fact, such techniques, known as 'black hat SEO', may even lead to a website being penalised or removed from results pages by search engines who discover that these underhand tactics have been used.
Once you have completed your SEO training and familiarised yourself with the industry's history, remember that it's not over. The ever-changing nature of the internet means that online marketing techniques are constantly being discussed and updated, especially when a dominating force like Google changes its algorithm. Resultantly, you have to read as much as possible to keep in touch with industry developments and ensure that you're always abreast of what's new in SEO.
However, the profusion of SEO blogs and information sites means that it can be difficult to know whom to trust. To this end, Twitter is a good starting point. Set up an account, if you don't already have one, and search for SEO professionals to follow. By comparing tweets and re-tweets, you'll soon have a sound idea of whose opinion matters and to whom you should pay attention.
