How to perform Search Engine Optimisation for my website (SEO)

geek84

Hi Folks

I have a small business and want to perform SEO so that it ranks towards the top when someone performs (say) a google search.

Is it difficult to perform?  If so, would I need someone qualified to perform it?  Would it be expensive?

Thanks

tifo

It is fairly difficult to get right, and can cost up to £500 a month plus any marketing costs. Many seo providers have packages so check some out.

LessImpecunious

Have a look at the blogs at https://www.create.net/support/seo/?fbclid=IwAR1sWboMTewErH8_LGdAioOVXmi3JjhfY_jPEwiHhF_Z9A2JNUc3C8tYcME#improve - they're aimed at users of Create's websites (I am one) who want to do their own SEO, but the general ideas apply everywhere...

nathanbankhead

Did you manage to get this sorted geek?

martindow

I think the nature of your business makes a big difference as to how easy it can be to succeed in being found by potential customers.  If you are selling something popular and easily found online it is going to be incredibly difficult as there will be enormous competition from established businesses with lots of traffic. 

On the other hand if your business is a bricks and mortar shop where you are offering a specialised service to people in the local area it would be much easier.  For instance if you did clock repairs, people are likely to search for the service plus their town eg 'clock repairs durham'.  A simple web site making sure that it includes likely search terms in the text could do quite well in natural listings once it is indexed by search engines.  

LessImpecunious

stevelogan said:

Are you sure you do this job yourself? seo is not a very easy thing and sometimes it is better to hire professionals.

That's exactly what all the SEO professionals say

deskhelp

To start with you need to submit your website to google webmaster tool or bing webmaster tool and review the its submitted correctly.. start step by step there are tools like moz to help you as you go ahead.

JetpackVelociraptor

If you are completely clueless about SEO and starting from scratch, have a look at free digital training for businesses in your local area. In Lancashire for eg there is the Digital Boost programme, I've seen similar being promoted in different counties. If you've been thinking about joining the Federation of Small Businesses, they also offer something similar as part of their membership package, but so do lots of other companies. Basic SEO can be very simple, and can indeed be done yourself for free. Other companies may charge anything from £90 to £1000+ per month. As to what they do for the money, don't hire anybody to do the SEO for you until you understand a bit more about how it works and how to do at least the basics yourself. There are too many companies out there claiming to do impossible/improbable things for small businesses that in fact do nothing but take your money. Some useful tips:

• Never work with anyone who says they specialise in working with small businesses, new businesses or family businesses.
• Nobody can guarantee to get you to #1 position in Google
• Never use a marketing or SEO company that doesn't appear prominently on google when you search for the service they do.
• Google's own advice on how to appear prominently in search results boils down to "be better". If you are more popular, you will be more visible. Older websites, fast websites, original content with original photos that you took yourself, or big brands will always perform better than younger, slower, derivative and unknown sites. Make everything on there the best you can get it before you spend a penny on promoting your website.
  
• Before spending any significant money on SEO, consider if you could get better results by doing some advertising instead. 

LessImpecunious

IslaMujeres said:

LessImpecunious said:

stevelogan said:

Are you sure you do this job yourself? seo is not a very easy thing and sometimes it is better to hire professionals.

That's exactly what all the SEO professionals say

What is your opinion? How to become more or less professional in SEO?

Not sure what you mean, but I think there are plenty of sensible suggestions and advice given already in this thread.

goled

What did you end up doing? I'm currently looking for good ways to perform SEO. It would be great to learn from others.

JennyDavis

SEO can indeed be quite complex, especially if you have a creative mindset and prefer focusing on other aspects of your business. I started a marketing course a while ago and learned a lot about various SEO tools, including seoserptools.com. Despite the valuable insights, I eventually decided it was best to hire an SEO company for the promotion. Their expertise allows me to focus on my strengths while they handle the intricacies of SEO, ensuring effective promotion and better results for my business.