As the online world grows bigger by the second and more businesses choose to operate largely via the WEB positioner, it could be detrimental to your start-up to not have an online presence.

Even before a new company launches, being online can help build traction and get people talking about your product or service.

But to really reap the rewards an internet shop window can offer, it's crucial to know about search engine optimisation - or SEO - and how to execute it in the most effective way.

What is search engine optimisation?

SEO is the process of improving the visibility of a website so it can be found through search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo and build traffic organically - as opposed to paying for paid search ads.

The better your SEO, the higher you are likely to ‘rank' on a search engine's results when a user looks for something related to your offering.

It is essentially a form of marketing that can appear very technical on the surface but for many small businesses, there are some simple ways to improve your SEO and in turn, your ranking and how likely your site is to be clicked on.

Ben Law, managing director of 123 Reg, says: ‘SEO is important in terms of getting found online - a business owner needs to consider how their audience will find them, learn who they are and how they compare to their competitors.

‘For smaller companies in particular, getting SEO right provides the opportunity to level the playing the field as they have a fairer chance of getting high quality content out to customers regardless of their size or age.'

How to implement SEO effectively

Law says people who succeed with SEO do two things very well: they identify and implement SEO techniques that will pay off down the road, and they know SEO doesn't always have to be difficult and time-consuming.

He says: ‘Investing time and effort rather than money from a marketing point of view is a core way a small business can be really successful.

But when it comes to SEO, it's the quick, little things that can turn the needle when it comes to ranking higher in search engine results.'

The first thing is to familiarise yourself with all the different technical terms associated with SEO.

Title tags and meta descriptions are bits of HTML code in the header of a web page which help search engines understand the content on that page.

They tell search engines and users what your site is about, and when used properly, they can act as the ‘hook' for advertising your site in the search engine results.

Law adds: ‘While title tags and meta descriptions won't help your website magically rise to the top of the search engine results, these two elements can improve click through rates so it's important they are well written and compelling.

Title tags vs.

meta data

The title tag is the title element of a web page that summarises the content found on a page. It will appear in three key places: browsers, search engine results pages, and external sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Law says: ‘Search engines expect title tags to include relevant keywords and phrases that describe what that page is about.

‘They are a great opportunity to attract prospects to click through to your site so make sure it gives an accurate, concise and compelling summary of what that page is about.'

Meanwhile, a meta description gives you a bit more space to tell users what you're offering, and is an opportunity to give them a convincing reason to click through to your page.

‘This is a good place to incorporate special offers, emotional or psychological triggers, and where to focus on what the reader gets when clicking through,' adds Law.

‘Think "your" over "our".

‘Most importantly, don't neglect your meta data. Constantly monitor what's going on but don't make changes too often - it can take a while for any adjustment to have an impact and if you're constantly switching things around, you won't know if what you're doing works.'

Are you making the most of your SEO?

There are different tools you can use to measure the success of your SEO methods and ensure you are getting the best results.

Law says understanding your data is hugely important.

‘You don't want to put good quality content up there only to find nobody is coming across it,' he adds. ‘Free tools such as Google Analytics can be very useful as you can see what levels of traffic are coming in, where from and what pages they are going on.'

Paid-for software is also available which allows you to see which pages users are spending the most time on, and where on the page they are ‘hovering'.

Although click-through rate is a useful metric, it's not the only one you should look at.

A high click-through rate but a low average time on a page could indicate that although your meta data is enticing, your webpage isn't delivering what people want or expect.

Law adds: ‘This kind of situation is indicative of clickbait and should be avoided.
The aim is to entice people to visit your site, not to trick them into clicking.'