What Google doesn’t tell you?

 

Google don’t reveal much about their search engines algorithm but they do give you guidelines to follow, however it doesn’t really tell you much about Search engine optimisation. The guidelines are mostly about writing great content and providing your users with the best experience, and don’t get me wrong this is the basic fundamentals for SEO for Estate Agents and the guidelines can be useful but not necessarily about SEO practices.

Great content is obviously crucial but it won’t get you ranking on its own.

So what hasn’t Google’s guidelines told us about SEO?

Choose your keywords wisely

Your choice of keyword could affect your website for years to come so choose wisely. Here are a few tips for picking the right keyword for you:

1. Don’t overreach – obviously certain keywords get more traffic than others but they aren’t necessarily the right keyword for you. A small website will struggle to compete against a large one. You could gain more traffic optimising for a more specific phrase than a broadened term.

2. Keyword research – there are lots of tools on the web that can help you decide what keyword is right for you. Make sure the keyword receives a decent amount of traffic and is relevant to your website.

3. Always consider longtail – these are keywords that you can rank for easily but do gain regular traffic.

The importance of incoming links

The guidelines actually downplay how important incoming links are but they are still very important. Google probably downplay this strategy as it is easy to abuse but as long as you keep it “white hat” (legitimate SEO) than it will help you achieve high rankings.

Links in my opinion are still one of the most important SEO factors. They aren’t easily obtained but there are many ways of getting them (e.g. blogging).

Don’t just focus on Google

Google does mention social media but they don’t really stress the importance of how it can help you achieve more traffic and higher rankings.

You should focus on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, as they are becoming an important driver of traffic to websites that use them well. You should aim to get as many followers and likes as possible but also to produce fresh content that can be shared and retweeted around the web.

Obviously Google aren’t going to give you everything you need to know about their algorithm but be sure not to stray too far away from their guidelines as it could damage your website.

By Luke Stanley
SEO Consultant