Henry Gilbert is a SEO expert and Web designer. He can be reached at www.alliancetec.com. He recently responded to a Q&A on SEO basics.
Bryan: First, maybe you can explain what SEO is.
Henry: Search Engine Optimization is the craft of fine-tuning a website so that it gets better attention from search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.
Bryan: Why should search engine optimization be important to an online business?
Henry: Traffic coming from search engines tends to be 'ideal'. People are now actively seeking you out - your services, your products - instead of the other way round.
Bryan: Isn’t SEO simply metatags and keywords? Why does an online business need help with that?
Henry: Many factors contributes to whether your site should be prioritized over others. Factors such as speed, proper coding, topic relevancy, geo-location; even the images you use and how they are presented can affect search engine traffic.
Bryan: How mysterious is search engine optimization (SEO)?
Henry: Very.
Bryan: How often do the rules change? (i.e. changing algorithms, etc). Is it possible to stay on top of these changes?
Henry: I have been using a set of techniques that is very fluid and highly-adaptive. It has worked very well and has proved itself so far to be immune from algorithm changes.
Bryan: What is the single most important factor in search engine optimization?
Henry: I place a great deal of importance on anticipating the best set of search phrases the ideal customer will type in – and then aim for that.
Bryan: How can you help an online business make more money?
Henry: Even a 3 hours consultation with me - should yield much improvement in SEO performance, traffic and increase in profits.
Bryan: Tell us about what you do, to help improve search engine visibility.
Henry: I offer 3 types of service:
- SEO design
- SEO redesign
- SEO consultancy
The first two takes longer, as it includes research, content building, copy writing, web design and code optimization – almost always carried out by myself.
The procedure is long; and may take up to 9 months. But at the end it produces outstanding, if not record breaking, results. So it's often worth the initial preparation.
I also offer consultancy. I advise on what steps the client should take in order to increase site performance (i.e. profits). This is a milder approach but one that fits very well when time and access to a site is an issue.
SEO is only one area I specialize on. The other being Conversion Increase.
Once a person has found your site how can we ensure he contacts you or buy your product straightaway? So I look at areas such a site performance, usability and accessibility which are often neglected.
My best examples of such methodology can be seen here:
Simplicity and brevity has led to very high conversions. Another project I am personally proud of is: www.roehamptonclinic.nhs.uk.
Once my work was done, it took less than 6 months to secure about 50 highly competitive search phrases on page one. Most companies boast of a couple of results, I often achieve dozens.
My new project is for a friend of mine installing water filtration systems in homes. I am on my 3rd week since it's official launch. The phrase 'London Water Filters' is currently at #5 in Google, not impressive I guess, but that is just beginning. I am hoping to get at least 5 good phrases in the top 5 in at least 3 months - that is my goal.
I would say it takes at least 6 months to see good and permanent results once my SEO'ed version of the site goes live.
Bryan: How did you get started as a SEO site designer?
Henry: I was helping a friend of mine, building him an e-commerce shop. He brought in a SEO specialist. After the job was done; my friend's site got completely banned from Google! The site was also banned by it's the Web host - shut down due to illegal spamming (sending 1000's of unsolicited emails).
I managed to persuade the Web host to give us a second chance, on the grounds that I personally would let no one else have access to the site (including my poor friend!). When my friend had ideas of finding another SEO pro, I felt pressured into learning subject myself.
At the time I met online a very good professional who was willing to train me into the 'mysteries' of SEO: www.webnauts.net.
The rest is history. I began developing my own techniques with the aim of one day becoming a supreme SEO master myself.
Bryan: How important is social media and backlinks to site rankings? Should this be automated?
Henry: Social media is steadily becoming of more importance. But sites can survive well with zero social media presence, at least for now.
Backlinks are very important. But how you harness them, requires intelligent planning and flair. Any automated procedure can be dodgy. At best, you could be branded a spammer that people are ever ready to block. At worse you could have your site banned permanently from social media networks and search engines such as Google.
Bryan: What blogs are you reading?
Henry: I often have a peek into Jakob Nielsen notes.
Bryan: How can our readers contact you?
Henry: There is a contact email on my website.
