The Bread and Butter of SEO is Content

Website search engine optimization:

Now if you own a website and your business is classified as an SME then you better read this section so that next time you sit with your designer you will ensure that he/she incorporates this.

• Importance of Fresh Content

• Every web page or online article has a shelf life and here I am talking about the content not the look and feel which can generally stay the same for a long time. Content must change on a regular basis. Search engines love fresh content they visit millions of websites daily just looking for updates, changes and additions. A content management application can sort you out making it easy to update your site daily with only basic word processing skills. But you need to be careful, only go for a search engine friendly content management system. This brings me to the next important aspect of SEO (search engine optimization) which is content enrichment.

• Content Enrichment

• Search engines tend to reward websites that have rich content on their areas of specialization. This means that your site is an authority in that area or a key resource and hence should get priority on the results page also providing information that is timely, relevant and detailed helps to convert visitors. Hence that 5 page website will not get you very far at all. I recently came across five websites in the travel industry that have the exact same content in-fact they were exact copies the only difference being  the company logo and the colours used. This usually tends to occur when web designers offer to do all the content on behalf of the client with no input from the client. As far as I am concerned a webmaster should at least ask for some draft content for your website. Duplicate information is an absolute no go. Imagine a scenario where you use Google to search for “Kenya Historical Sites.” You find that the first 20 websites listed have identical content. Similarly, when you search for other words, the top 20 websites again provide the same content. Over time, this repetition may lead you to seek a more reliable search engine. Therefore, search engines aim to provide users with the best possible results and ideally list only one of the five duplicate sites.

• Code Enrichment

• Code enrichment are small details that are put behind the site or what a visitor to the site normally does not see but search engines do. These include page titles, descriptions and keywords. They are small details but extremely important. Lets just say that with out them you are going nowhere. Many times I see pages without titles or with titles that mean nothing at all e.g home.

• Links and Authority

• Links are another important aspect. This is when another authoritative website links to your site. This is very similar to when a book is reviewed and a well known personality or publication recommends it. It is likely to be view as popular. The same is true for websites. When other popular websites recommend it by linking to it then it enhances its importance to everyone online including search engines. Here requests must be sent to other websites asking them to list you. Businesses that have  already worked on optimizing their pages will be reluctant to have to link to a website that has not incorporated any optimization again this is like an excellent book on strategy that has a review on a tabloid it sort off lowers its rating as opposed to increasing its rating. 

• Website Visibility and Competition

• Today a website is becoming more popular than a telephone directory and other than just fulfilling a public expectation it is also an important communication tool that can help businesses increase their profits. And if people do not find your website online then they will definitely find your competitor.

• Incorporation with Social Media

• Finally incorporation with social media is a must do it provides a instant connection to your customer through tweets, posts and likes