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The Science Behind Search Engine Optimisation

Posted on 20. Feb, 2012 by Stephanie in SEO hints and tips

Long gone are the days where a few select keywords and links to other websites (or alternatively, sneaky keyword stuffing and hidden content) got your site to the top of a search engine results page.

Over the years, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) has evolved into a complex process involving many factors, both on-page and external (“off-page”). Nowadays, the number of “likes” and “shares” from social networking sites, as well as the reputation of those users sharing it, are almost as important as the words that are written on your pages.

On-page SEO includes:

• Appropriate frequency and distribution of key words
• Page loading speed
• Quality of page and code construction (no html errors or broken links)
• Use of meta tags and semantic tags (such as headings)
• Good navigation
• No dirty tricks to try to fool search engines (cloaking, keyword stuffing)
• Good, fresh content

Off-page SEO includes:

• How many relevant sites link to your page(s)
• Age of your domain
• Inclusion of keywords in your domain name
• “Respectability” of your hosting
• How much your content is shared or “Liked” on social networks

Search Engine Land have come up with a Periodic Table of SEO Ranking Factors, that allows you to quickly see whether you’re making the most of your SEO potential.

Google also has guidelines for best practice specific to its own search engine as well as a starter guide to SEO.

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