Mark Simpson | 26 Mar 2008
The most common question I get asked about search engine optimisation is “Why does my competitor’s website rank above mine for my main keywords?”
There are many reasons why a website may rank lower for a particular keyword, but it’s important to know that your search engine positions for specific keywords are not important, as long as you have a general presence for a wide range of words and phrases. This is because you can’t accurately guess the exact phrases people will search for.
Take the phrase ‘Jobs in Manchester’ as an example. If you were looking for a job in Manchester, this is probably not the exact phrase you would use. You are likely to be more specific about the industry or location you want to work in, by searching for ‘sales jobs in Manchester’ or ‘contract engineering jobs in Altrincham’, for example. When you consider these regional and sector variations, there are literally thousands of phrases that people might enter into Google when looking for a job in Manchester.
Successful search engine optimisation campaigns are built around a theory called ‘The Long Tail of Search’. Have a look at the chart below - you will see that this example website was found a few times for its main targeted search phrase, but that there have also been a large number of visits to other, more varied search phrases. In general, the number of searches made for more specific variations hugely outnumber those for general, non-specific key phrases.
PBS UK Ltd are a specialist business outsourcing provider based in the East Midlands offering services such as UK & International Payroll, HR and BACS Payments.
Full case study...
UK Payroll
International Payroll
BACS Payment Services
Recruitment consultancy sourcing candidates for temporary, permanent and interim positions across a number of specialist divisions.
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