Many small businesses in the UK are failing to make the most of their online presence, with 47% of SME websites having either very basic or no SEO work at all.

A recent study - the State of UK Business Websites 2010,  looked at 1,001 SME websites and compared them against a range of SEO criteria.  A correlation between the size of a business and the levels of search engine optimisation was the first point found. It seems larger companies tend to have better optimised sites, while over 70% of companies with less than 50 employees have either very basic levels of optimisation, or none at all.

Amazingly, 12% of all business websites are not indexed in any search engine, which almost defeats the purpose of having a website in the first place. Many of the problems are down to businesses not implementing SEO basics. For instance, 35% of websites did not have unique page titles, and 56% lacked unique page descriptions. These are relatively quick SEO wins for small businesses.

Clearly, there are plenty of small businesses that are yet to see the value of effective SEO, or perhaps lack the knowledge to carry out the basics of site optimisation. These businesses should be looking to correct this as, implemented well, SEO has the potential to be a very important and cost-effective sales tool.

Whilst not every company will have the resources or know-how to run an effective campaign, simply getting the basics right, such as ensuring that a site can be indexed and contains relevant content, can make a noticeable difference to search results.

It looks as though search is about to enter a new era as it begins to mix into social media. Search engines have already attempted to place some kind of ranking on social updates and we already know that search engines take things like follower quality into account in how they rank tweets.

Now there is a lot of talk of Facebook "likes" and Twitter retweets taking the place of links. Not that they’re dying out – there's plenty of room for link sharing on either of these services, but in some ways these kinds of sharing are replacing links in many cases.

With Facebook's Open Graph and social plugins devouring the web, suddenly liking is taking the place of linking in some provisional scenarios.

While I don’t think anyone specifically saw the Open Graph stuff coming too long before it was announced, it's still reflective of what we've known for some time. The way people are obtaining information online is diversifying. Google's real competition isn't coming from other search engines. It's coming from different avenues of information access.

The biggest threat to Google the search engine (as opposed to the company, which offers a lot more) is people not having to rely on the traditional search engine. While I don't think Google has anything to truly worry about in terms of losing users, it has to worry more about users just not using it as often. Instead they're getting their information from apps, from friends via social networks and even when they're not necessarily at Facebook but on a site or app, via things like social plug-ins.

Here are 5 reasons Google and Search might not dominate the next decade:

    1. The search process is inefficient
    2. Mobile GPS Eliminates the need for location-based search
    3. Social Matching Could Create Valuable Connections
    4. Content Recommendations to Replace Search
    5. Suggestions Will Be the Core of Our Shopping Experience

On a not so negative note, Facebook likes may not translate to better Google rankings, but so what? It's not about choosing between likes and links. Both are ideal.

The point of all of this is it's not just about getting links anymore. Links will always be of use, but social interactions may equal them in importance, and in some cases may be of greater use to your visibility, and ultimately getting people to your site, your content, your store, or your shopping cart.

Let me just say from the outset; I have no problem with my search results being personalised. To me, it makes sense for search engines to want to deliver the best user experience because users will keep using them. And if I get results that are personalised, it only makes my life easier. So why then are some users not so thrilled at the evolution of search results pages, particularly the personalisation?

The inundation of negative comments on news articles/blogs/etc. has led us to ask: Is Google trying too hard to improve? To answer this with a yes would indicate that Google's results were already perfect and whilst Google does deliver quality results, I don't know if anyone would go so far as to call them perfect, including Google themselves.

There is always room for improvement. Things can always get better. Some ideas work, and others don't. Sometimes you don't know until you try, and if certain concepts don't go over well with the majority, sometimes they are scrapped.

As for personalised search, I wouldn't count on it going away anytime soon and why would you want it to? If your results are tailored to you specifically, does that not increase their chances of being more relevant to you? Does this not provide you with a better quality of traffic and increase your conversion rate?

Google has just announced the launch of a new feature that lets users start their search results for ones they like. This will lead to the starred results appearing at the top of the SERP in future searches, when appropriate. The feature is still rolling out, so if you don't see it yet, you should see it soon.

Has it ever occurred to you that you may have keywords on your site that mislead search engines? Have you ever thought about the different meanings of the keywords you are trying to rank for?

Now that Google is delivering more personalisation in search results, there is much more to understanding search behaviour, intent-based search, and how that should affect keyword research. You need to be taking into consideration things like how prior queries influence future queries.  

If you sell telephones, you have to actively go out of your way to ensure you don’t have certain things appearing in your site otherwise the search engines could get confused about what you’re talking about.

One of the most important things is work out is how to do keyword research without knowing the behavioural aspects of people actually looking for your product. The focus needs to be on these personas - what kinds of things are they likely to search on, in sequence - before they type in telephone. If you understand that behaviour in sequence, then the better you can do your keyword research and determine how you’re going to put the words on your page.

Personalised search is nothing new as Google has been personalising search results for some time. It just now appears that Google is looking for more ways to deliver users a personalised experience.

As the web becomes more mobile and social, we’re starting to see apps filling voids that were mostly left empty throughout the history of search and social media. People are increasingly sharing their locations with their friends, certain apps, certain sites, and even the world.

As people and businesses share their locations more and more, you might say that this is becoming a major part of search marketing, and we're not just talking about Google.

Sharing your location has become a way of sending out a generic query, and local businesses have some tremendous new opportunities as a result. Potential customers sharing their locations mean that businesses can provide a real-time call-to-action to get them inside their establishment while they're nearby.

So if you're about to start building up your content they try adding a field to your database around lat/long (latitude/longitude). You’ll then be able to deliver content based on that location information, whether that’s news, deals, coupons, tips, recommendations, etc.

When you can get to your customer this way, you can give them more relevant content, which is what search is all about.

Let me introduce you to someone in our office… Siân. When Siân shops, she knows what she shops for. She types into Google... red shoes, high heel, size 5. When your site pops up, she clicks onto your site, ready to buy. Then you go and make the stupendous mistake of landing her into a page about handbags. Confused and disappointed, Siân clicks straight off your site and into your competitors, making a mental note never to visit your company again.

High street retailers, Next, noticed that they had a high exit rate from search pages for boys socks and they found that by testing more specific results, they reduced exit rates by 20% and increased conversions by 7%. Therefore if you had landed Siân into your shoe section you would have at least been on the right track, but if you had landed Siân into a page featuring high-heel red shoes size 5, then you too could reduce your exit rate and increase your conversions too.

Top tips for site search:

1. Check quality of results: Is your site’s search function working well? Ensure visitors are getting relevant results, even when they search on synonyms or misspellings.
2. Make site search visible: Visitors to your site should be able to see, at a glance, where to search. Consider enlarging your search box or making it more prominent.
   
3. Allow customers to sort results: People like to be able to sort through search results. Allow visitors to order what they see by anything from price or popularity to colour, style etc.
4. Lay out search results clearly: Ensure visitors can glance through search results and compare listings easily to decide where to click next.

You may be wondering why keyword research is so important and why it has such an impact on your website’s success. Well, keyword research is an essential process that needs to be applied for you to promote your business properly online and to make sure the right customers find you.

There are a number of different Keyword Research Tools out there that you can use to find out your most competitive search terms and search terms that you are more likely to rank for. I recommend that you use the keyword tool called Google Adwords. It is simple to use and gives you a clear list of relevant keywords that are related to the search terms that you are looking for; it also shows you the advertiser competition for that keyword term and the search volume for the previous month and the average searches per month.  Google Adwords also allows you to download the keywords onto an Excel Spreadsheet which give you the option of managing the keywords and choosing the best keywords for you to use on your website. Therefore this is an extremely useful tool and can prove to be highly beneficial to your website.

The main objective of your website is to rank high in the major search engines; and the reason for this is to provide your business with much more online traffic which will, in turn, achieve a boost for your business. And to rank high on search engines, having the correct keywords that are most relevant to your business is of upmost importance.

There are many websites out there that have great products and content but eventually fail because of the incorrect or unpopular keywords that are used throughout the site; this means that their potential customers will struggle to find them because they would be ranking for the wrong keywords. This means that you need to do the correct research and make sure that your keywords are related to your website/business and make sure that your content is original and easy to read which will help you be found by your potential visitors on search engines.

So, in conclusion, and to answer the original question, keyword research is so important because it helps your business to succeed on the World Wide Web and helps your potential customers to find your website through the world renowned search engines.

Keyword Research is the key to success, follow these tips and you will have the online traffic your company needs for success!

Over recent weeks, Ph HQ has seen its fair share of ailments.  From Swine Flu, seasonal migraines to severe tonsillitis – which turned out to be just a sore throat (OK, yes, that was me, but it felt a lot worse at the time.) 

With flu season looming, it’s only natural that at the first sign of an niggling headache or prickly throat, that our defence mechanism kicks in and we suffer a 20 second panic that we too have succumbed to the office exposed virus.  Call in: Dr. Google.  Today, one in seven people search the web for information on illnesses. As a self-confessed Hypochondriac, this is the perfect solution for busy professionals – no time taken out of the office, waiting days for an appointment or sitting around in a waiting room full of spluttering OAP’s. We do our shopping, book holidays and even socialise on the web, so it’s common sense that we use the web to monitor our health.  And we are now never more than a few clicks away from that panic relieving diagnosis.  But are search engine health checks actually making us worse? 

Last week, throat gripped with pain and sipping despondently on a Lemsip (thanks Charlie), I found myself compelled to check out my illness for myself.  Tapping in ‘sore throat’ to a search engine, from the results that flood the screen, I have a sudden panic that Halls Soothers aren’t my answer… Throat Cancer, Swine Flu and Dengue Fever are listed on the first page.  

As a nation, we are becoming increasingly shocked by the search engine results found when searching for our self-diagnosis.  Though there may well be actually nothing wrong we opt for thinking the worst, as we trust that these sites are accurate in their findings.  Introducing… Cyberchondria.  

On further research I found that a recent study by Microsoft showed that search engine diagnosis leads us to believe that despite simply having a mild headache or a bout of sniffles, we are actually at death’s door.  In a search for ‘Headache’, rather than highlighting common causes such as tiredness or caffeine overload, 25% of results point to…Brain Tumours.   

The problem here is that search engines have no ‘probability’ filter, so serious conditions will continue to come up as often as simple complaints.  So, if we believe all we read from our online GP, headaches tell us we have brain tumours, back pain is a sign of osteoporosis and swollen glands suggest the cancer, Lymphoma.

Microsoft are planning to create a smarter search engine, which will spot a medical query and direct it to the right site. 

In the meantime (it may take a while!), for all the Cyberchondriacs out there, my advice is to stick to sites with credentials, that have been recently updated and don’t steer you with one-sided advice.  And watch out for websites sponsored by companies trying to flog you their ‘miracle products’. If you do have a brain tumour, it will take more than a £50 miracle cream, a magnetic heat pack or ‘free shipping’ herbal remedies to fix it.

I have previously written an article about the top SEO hints and tips you should implement into your search engine strategy to rank high in search engines amongst your competitors. Now I am about to tell you the major “don’ts” of SEO so you can avoid those crucial mistakes so your website can carry on succeeding in the world of search engine optimization.

• Firstly, do not leave SEO from your website for too long. You should always be considering your SEO strategy from the beginning of your website development. SEO plays one of the most important parts in your website and needs to be thought about from the start.
• Do not waste your time submitting your website to countless search engines. Crawler-based search engines will find your website more quickly as soon as you get a link from another website that is already being crawled. Search engine submission is a thing of the past.
• Never make your website un-crawlable. You should always make sure that your website can be crawled by search engine spiders, because if it cannot be crawled then the search engines will not find you. An un-crawlable website can be due to having a convoluted navigation menu that spiders can’t follow, developing an all flash site, or even simply too many variables in your domain name.
• Make sure you don’t target keywords that are too ‘general’. If you want the best chance to rank high, then don’t target keywords that are crowded with competition. You need to do keyword research on your website and find out the best keywords, with a fair amount of competition, this will give you a chance of ranking for number one!
• Don’t ignore usability. You should always make your website user friendly and efficient for users and search engine spiders. This can be achieved with proper site structure, local navigation and sitemaps. So avoid over complicating your website and making it harder to use and navigate.
• You should never give up on creating good content for your website. As I have said before, content is key. The less content you have, then the less chance you have to fill your website with keywords which gives you less chance of being linked to by search engines. That is why the more content you have, the more search engines will link to you because your website would be more relevant because of more keywords. Simple.
• Never spam to help your website get found. This will NOT work. Search engines disapprove of websites that use spam to rank higher, so this will not work to improve your rank on search engines. So you should avoid posting your link on blog comments, guestbook’s ECT, stuffing META tags with keywords and also putting keywords into your footer with lightly coloured or hidden text.
• Patience is a virtue; don’t give up on SEO once started. SEO is a long, time-consuming process and demands time, attention and commitment. You need to be patient when doing SEO work on your website, because it may take months to see the results.

Well there you have it. I have just told you what NOT to do if you wish to succeed in the search engine world. If you read my previous blog then you will also know what you SHOULD do if you want to succeed. Thank you for reading; I hope I helped you understand the fundamentals of SEO success!

If you would like more information about SEO success, please read my other blog.

Top SEO Hints and Tips

Facebook Ads, or Facebook Advertising to those who aren’t up-to-date with the lingo, is a new revolution which gives businesses, both small and large, the chance to communicate with millions of people worldwide.

Setting up a Facebook page is no longer the extent of what the social networking site can do for your business. Facebook Ads will allow you to target your specific demographics from over 300,000,000 members worldwide.

For example, if your business sells luxury handbags then you would be able to advertise specifically to all women, aged 25-40. Facebook Ads also uses keyword associations, so expect to be reaching all women who mention their love of fashion on their own Facebook pages. The wide range of data available is an amazing tool for the right advertiser.

It is also important to remember to feature an image in your advert as this is proven to attract more attention and ultimately, more clicks.

Unlike typical paid search advertising, you won’t be bidding for keywords; you’ll be bidding on the demographic of the user.

Whilst this level of demographic filtering is just at the start for Facebook, it can still allow you to accurately target your advertising. However, in typical Facebook style expect this to be developed pretty quickly so who knows where this could lead to.

So, why use Facebook Ads?

- You can target millions of your target market with the click of a button.
- You will increase your CTR (click through rate), attracting many more visitors to your site
- You should see an increase in the number of customers you are able to attract
- You’re going to be up against far less competition than you would be in the paid search area

Hopefully by now, the optimist in you should be jumping for joy but be warned you should approach Facebook Ads with realistic expectations. It may not work for you straight away but don’t be instantly deterred, give it some time and then try again. Creativity is key; you want to encourage Facebook users to engage with you and if you manage that, well, you’ll be basking in Facebook gold.