Making SEO work for your website

If you?re out shopping for something in particular you go to the shops that sell what you?re looking for. As people are using ever more inventive names to put over their doors, you can?t always tell from that if they?re the right ones for you. But of course there?s always the good old shop window to fall back on.

It?s usually obvious what awaits you inside by what they have on display. What you don?t do is trawl through every shop you come to just on the off chance. At least not unless you?ve more time on your hands than you know what to do with.

Without those visual clues businesses online have to make sure they?re giving out that information loud and clear. Artistic titles or a play on words are fine for the high street. For people browsing online they probably won?t get recognised, however clever they are.

That?s because the words they?re likely to type into the search engine have to correspond to the ones in your title. It might sound obvious, but if you use the wrong ones you?re not likely to get many customers.

You don?t have to be a clairvoyant to know what they?re thinking. It might help if you are but it really isn?t necessary. All you have to do is put yourself in their shoes. Imagine yourself as a potential customer and how you?d go about finding the perfect solution for your needs. What words immediately come to mind in order to type in your request? Chances are they?ll be the same as most people?s.

Now think how you?d react if what came up was nothing more than a string of the same words over and over again. Not only would it look like desperation, it?d probably arouse your suspicions as well. You?d think it was a trick to get you on that site wouldn?t you? Would you go? Not if you didn?t trust what you saw you wouldn?t.
And of course neither would most people.

You have to strike a balance. Use relevant words but in way that makes sense. Make them inviting but not doubtful. Remember the whole point of it is to attract people not drive them away. All it takes is a little thought. After all if you?ve spent a lot of time and effort on your copy, you don?t want the title to stop people reading it.