What the Heck is Search Engine Optimisation?

I get asked this a LOT! What the heck is search engine optimisation (SEO)? Seriously, people are so confused by the topic it inspires some extremely creative profanities.

In this blog I'm going to teach you what SEO is, why it's important to you, how and why the search engines place some personal trainer websites above yours and some basic tips on how to improve your position in search results.

What is SEO?

SEO is the process of getting traffic from the “free,” or “organic" listings on search engines. All major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing have such results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.
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Why Do We Need SEO?

With more and more websites popping up every day, search engines have had to find a way to sort between what's hot and what is not so that they can provide the user (us) with an awesome service.

Why? If the major search engines provide you with the best possible results and all the answers to your questions you're going to use them again and again, right? If you use them over and over again it's even more likely that you will eventually click on one of their ads... and that's how they get paid.

However, if a search engine didn't provide you with the answer to your question or find that awesome vid of a snake eating a crocodile that your mate says you "must" watch, you're going to try a different search engine.

How Do Search Engines Rank Websites?

Search engines use something called an algorithm, a set of rules. Each year, Google changes its search algorithm around 500–600 times. While most of these changes are minor, Google occasionally rolls out a "major" algorithmic update (such as Google Panda and Google Penguin) that affects search results in significant ways.

For search marketers like myself, knowing the dates of these Google updates can help explain changes in rankings and organic website traffic and ultimately improve search engine optimization.

How Google sees this page. Not pretty, right?

How Do I Improve The Position Of My Website?

As I mentioned, there can be 500-600 updates each year so the game is always changing. But there are a few key ways that almost never change for you to improve the position of your personal trainer website in search results:

• Site Architecture - The structure of your site will be assessed for ease of use. Things like page hierarchy and navigation will be used as a deciding factor so make sure your website is super super easy to navigate and all of your pages are in the right order.
• Usability and Design - User experience is key if you want people to visit your site again and again. Search engines know this and use it as a deciding factor.
• Keywords (the words someone would type in to a search engine to find you) - Your primary and secondary keywords should be placed within your meta tags and at certain places within your website. Keyword placement should flow naturally so writing "personal trainer London" all over the pace in a bid to rank higher will only get your website penalised.
• Link Building - Links from other websites, especially websites that position high in search results and are of a similar nature to your website will be a particularly helpful part of your SEO strategy.
• Content - Last but without a doubt the most important. Great content is the number one deciding factor for search engines. Well written, original, and viral content will soar your website to the top of search results.

What if I can't do it myself?

Never fear. There are some great SEO specialists out there, including us. Most companies charge from anywhere between $750-$5000 per month (that's about £3000 to us Brits. Yikes!) simply because of the tedious and boring nature of the work. A lot of companies also manually crank out time intensive tasks like link building and keyword research.

Our search engine optimisation fees? We have set fees depending on how much of a digital bad ass you want to be. Honestly, We love it. SEO is like figure skating on a frozen lake. It's a smooth, orchestrated dance between the search engine and the user. So many things have to be right and the ice is constantly changing.

If you are looking to SEO your site to improve your personal trainer marketing then hit me up on the email for some free, no obligation advice. I'm all ears :)