Econsultancy beginners-guide-seo

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Search Engine Optimisation

Beginner's Guide

Search Engine Optimisation Beginner's Guide

Econsultancy London

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+1 212 699 3626

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Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2011

Published 2011

Search Engine Optimisation Beginner's Guide

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage

and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright © Econsultancy.com Ltd 2011

Contents

1. About this report .............................................................. 1

2. About Econsultancy ......................................................... 2

2.1. Further reading ........................................................................... 2

3. What is a search engine? ................................................. 3

3.1. How do they work? ...................................................................... 3

3.2. The ‘black box of search’ offers no guarantees ........................... 3

4. Why do people use search engines? ................................ 4

4.1.1. An example of search activity during the buying cycle ........... 4

5. What is search engine marketing? .................................. 5

6. What is search engine optimisation (SEO)? ................... 6

6.1. How do you tell the difference between paid and non-paid results? ......................................................................................... 6

7. Which is better: paid or natural search? ......................... 7

8. How does SEO work? ....................................................... 8

9. Why does SEO matter? .................................................... 9

10. Why should I bother with SEO? .................................... 10

10.1. What kind of results can I expect from SEO? ........................... 10

11. Who manages SEO? ........................................................ 11

11.1. Outsourced charging models ..................................................... 11

11.1.1. Typical costs ........................................................................... 12

12. Where do I start with SEO? ........................................... 13

12.1. Key considerations: four questions to ask yourself ................... 13

13. Glossary .......................................................................... 14

14. Resources ....................................................................... 16

14.1. Further reading and research .................................................... 16

14.2. Training courses ......................................................................... 16

Search Engine Optimisation Beginner's Guide Page 1



1. About this report This guide aims to be the first step in a journey towards becoming an in-company expert in

search engine optimisation (SEO), which is central to the performance of your website (aka

your business, if you’re selling online).

You can use the guide to discover what SEO is all about: how it works, how to manage it, what

pitfalls you need to avoid and why an investment in SEO can be a very smart move.

But you should view this concise beginner’s guide as a jumping-off point – other reports we have

published go into much more detail about SEO (details throughout this guide).

We hope this guide helps you. If you have any feedback please email [email protected].

Best of luck!

mailto:[email protected]




2. About Econsultancy Econsultancy is a digital publishing and training group that is used by more than 200,000

internet professionals every month.

The company publishes practical and timesaving research to help marketers make better

decisions about the digital environment, build business cases, find the best suppliers, look smart

in meetings and accelerate their careers.

Econsultancy has offices in New York and London, and hosts more than 100 events every year in

the US and UK. Many of the world's most famous brands use Econsultancy to educate and

train their staff.

Some of Econsultancy’s members include: Google, Yahoo, Dell, BBC, BT, Shell, Vodafone, Virgin

Atlantic, Barclays, Deloitte, T-Mobile and Estée Lauder.

Join Econsultancy today to learn what’s happening in digital marketing – and what works.

Call us to find out more on +44 (0)20 7269 1450 (London) or +1 212 699 3626 (New York). You

can also contact us online.

2.1. Further reading

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Business Case

http://econsultancy.com/reports/sem-search-engine-optimisation-seo-business-case

SEO Request for Proposal (RFP) Template

http://econsultancy.com/reports/sem-seo-request-for-proposal-rfp

SEO Agencies Buyer’s Guide

http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/seo-agencies-buyers-guide

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - Best Practice Guide

http://econsultancy.com/reports/search-engine-optimisation-seo-best-practice-guide

Search Engine Marketing: SEO – Digital Marketing Template Files

http://econsultancy.com/reports/search-engine-marketing-seo-digital-marketing-template-files

UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report

http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/uk-search-engine-marketing-benchmark-report

SEMPO State of Search Engine Marketing Report 2010

http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/sempo-state-of-search

Internet Statistics Compendium

http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/internet-statistics-compendium

http://econsultancy.com/

http://econsultancy.com/reports

http://econsultancy.com/events

http://econsultancy.com/training

http://econsultancy.com/training

http://econsultancy.com/membership_plans

http://econsultancy.com/contact




http://econsultancy.com/reports/search-engine-optimization-seo-best-practice-guide








3. What is a search engine? You’ve heard of Google, presumably. What about Bing or Yahoo? ChaCha or Wolfram Alpha?

There are hundreds of search engines that people use to find websites (like yours). As such, they

are tremendously powerful allies in your battle to attract relevant visitors.

Search engines help users find web pages on any given subject. They index web pages in databases

and list them in the search results in order of ‘relevancy’ (to the search query).

3.1. How do they work? Given the scale of the web it should be no surprise to learn that it is highly automated. Imagine

having to sift through millions of web pages yourself! Search engines use software programs

known as ‘robots’ (or ‘spiders’, or ‘crawlers’) to surf the internet. They follow links and try to make

sense of web pages. As such, quality links from quality sites are highly important to your search

rankings.

The robot starts with a list of web addresses or URLs to visit and then follows any links found on

the page. When it discovers a new site or new web page, it sends information back to its main site

to be indexed.

3.2. The ‘black box of search’ offers no guarantees All search engines are ferociously private and guard their rules for ranking web pages with great

care: like a black box, it’s impossible to understand their internal workings. Why? To avoid spam,

that’s why.

Spam is the killer of relevancy, which is the mantra of search. If people search for something they

expect to see relevant results, otherwise they’d use another search engine with more reliable

listings.

We do have lots of evidence that gives us some understanding of the most important ranking

factors, but search engines can change the rules (the ‘algorithm’) overnight. This can have an

equally astonishing and terrifying effect on your search results. You could be the number one

result for a popular search query today, but tomorrow you may fall 30 places or more, if you have

been unethical in your pursuit of high rankings.

As such, results on search engines are far from guaranteed. That said, the upside is massive, and

figuring out how to get the best out of the search engines is one of the smartest business decisions

you will ever make.




4. Why do people use search engines? One thing is for certain: people simply love to search. The likes of Google are the first port of call

if you are looking for information. Gone are the days of stumbling around dusty, old libraries.

People want information at their fingertips – and they want it fast. Now they have it. Google will

deliver relevant results in a fraction of a second. That’s why people use Google.

Searchers are looking for all kinds of information. They come in all shapes and sizes, but search

activity can be split into three broad categories:

1. Content (you want to find news articles, videos, forums, blogs etc)

2. Research (you want reviews, product and price comparison sites)

3. Commerce (you want to buy something)

The search query a user types into Google tells you a lot about what they are trying to find and,

specifically, about their mindset. Users refine their searches, typically by adding more words to

the search query to hone in on something highly relevant.

It is also worth noting that people use search engines (and the browser toolbars they provide) as a

quick way of navigating to their favourite sites. In the past this was largely done via bookmarking

sites (by clicking ‘add to favourites’ in Internet Explorer), but many of the top searches last year

were for brand names. (like iPhone or Facebook for example).

4.1.1. An example of search activity during the buying cycle

If the searcher is a consumer in the process of buying something then they may be in a research

phase (what kind of product do I want?), the price/product comparison phase (where can I buy

the product?), or the buy phase (I know what I want, now give it to me!).

Research phase – the search query might be ‘digital cameras’ and then ‘digital camera

reviews’, to identify a product or create a shortlist.

Price/product comparison phase – query might be ‘sony cybershot offers’, if the

consumer likes the look of Sony’s product.

Buy phase – the search might now be very specific as the consumer knows exactly what they

want, for example ‘sony cybershot t10 black’.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2007-06%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=digital+camera+reviews&meta=

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2007-06%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=digital+camera+reviews&meta=

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLJ,GGLJ:2007-06,GGLJ:en&q=sony+cybershot+offers

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&safe=off&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2007-06%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=sony+cybershot+t10+black&btnG=Search&meta=




5. What is search engine marketing? Search engine marketing, or SEM, is about using search engines like Google to attract visitors to

your website.

There are two ways of going about this.

1. Search engine optimisation (SEO). This is about trying to gain prominence in the

‘organic’ or ‘natural’ listings - the results found on the left of the search results page. It doesn’t

cost you anything when someone clicks on these links, but SEO requires patience, investment

and a long-term approach.

2. Paid search. These ‘sponsored links’ are essentially results that advertisers have control

over. Companies choose to place ads that are matched to search queries. These links tend to

be found on the right of the page and at the very top. You undergo a cost every time somebody

clicks on them. You define how much you’re prepared to pay – it’s essentially an auction that

governs ad position, with the top ad typically paying the most per click.

Search engine marketing is hugely important for all businesses, even if you are not selling online.

There are no exceptions to the rule – you absolutely must have a strategy for search. Despite

this fact, many businesses have yet to fully embrace the search engines, despite the popularity of

Google and Bing.

Search engines allow you to reach out to consumers at a time when they are actively ‘searching’

for something. It is a highly-targeted form of advertising that can deliver excellent results.

Search engines are immensely popular, and the internet’s foremost navigational tool. As a

route to market, Google, the most popular search engine by far, is unsurpassed. It generates many

billions of pounds worth of revenue for the companies indexed in its results. Google’s users are

your prospective customers, and probably your existing ones too.

With search engines, placement is everything. Most people will click on the first result presented

to them following a keyword search. The vast majority won’t get beyond the first 10 results. As

such, if your company isn’t found on the first page of the organic results then you may consider

buying your way to the top via paid search platforms (such as Google Adwords).

If you’re new to search there is no need to panic. It really isn’t rocket science. You just need to

start somewhere. This guide will help you understand the opportunity, and we have some other

guides to help you understand the finer details of search.

Resource

Econsultancy also has a popular Paid Search Beginner’s Guide available for download.

http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/paid-search-marketing-a-beginner-s-guide




6. What is search engine optimisation

(SEO)? Search engine optimisation (SEO) is about making your product, services or brand visible on

search engines, and using relevant content to lure searchers towards your site.

Most sites need some love and attention in order for them to be especially Google-friendly. In a

nutshell, your website and web pages need to be optimised so that they are prominent in the

‘organic’ listings, which are free.

For example...

If you run a shoe shop you might want to achieve high visibility in Google for terms like ‘men’s

shoes’ or ‘buy trainers online’.

6.1. How do you tell the difference between paid and non-

paid results? The screenshot below shows you how Google divides up its search results to accommodate both

organic and paid listings. For the purposes of this report we are primarily concerned with the

area shaded in orange…

The right-hand column and the first three results on the left column – all shaded in dark blue

– are ‘sponsored links’ that have been paid for. Every time somebody clicks, the advertiser

pays a fee.

The left-hand column, shaded in orange, hosts natural listings that Google has selected as the

most relevant websites for the search term (in this case ‘car insurance’).




7. Which is better: paid or natural search? Both have their own strengths and weaknesses, but, like any dynamic duo, they are better when

used together as part of the same marketing strategy.

Organic search is essentially free – you don’t pay for clicks, but you will need to invest in other

areas (for example website improvements, content and copywriting, link-building and PR) to get

to the top of the search engines. It takes longer to achieve these results. The upside can be

massive.

But until you get there, embracing paid search can provide you with high visibility in the short

term. It can support your best performing pages. Paid search can also be used to plug gaps in your

natural search strategy, where your website’s pages don’t rank so well in the organic listings.

You should also consider how people use websites. Typically, the eye will automatically aim for

the left of the page, rather like reading a book. As such, content that appears on the top left of a

web page tends to see the most action. Because most paid search ads are placed on the right they

receive fewer clicks, as can be seen on the image below (the peaks indicate click activity).

Make a business case for search

Need to convince your boss that search engine optimisation is right for your company? Want to be sure you

spend your budget in the best possible way?

Our business case document can help.

It contains:

Research, tips and information from the experts.

Case studies on the finance, retail and travel sectors.

Go get it: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Business Case





8. How does SEO work? We explain this in far greater detail in our Best Practice Guide, but for now let’s distil SEO into

four points:

1. SEO has nothing to do with paid search – these are not ‘sponsored links’ but links to

pages that the search engine deems to be the most relevant to the search query. As such, SEO

is only concerned with achieving the highest position possible in the ‘organic’ listings. SEO

can be seen as the science of influencing search engines.

2. There is no charge for organic listings or when a link to your site is clicked on. Unless

you are very lucky (or very clever) there may be costs in securing high visibility on search

engines like Google, but subsequent clicks are free.

3. SEO is far more complicated than paid search, and, for our money, far more lucrative.

How search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN select the best websites for a specific

term is not known, so SEO is a combination of reverse-engineering, experiments and

educated guesswork. Through years of observation we have a good idea about the most

important factors that govern your search listings.

4. More than 200 ‘ranking factors’ determine placement. Google is a ‘black box’ but we

know that it uses more than 200 rules to determine the relevancy of any given web page. As

such results cannot be guaranteed (and do not believe anybody who tells you otherwise). A list

of the key ranking factors can be found in our ultra-comprehensive SEO Best Practice Guide.

Get the detail

Our SEO Best Practice Guide is the definitive guide to increasing your site traffic through search engine

optimisation. Learn the best practice techniques to improve your website’s search engine rankings.

The report contains:

Instructions on how to apply 70 positive ranking factors rated for importance.

50 key recommendations to assess your current practice.

50 quick win tips to improve your position.

Links to the best free and paid SEO resources on the web.

Detailed request for proposals template showing how to get the most from a search marketing agency when

tendering..

http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/search-engine-optimization-seo-best-practice-guide






9. Why does SEO matter? Why indeed? Maybe the best way of demonstrating how important SEO is in today’s business

environment is to show you some market intelligence to see what other people are doing in this

area.

Here are three key things to take away…

1. 16% growth in SEO investment during 2010

Overall last year, marketers spent around £3.63bn on search engine marketing in the UK

alone, with the vast majority of budgets being pumped into paid search. But more than

£436m was spent in 2010 on SEO.

2. Spending continues to increase

According to Econsultancy’s UK Search Marketing Report1, 45% of companies are planning to

increase their SEO budget by more than 20%.

3. SEO can deliver a seriously high return on investment

Just under half of companies (49%) say their return on investment from SEO has increased in

the last 12 months.

The trend is up!

Investment into search marketing has soared over the past few years, as can be seen on the chart

below. Econsultancy polls the top search agencies in the UK to find out these numbers, and we

never look more than 12 months into the future.

1 http://econsultancy.com/uk/reports/uk-search-engine-marketing-benchmark-report





10. Why should I bother with SEO? There are five key reasons:

1. Higher visibility

It stands to reason that if you are setting up a shop, you are better off on the high street

than in some back alley. And just like happy shoppers, web users love to browse. So why

not make it easy for them? Help them find you. Over half of all web traffic is generated by

search engines, so getting on the first few pages of Google, Yahoo and Bing could not be

more crucial. Make it so.

2. It can help you achieve your business goals

Want more customers? More leads? More sales? The internet is a global marketplace and

consumers appear to have lost their fear of buying things online. E-commerce is

booming! Remember that search is demand-driven so you can target your messages to

specific search queries. It is surely one of the least intrusive ways of advertising your

presence to interested consumers.

3. Competitor activity means that you have to

In 2007, UK businesses spent more than £2 billion on search engine marketing, so if you

are spending nothing then you’re behind. Companies spend to try to stay one step ahead

of their rivals in the rankings. If you are serious about online marketing, you cannot

afford to be left behind. Try searching in Google for keyphrases relevant to your business

and take a look around – is your website listed? What about the competition? Don’t let

them steal a march…

4. To help people find your site

What better way to reach your audience than when they are looking for information about

a specific product or supplier?

5. Because it’s very easy to gauge its success

The beauty of the internet is that every click is monitored and recorded. If you want to

know if your SEM strategy is working, it is very easy to find out. Are you top of the

listings? How many customers came to you via a search engine?

10.1. What kind of results can I expect from SEO? Basically, an investment in SEO should see your website featured more prominently in the search

results. Increased search engine visibility means more traffic and, hopefully, higher sales.

Just under half of companies (49%) say their return on investment from SEO has increased in

the last 12 months, compared to just 4% who say it has decreased. [Source:

Econsultancy/Guava UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report 2010, June 2010]

http://econsultancy.com/reports/uk-search-engine-marketing-benchmark-report




11. Who manages SEO? You don’t need to outsource your SEO requirements, but many firms choose to do so, for the

following reasons:

– Recruitment challenges. You just can’t get the right calibre staff! Experienced search

marketers are hard to find.

– Silo SEO. It can be very difficult to find a single agency to maximise your returns from all

aspects of online and search marketing. Many full-service agencies now offer SEO, but

many clients often select a specialist search agency, to concentrate on organic – rather than

paid – search.

– Focus. Search marketing is a complex game. Search engines update their algorithms all

the time, to combat spam. A search agency will naturally keep a closer eye on this than a

generalist in-house marketing executive.

– SEO can be expensive. Why? Because it takes time. And there are no guarantees that

you’ll get to first place by building up resources in-house, or by using a specialist agency,

but using an agency might just help you climb the rankings faster than if you don’t (unless

you can quickly build and educate a team of SEO-ers).

– Trend towards in-house expertise. ‘SEO managers’ are increasingly being recruited by

companies, mainly as an interface to oversee agency activity (rather than ditching the

agency and assembling an in-house team from scratch). Organisations need somebody

internally to coordinate the agency’s work with your SEO efforts, even if the bulk of the job

is outsourced.

11.1. Outsourced charging models 1. Consultancy basis based on day rates up to an agreed maximum, e.g. £3,000 per

month. With this approach regular review meetings are required so the client can determine

they are getting value for money.

2. Results-based. With a results-based approach there is less onus on the client to determine

whether or not they are getting value for money. This paid-on-performance model can work

well for paid-search but is less straightforward for SEO, and agencies selling on the basis of a

‘we will get you to the top of Google, guaranteed!’ are to be avoided.

3. No results, no pay. This is usually based on positions across a range of search engines –

remember it is normally Google (plus a few others) that really counts. This is still offered by

some agencies, but it is no longer valid in a competitive market. It depends on the phrases

selected and will be difficult to deliver for strategic keyphrases. We don’t like this approach.

SEO agencies may resort to unethical techniques to desperately try to boost positions, in order

to earn their fee. Avoid! Avoid! Avoid!




11.1.1. Typical costs

Prices for SEO range from about £2,000 – for relatively limited campaigns tailored to suit SMEs

– to costs running into tens of thousands of pounds for larger enterprises committed to a long-

term approach. Projects tend to be based – either loosely or otherwise – on time.

In terms of day rates, the fees for agencies profiled in Econsultancy’s Search Marketing Buyer’s

Guide typically range from £500 to £1,000 per day.

Charges for SEO are typically based on an initial project set-up fee and an ongoing monthly

charge for management and reporting.

Set-up fees for those agencies profiled in our buyer’s guide are in the range of £1,000 to £6,000,

depending on the scope of the project.

Agencies will also generally impose a regular charge, usually monthly, in line with a longer term

approach to improving your visibility. The monthly cost will vary according to the project or

projects.

Looking to outsource your SEO requirements?

Our SEO Agencies Buyer’s Guide, focused on the UK search market, contains profiles of 31 leading agencies

operating in the UK. The guide also provides detail on the issues and trends affecting this sector, as well as advice

about how to find the right agency.







12. Where do I start with SEO? Start? You already have! By reading the basics in this guide you have already set the wheels in

motion. But before you get any new project off the ground you have to think about two key

factors: education and preparation.

Education

Now you have seen how search marketing can transform your business, it is up to you to spread

the word. Educate your colleagues and boss on how much impact it could have on your online

strategy. But don’t stop there. Read our best practice guides and business case reports to find out

more. And work out how paid search and SEO interact with one another for the best results.

Preparation

This is one of the most important aspects of any search marketing project but probably the most

overlooked. Without clear aims and objectives your campaign is doomed to failure before you

even begin. So stop and ask yourself the questions outlined below before doing anything else.

12.1. Key considerations: four questions to ask yourself 1. What are we hoping to get out of this?

What is the overall motivation for optimising this site? Do we want more sales, more

subscribers, more traffic or more publicity? This will help determine what keywords and

phrases you want to focus on.

2. What is the timeframe?

How long will it take to get off the ground? Is this a quick fix or part of a long-term strategy?

This will help decide whether to focus your strategy on paid search, which essentially is a

quick fix, or search engine optimisation, which is more of a long-term commitment. The best

strategies use both.

3. How much money is needed?

It’s one of the first questions any boss will ask, so you need to come up with the answers.

Obviously, paid search would be a lot more expensive, but SEO could pay dividends in the

long term. How much you spend will also be determined by whether you decide to use

agencies or not.

4. Who will be responsible for this project?

Will it be run entirely in house or will it be handed to another company to sort out? Do you

have the staff to run such an operation? Who will coordinate training?

.




13. Glossary Like it or loathe it, digital marketing is full of jargon and acronyms. So rather than have you

scratching your head, Econsultancy has put together a handy, bite-sized glossary of the key

terms. There is a larger glossary in our best practice guides to paid search and SEO.

Black-hat SEO: An approach to SEO that pushes the boundaries of ethical practice. Potentially

contravenes the search engine’s terms of service. High risk, high-reward approach. May gain

more visitors if techniques are more effective than those of companies following an ethical, white-

hat SEO approach. However, may be subject to algorithm changes.

Blog: A commentary on particular topics which is updated daily, weekly or monthly by an

individual or a group of people.

Click fraud: Clicking on sponsored links, typically arranged through competitors, for the sole

purpose of costing the advertiser money.

Clickthrough rate (CTR): The number of clicks on ad or link as a proportion of ads or pages

served. Usually expressed as a percentage.

CPM (Cost per mille/thousand): A payment model for online advertising where the

advertiser is charged for every 1,000 views of the page containing the ad (page views or

impressions) or more accurately, the ad itself (the ad is served 1,000) times.

Index: A database created by search engine robots which contains information on the URL of

each page crawled, the keyphrases it contains together with other information which determines

weighting in SERPs such as keyword density, formatting and PageRank.

IP address: The unique numerical address of a computer.

Keywords: The keyphrase or search query which is typed into the search engine.

Keyword stuffing: The repeated use of a keyphrase within a page or within a meta keyword tag.

Penalties may be applied for keyword stuffing.

Natural or organic listings: The pages listing results from a search engine query. These are

displayed in a sequence according to relevance of match between the keyword phrase typed into a

search engine and a web page according to a ranking algorithm used by the search engine.

On-page optimisation: Devising page content, structure and HTML markup to prove relevance

of a search keyphrase to the search engines.

PageRank: Google’s trademarked approach to assess the value of a web page based on the

number of inbound links or backlinks.

Paid-search marketing: There are two types of paid-search marketing: pay per click paid-

search engine marketing and content-network paid-search marketing (which may be on a PPC

basis or on a CPM basis). A relevant text ad with a link to a company page is displayed when the

user of a search engine types in a specific phrase. A fee is charged for every click of each link, with

the amount bid for the click mainly determining its position.

Paid listings of a search engine: A relevant ad with a link to a company page is displayed

when the user of a search engine types in a specific phrase. A fee is charged for every click of each

link, with the amount bid for the click mainly determining its position.

Pay per click (PPC) paid-search marketing: A relevant text ad with a link to a company

page is displayed on the SERPs when the user of a search engine types in a specific phrase. A fee is




charged for every click of each link, with the amount bid for the click mainly determining its

position.

Ranking factors: The criteria used by the search engine in their algorithms to determine how

high a website/page is displayed in the natural listings for a particular phrase.

Robots: Automated software agents located on a search engine server that collect page data from

different sites by following links between pages and sites. Robots follow policies which determine

how often they visit a site. Search engine robots collect data about each page which is added into

the search engine index.

Search engine ranking algorithm: The search engine uses a complex evaluation of different

ranking factors to assess the order of relevance of results returned on the SERPs for a given

search phrase.

Search engine index: A database containing details of pages crawled by search engine robots.

Includes assessments of keyphrases and information need to determine ranking factors.

Search engine marketing (SEM): Promoting an organisation through search engines to meet

its objectives by delivering relevant content in the search listings when they search and

encouraging them to click through to a destination site. The two key techniques of SEM are search

engine optimisation (SEO) to improve results from the natural listings and paid-search marketing

to deliver results from the sponsored listings within the search engines through pay per click

(PPC) paid-search engine marketing and through content-network paid-search marketing (which

may be on a PPC basis or on a CPM basis). SEM is about connecting the searchers with

information which will help them find what they are looking for and will help site owners

generate revenue or disseminate information.

Search Engine optimization (SEO): A structured approach used to increase the position of a

company or its products in search engine natural or organic results listings for selected

keyphrases.

Search engine results page (SERP): The page(s) containing the results after a user types in a

keyphrase into a search engine. SERPs contain both natural or organic listings and paid or

sponsored listings.

White-hat SEO: An approach to SEO which follows an ethical approach of what is generally

agreed as acceptable best-practice within the industry. It is the opposite of black-hat SEO.




14. Resources Econsultancy has the knowledge. Now it’s your turn. Happy hunting, and good luck…

14.1. Further reading and research Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Business Case


SEO Request for Proposal (RFP) Template


SEO Agencies Buyer’s Guide


Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) - Best Practice Guide

http://econsultancy.com/reports/search-engine-optimisation-seo-best-practice-guide

Search Engine Marketing: SEO – Digital Marketing Template Files


UK Search Engine Marketing Benchmark Report


SEMPO State of Search Engine Marketing Report 2010


Internet Statistics Compendium


14.2. Training courses Econsultancy has a fantastic training division that is retained by some of the world’s biggest

brands. We train both privately and publicly, depending on your needs, and because we truly

understand how the internet affects businesses we’re able to deliver everything from ‘starter

courses’ to high-level strategic briefings for executives.

Check out our search engine optimisation training courses.




http://econsultancy.com/reports/search-engine-optimization-seo-best-practice-guide





http://econsultancy.com/uk/training

http://econsultancy.com/uk/training/courses/topics/seo