Search Engine Optimisation

We will work with our client to develop a target list of key words and key phrases. We will then extensively research these key words to refine them and to produce a list that will work for the client and which we can build their website around. As part of this process we will assess the following attributes of each keyword / phrase:

• relevance - are the keywords / phrases relevant to the business, and the target market
• popularity - how popular are the keywords/phrases, what are the number of searches conducted on them
• competition - what is the level of competition on each of the keywords / phrases, is it better to focus on other "longer-tailed" keywords.

For best results, each page should be focussed towards one specific keyword / keyword phrase.

Good well written keyword focussed content is the best way of optimising a web page / website for SEO. The old SEO adage that "content is king" is as important now as it ever was, if not more so.

However, this is not to say that content for contents sake is an appropriate SEO strategy. The content needs to be relevant and appropriate to the focus of the web page and the website and be focussed towards the human reader rather than the search engine robot. Additionally, the content should be focussed on a specific keyword / subject.

Good content could include the following:

• blog posts - as long as they are relevant and appropriate to the website
• resources and guides - can be very specific and are usually well received
• linkbait - a general catch all phrase, but content written expressly to attract links - for example humour, images, articles etc.
• detailed product copy - this is the purpose of your website to sell your product or service
• news and comment - sector specific news and comment, need to focus on relevance
• reviews - product / service reviews.

The structure of a website is often over-looked when it comes to optimising a site for search engines. All of Hot Lemon's websites are structured to reflect the keyword focus of both the website as a whole, and that of individual web pages, for example: :

• where appropriate, we will advise to have a keyword in your domain name
• we will implement a relatively flat, logical hierarchical structure to the website, with logical names given to any folders or directories
• ensure that individual page names have appropriate keywords within them
• ensure that all internal links are anchored to appropriate keywords, together with suitable alt properties
• ensure that the structure and page navigation are search engine friendly.

The other key thing we focus on when it comes to structuring website is to focus on one subject per page.

Hot Lemon places great emphasis upon optimising individual pages for search engines. For example, we generally follow this simple check list for on page SEO:

• keywords in page URL (see "Structure"), URL to be around 3-5 words
• keyword in page title - the most important part of the web page
• keywords in "Meta description" one of the few meta-tags that are still worth completing
• keyword in H1 tag of content - arguably the most important visible tag on the page
• keyword in h2, h3, h4 etc tags - less important than the h1 tag, but still relevant
• keyword focus in early part of content
• keyword repetition / keyword density - balance between repetition against spamming
• keyword emphasis - keyword in bold or italic to emphasise importance
• keyword in image file names
• keyword in alt attribute for images
• keywords in internal navigation links - both as anchor text and alt / title attribute if appropriate.

Link building is an important part of good SEO. Although Hot Lemon doesn't offer this service directly (we can if you want us to), we do advise on our clients on link building strategies for their websites that work, and that will generate high quality links. For example:

• blog guest posting - find a relevant popular blog in your industry sector, and make a relevant worthwhile comment
• leverage supplier / client relationships - ask your suppliers and clients to link to your site
• professional organisations / trade associations - most have links to their membership from their websites
• directory submissions - submit your site to relevant industry related directories
• press releases - to local media or relevant national / trade media
• competitor analysis - find out what your competitors are doing, and if not directly copy them.....

Recent updates to the way search engines measure and assess links to your site now means that quality and relevance of links are much more important than the quantity of links.