Spying on your competitors’ keywords – it sounds wrong somehow, doesn’t it?!

Way back when we were at school, we learned that spying is a bad thing – almost akin to cheating.

Even when our founder Janet worked as a checkout chick at one of the big name supermarkets as a teenager, she was often sent to the supermarket next door to check their specials – so her store could undercut them!

Spying on your competitor seems to have all sorts of negative connotations – but if you’ve ever prepared a business plan, you’ll know it’s an essential part of your research process. You need to know what your competitors are doing, how they are doing it, and how you can go one better, if you want to give your business the best chance of success.

Why Spy on your Competitors’ Keywords?

The same is true when it comes to search engine optimisation (SEO) for your website. Spying on your competitors’ keywords is just good business sense, and you can use that information to your advantage.

By researching the keywords your competitor is using, it can give you a real “heads up” when it comes to choosing your own keywords. You can find which keywords they have purposely targetted, which ones they rank highest for in Google searches, and which ones are actually driving traffic to their site.

This is all extremely valuable information when you are considering what keywords to target on your website.

3 Free Tools to Find Competitors’ Keywords

Here are SEO we rely on a range of tools to help with finding this information, but here are three of our favourites that are either free, or have a free trial version. We recommend adding them as an extension to your Google Chrome browser.

SEOQuake.com – While you are on your competitor’s website, click the SEOQuake extension and open the tab titled “PAGE INFO” as per the screenshot below. There you will see the meta keywords your competitor has chosen to target (although this doesn’t show you if they are having any success with those keywords!). Here, you can see we’ve used SEOQuake to look at their own website home page:

Alexa.com – Below you will see an example of how Alexa can help – it shows the top 5 keywords which are sending traffic to the blog, Middle Aged Mama.

SEMRush.com – you can only perform one or two searches before you are prompted to register for a free account, which then entitles you to 10 searches per day (at time of writing). What you need is the “organic research” area on the left of the screen, then click on “positions” (see below).

And voila, here are the top 5 keywords sending traffic to the Middle Aged Mama blog, according to SEMRush – and their position in Google search results. Yes, it’s different to the information which is shown on Alexa, but that’s not a bad thing – it gives you more keywords to work with.

Here’s a little bonus tip – by clicking on the arrows on the “Pos” (position) column, you can refresh the information to find the keywords on the site which have the highest positions in Google search. So if you search for “stores for middle aged women”, the Middle Aged Mama site will come in at number 4, according to SEMrush. Again, more keywords for you to consider!

Take Keyword Research to the Next Level

Free tools however have their limitations, and there are times when you really want to dig more deeply to find out exactly what keywords are bringing traffic to your competitors, as well as other ones that may work well for your site. There are so many different paid SEO tools out there, but one of the best and most affordable is KeySearch.

Of course, if this all sounds too much – or you’re not sure what to do with your competitors’ keywords once you’ve found them – you’re in the right place.

As you’ve probably already noticed, at Front Page SEO we are passionate about helping website owners do well in search results, so they can gain not only web traffic, but new business as a result! If you’d like to arrange a free online chat to find out how to take your website from invisible to visible, please feel free to get in touch.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if somebody wrote a manual on “How to Get on the Front Page of Google”?

There are a couple of reasons why it isn’t as simple as that.

1. First of all, nobody but Google REALLY knows the secrets! Even the best in the business are only making educated guesses about what will work.
2. Secondly, with Google constantly updating its algorithm, any manual would be out of date before it was completed – let alone printed!

If you’ve ever wondered how to get on the front page of Google, that’s what SEO is all about.

A lot of people are fearful of Search Engine Optimisation. “Search Engine Optimisation” is a bit of a mouthful – and it sounds pretty big and scary. No wonder if is usually shortened to “SEO”!

If you have a business website, you may not know quite what SEO means, but you’ve probably heard that you “should” be doing it.

So, not really knowing what it is or how to do it, you may decide to pay big bucks to an agency to “take care” of it for you.

Trouble is, if you don’t have a basic understanding of how SEO works, then you won’t know what you are getting for your money. It can all seem a bit like magic, and unfortunately there are a lot of charlatans in the SEO business.

At Front Page SEO, we’re on a mission to prove that SEO doesn’t have to be a dirty word, by educating and empowering business owners so that they know exactly what they’re getting when they pay for SEO services.

So today we are going to explain the three legs needed to prop up your website in the search engines (just like a stool).

To Get on the Front Page of Google you need the Right Foundations

If you want your website to get on the front page of Google, then the three foundations are:

1. Keyword Research – Finding the search terms that people are most likely to use when looking for information about your business, your products, your services;
2. Onsite optimisation – Things that can be done ON your website to attract Google’s attention;
3. Offsite optimisation – Strategies that take place OFF your website.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these three elements.

1 – Keyword Research

Finding the search terms or “keywords” that people are likely to use when searching online for your business, your products or your services might sound straight forward. You could just ask them, right?

While this is a great starting point, it is a LOT more involved than that! An SEO specialist knows the techniques and has the right tools to allow them to dig deep to find the rare gems – the keywords that are being searched for the most, but with the least amount of competition – so that you can get the biggest bang for your SEO buck!

2 – Onsite Optimisation

There are a number of things that can be done on your site, to improve the chances of your website ranking on the front page of Google search results.

The first of these is to improve the user experience – for example, by making sure that the site loads quickly, and is easy to read and use on a mobile device (which is how most searches are performed these days).

Then it’s time to make sure that your site has been properly optimised – you’ll find some tips in this article “Is your website SEO friendly“. Unfortunately we’ve come across many website builders and website owners, adamant that their site has been optimised, but upon closer investigation it hasn’t been properly configured.

Once you know what keywords to target, it’s important to include these in your website content. From the page title to the description in your images, it can all be made to work harder! Ideally, you should use a copywriter with experience in writing optimised web content, otherwise you are missing the opportunity to harness your keywords in meaningful ways. But don’t make the mistake of repeating them over and over, as there is definitely such a thing as “over-optimising” which is just plain annoying for your user, and frowned on by Google.

3 – Offsite Optimisation

Doing well in search engine results also relies on what’s happening off your site – in a nutshell, how many websites are linking back to yours? These are commonly called “backlinks“.

Google is a bit of a popularity contests – the more websites it sees linking back to yours, the more important it thinks your website must be!

The type of websites linking to yours is also becoming increasingly important. It’s not just about quantity – it’s about the quality of these other sites. Not all backlinks are equal! Are they relevant to your business? Are they spammy? How credible and authoritative are they? What is their Domain Authority?

Harking back to our stool analogy – you might have one or even two of these foundations in place and still not rank for relevant keywords. Putting all the focus on just one of the three is not enough; they have to be in balance.

Over the past few years, we’ve been privileged to work with dozens of businesses to help improve their standing in Google, and have seen some great results. You’ll find some SEO case studies here, or feel free to check out what our clients have said about their experiences working with us.

If you want a steady stream of clicks and clients, the secret is to get on the front page of Google – and at Front Page SEO, that’s our specialty. Get in touch for your free SEO Snapshot (review) today, to find out how your site is currently performing – and how it could be improved!

If you have a website for your business, then you’ve probably come across the acronym “SEO” – short for “Search Engine Optimisation“.

You’ve heard how important it is, and we’ve all had those spammy emails from overseas, touting their SEO services.

But what actually *is* SEO? And what’s all the fuss about?

A Definition of SEO

SEO is the practice of implementing strategies to make your website stand out (from your competitors) in the eyes of Google and other search engines.

Think of it as promoting your business online.

And this is why it’s so important – if not essential – in modern marketing:

• Your website will appear higher up in the listings, when an internet user is “Googling” a product or service your business provides;
• As a result, your website will get more traffic. And not just any traffic. This is targeted traffic, or qualified leads – these are people actively searching for your product or service!
• More traffic means more phone calls and enquiries;
• Which in turn means more sales;
• And your business flourishes!

This all sounds great and you may even have resolved to look into hiring the next person to send you a spammy SEO email.

Tips for Avoiding SEO Cowboys

A word of caution: like any industry, there are those who will try to rip you off or take you for a ride.

• Be wary of anybody promising to get you the highly coveted number 1 position on Google. Don’t be taken in; no SEO firm can guarantee that. Google keeps their search algorithms a closely-guarded secret; and they are constantly being updated. The most any SEO business can do, is take an educated guess as to what will work, based on: the latest industry knowledge; careful research using keyword and other tools; and past experience.
• We are astonished by the prices quoted on some websites for SEO packages. If you are not familiar with SEO jargon and strategies, you could be taken in. As SEO consultants however, we can see straight through the hype and know that they are actually doing very little for your money …
• Dodgy SEO can actually damage your business. If they are using “black hat” SEO techniques, you could even end up with a Google penalty, and not appear in search engine results *at all*!
• If their English is poor, give them a big miss. Quality content is important to Google, and they rank it more highly. As  SEO copywriters, we pride ourselves on delivering awesome content that pleases Google, helps your website visitors, and grows your business!

Here at Front Page SEO, we are passionate about SEO and getting great results for our clients. Contact us if you would like to find out more about how we can boost your business online!

If you want to improve your website’s ranking in the search engines and get an edge on your competitors, consider your Contact Page SEO.

Often all that you will find on a website Contact page, is a contact form or maybe an email if you’re really lucky.

It’s such a wasted opportunity, particularly if you are a locally based business!

Optimising your Contact Page

If you want people in your local area to find your website and your business, first of all you need to make it clear to Google just where you are located.

And the best place to do this is on your Contact page.

By all means, have a contact form.

But by adding some optimised copy to the page, you can make it that much stronger!

Not sure how to do that? Here are some idea:

1. Address: Your snail mail address if at all possible, at the very least. Even better, include a bit of a blurb about your location, using local landmarks as reference points. This not only makes it easier for your customers to find you, but also helps Google to work out where you are too. For example, “The House at Pooh Corner is located on the southern outskirts of the Hundred Acre Wood, at 10 Honeypot Lane. You’ll find us opposite the Hundred Acre Wood School for Bears.”
2. Public transport: Not everybody has a car. Not only are you helping out your clients relying on public transport, it’s also a great opportunity to mention your location again. “The Tigger bus bounces past the House at Pooh Corner every 30 minutes, on its way from Piglet Market to Eeyore Village, and there is a bus stop right out the front”.
3. Home-based business options: Even if you don’t wish to reveal your actual address, you can include a sentence or two about the areas that you service. For example: “The House at Pooh Corner makes honey deliveries to surrounding areas including Christopher Robin’s Village, Bee’s Knees Harbour, and Bear Town”. Or, mention the area where you are based: “For the best honey in all of Hundred Acre Wood, contact us today”.
4. Reasons why website visitors might like to contact you: Hopefully you are already clear about your primary keywords, so make sure you use them here. The House at Pooh Corner, for example, might invite contact with a sentence such as: “Contact us today about the best honey pots in Hundred Acre Wood” – the keywords might be “best honey pots” or “Hundred Acre Wood honey”.
5. An image: It could be a map showing your business, or a picture of you and/or your business premises. As per good SEO practices, you should compress the image before uploading, but also make sure you include your business name and area in the image title, as well as the Alt Text field, for example: “The House of Pooh Corner, Hundred Acre Wood”.

These five things will help draw Google (and therefore your customers) to your website – like bees to a honey pot. Happy optimising!

If you are struggling to find the time to take care of your Contact Page SEO – which can help improve your position in search engine results – or don’t know what an “Alt Text” field is (for example), then contact us today.