Recent work with a number of businesses has highlighted the lack of attention to SEO basics even by companies claiming to be web agencies.
There are a number of important elements to a website that make up the basics to Search Engine Optimisation and it is important that these are followed even if you choose to do nothing else. What follows below is some guidance on the important areas that need to be addressed if your site is to be found and recognised by search engines. Starting at the top of the page and working down
Title Tags - Displays in the browser title bar and should say what you company does in plain english.
Meta Keywords - A list of keywords that defines what your company does.
Meta Description - Displayed on the search results page and acts as a call to action for why people should visit your site.
H1- H6 Tags - These are heading on the page that summaries what the next section is about.
Content - The actual words on the page that tell people what you do and how you do it.
All these elements are important in their own way, but combined together are very powerful in terms of SEO. Overall they should convey a consistant message about who you are and what you do. Most importantly they should contain your strategic keywords and phrases.
It is suprising that some agencies are supplying websites to their clients and are not doing anything about these factors, giving very little advice to the client in the process. If you are getting a website built make sure these elements have been covered and if possible that you have access to update them when you require.
