Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation - Gold Coast

Why "search engine optimisation gold coast"? because we actively specialise in SEO for sites targeting Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast has certain key sectors - some very suitable to creating your own Gold Coast niche.

Paying for sponsored links can be very expensive with many savvy searchers just ignoring them anyway.

Our SEO background - based on web development

We have been developing websites since 1996 and started SEO for Yahoo (before Google existed). However our most important 'secret ingredient' is that we are foremost web developers who develop systems to work well for SEO. Getting sites to the top of Google is a by-product of the systems we build.

We don't out-source any of the systems we build - your developer is also your SEO - you can actually pick up the phone and discuss your site with the developer.

Keyword Research

Targeting the right keywords and evolving as you progress is important. It's a journey - sometimes we know how to get there on a direct route and other times we need to build momentum to get the results.

Diversity of Search Terms
A study by Dustin Woodard reported in Webpro News looked at the top 10000 search terms. To summarise the conclusions of his report there is such a diversity of terms used that competing for just the main terms is not the only strategy to use.
A good strategy is to look at the competition and decide whether to target key terms or broader terms.
"It turns out that, at least in this particular three-month data set, the top 100 terms accounted for just 5.7 percent of all search traffic."

Competition

Monitoring your progress and your competitors is important. A skilled SEO can do this efficiently. Check our article on competitor analysis.

Why is this new site rapidly rising? They never used to be there.

Google moves and adjusts regularly. With about 400 factors that affect a site it is often a case of finding the SEO that beats your competitors. To do this you need a lot of strategies. The broader the skill set of your developer the better the strategies.

Search Engine Optimisation Tips

• Research the domain name to include keywords or simply easy to remember
• Decide when .com or .au or .com.au should be used (Geographic Targeting)
• Structure the site to be search engine friendly
• Know what keywords to emphasise (keyword research)
• Avoid do it yourself instant website software or pyramid style schemes designed to benefit the seller (if it sounds too good to be true it probably is)
• Research related terms
• Link strategy
• Update content regularly
• Avoid code that web crawlers cannot negotiate or poorly made code (validation)
• Avoid competing directly against giants
• Know your likelihood of success before you start the site
• Do not spam or attempt to fool search engines as you may be penalised
• Analyse your competition and determine areas of opportunity
• Target Generic keywords if there is not heavy competition
• Trial and error - you may have to wait months to check results so remember what works
• Analyse statistics daily and continually update - yes there is no "instant search engine optimisation tricks" it is good ol leg work backed up with experience.
• You can also consider a multiple site strategy or join a high ranking network

Hence your strategy starts before you buy your domain name. I am often referred to people who want their site to improve in Search Engines. More often than not the cheap ( and sometimes not so cheap ) sites lack quality planning to allow the site to reach its potential in Google.

The more amateur sites can be a liability to the company and represent, a lost opportunity as Google places heavy emphasis on time.

We create an Image Management System (CMS) that acts as a search engine promotion tool, allowing you to actively improve your search engine ranking over time. This is achieved by allowing you to create articles that are read by search engines and can include links to other sites or parts of your own site.

Search engines offer free advertising in that you can be found for free. There is no charge, they are also (especially Google) democratic and consistent. Generally you have to earn the high ranking and then it comes down to how well your site is optimised for the search terms.

Opportunity Cost of a poor website

For some categories of sites it is important to be in the top 4 entries in Google. Otherwise with low traffic numbers it is simply not worth creating a web site apart from servicing people that already know about your business. Hence no matter how cheap the web site you create, it may be wasted money and a wasted opportunity if you are not found! This is referred to as opportunity cost - where value has been lost due to a missed opportunity.
If you are under a miniscule budget there are options - and these options include local SEO companies that will give on the phone and face to face contact - even train advanced business owners to optimise their site.

How web hosting affects Search Engine Optimisation

What has the quality of your server got to do with good search results?
Google is in the business of delivering quality search results. An unreliable server gets picked up by Google crawlers in what is called URL's timed out.
Having recently tested this by moving one site from a cheap server to a more reliable one and after it settled down following the move it dramatically rose in the search results.
Cheap hosts save money by cramming lots of sites onto shared servers.
We recommend quality hosts only and run three different servers for our in-house clients.
Finally host location is a factor - we can advise you on your SEO needs and whether a local or OS host is best.

Search Engine Optimisation - Moving your site to a new domain

When transferring your existing site to a new domain name you need to be sure that your valuable page rank and pages already indexed in Google come with you.
It is important to choose your domain name wisely to avoid losing the value a site gains over time.
There are techniques you can use to transfer a site to a new domain and maintain your PageRank. Google recommends certain techniques when moving a site. Your web developer may be brilliant at design - if they are not experienced with SEO (no-one is an expert at everything) make sure you get the right advice and ensure that your site is constructed in a way to maximise your exposure in Google.

Website Migration SEO Guide

Search Engine Optimisation - Who is the best SEO for you?

SEO without programming and general HTML skills is not as effective as an SEO who knows the craft of the web.
Simply ask who is doing the SEO and how is it done? You may not get a definitive answer but if you are not talking to a multi-skilled SEO directly you are not getting the full value you should be.

How can you test the effectiveness of your SEO?

One way is to see if they themselves come up high in search terms. And importantly how they did it.
Avoid high priced SEO's not based on the Gold Coast.
Another way is to check their portfolio of sites and try to determine how successful these sites are on competitive keywords.
Many of our sites do very well in search engines without the customer specifically paying for SEO. So if your site is not doing well in search engines odds are there are fundamental issues with the design and/or you may not have been linked into search engines properly.
In most cases sites can be corrected to perform better.
For my SEO customers I produce a hand-written report (over 10 pages) that describes how they can maintain their site high in search engines and closely analyses competitors and prospective keywords. Commercial SEO reports are also available.

How to choose an SEO company

No one can guarantee you a position in Google. Do not pick a company solely on how their site ranks. Although this site is at the top of "gold coast seo" and "gold coast search engine optimisation" that alone does not prove we are good value SEO's.
Look for good results over a variety of keywords over a long period of time without outrageous fees. Ask to be able to contact clients and check for yourself their experiences.
Avoid companies that outsource SEO - we do everything inhouse and do not participate in link building scams (these are often short term with little lasting benefit). We prefer to teach clients on how to promote their site themselves in an ongoing effective way.

A multi skilled SEO is best

A multi skilled programmer/SEO can outperform a 'marketing person' with limited programming skills.

Why?

When you are optimising your site, attracting traffic to the site is one thing but actually converting that traffic into an enquiry or sale is your goal. Google can measure the retention rate of your site (bounce rate), a programmer with SEO skills can use those skills to build applications that help retain visitors. With this broader toolset they can manage a better more holistic solution.

Search Engine Optimisation - What is it worth?

Analyse the possible financial benefits of a web site which is Search Engine Optimised.
Can it reduce your sales staff and automate tasks?
Can it make your business grow and become more efficient?
How does it compare with conventional advertising?

Finally ensure your web developer is not only available, but does not tie you down to ever escalating unnecessary charges.

The minimum Search Engine Optimisation to get started

This can be a good prep before engaging an SEO or good practise for any website.

• Ensure you have access to your domain DNS (understanding the entries requires research)
• Set up or get access to Google Analytics, Google Console and the Google My Business account to be able measure and post items.
• Ensure your Google My Business listing is optimised and includes your website.
• Take a benchmark of where you are ranking so you can compare results.
• Setup monitoring of defined keywords to measure results weekly. (professional software automates this)
• Look for the best opportunities to improve.
• Get an overview of your competition.

Make your site irresistible to visitors and Google

from $ 240 / month

• Local SEO
• Customer Focused
• Great Support

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