ProofMEDIA

Tag: seo

  • The Truth About SEO And What To Do About It

     

    The Truth About SEO – And What To Do About It

    The Problem

    We’ve all heard and read about SEO, and most of us believe we must do it in order to be seen online.

    So we follow the gurus, who tell us to:

    1. Get as many backlinks as we can (from reputable sources of course)
    2. Structure our sites in a special way (to take advantage of internal linking)
    3. Sprinkle keywords throughout our articles to fool the search engines
    4. Follow specific algorithms on keyword density
    5. Use anchor text in special ways
    6. Write a minimum of 500 words, and preferably between 1,000 and 2,000 words
    7. And so on…

    But NONE of this helps the people that matter:

    1. You. Everything you put online creates and cements your reputation.
    2. Your customers and prospects. Do they care about article length, keywords etc?
    3. Search Engines. They exist to serve the searcher (and benefit advertisers and shareholders – none of the above does that)

    When everyone follows BAD advice, it’s a race to the bottom. And it always ends in tears.

    The Solution

    Doing things for the wrong reason is why everything eventually fails. And since the wrong reason for current SEO thinking is to fool search engines, it makes sense that the right reason to do SEO is NOT to fool anyone – and focus on those who really matter.

    Who do we need to benefit?

    1. Our prospects and customers
    2. Ourselves – in terms of reputation
    3. Our stakeholders

    The ONLY way to help our prospects and customers is to give them EXACTLY what they need. Solutions to their questions and problems. That (and making a profit from supplying information and products) is the point of business.

    The ONLY way to develop and grow a good reputation is to produce quality information, quality products, and quality customer service.

    The ONLY way to benefit stakeholders is to give them a sustainable business. Those stakeholders include search engines. If we supply them with content and mechanisms aimed at fooling them into believing we matter, then we deserve everything that comes our way – including being ignored by them.

    The Proof

    A search engine’s purpose is to supply the best possible answer to whatever is searched for. If it fails to do that, another search engine that does it better will replace it.

    Right now, in the West, there is only one search engine that matters, and that is Google with 90% market share (according to the latest figures from Statista – Oct 2018).

    That’s not to say that Bing and Yahoo don’t matter, just that for every page that gets 10 visitors from Google, it only gets 1 view from all the rest combined.

    This makes Google the Gatekeeper of search. And ABC, Google’s holding company needs to make sure it stays that way. If it fails, the advertisers will go elsewhere because the visitors will go elsewhere.

    And there’s only ONE way to ensure it never fails. And that way is to ALWAYS deliver the best possible content – NOT the content with the most backlinks, the highest number of words, the most authoritative website, the best site structure nor any of the other things we’re taught by the SEO gurus that matter.

    Companies rise, fall and disappear all the time. Even the largest of them. Google is no different.

    It may take time, but it will happen if they take their focus away from ONE thing. And that thing is CONTENT.

    To always deliver the best possible answer for the intent of the searcher is the only race in search engine optimisation.

    And unlike traditional so-called SEO, this race is a race to the top.

    How To Do SEO Correctly

    Research. Your first question should be “what are my customers and prospects looking for?” followed by “what do they need help with?” followed by “how do I fit into that?”.

    Answer those three questions and you’ll be able to create a list of topics worthy to write about that won’t waste your (or your prospects and customers) time.

    Next, you need to know what (not who) you are competing with. If you put up the same content as everyone else (which is largely what’s happening right now) you’re asking NOT to be ranked at all.

    So start with the Gatekeeper. They’re the people who choose what pages are worthy of testing, and from those results, they pick which pages to rank.

    As with all plagiarism, it’s no good copying what’s already ranking. Search engines are not stupid for one thing, but more importantly, if you get someone to rewrite what already exists, it doesn’t help your customers, your business, your stakeholders (or your reputation).

    You need to improve it. You need to make it more in-depth than the current top 10, easier to read and understand than anything that currently exists, and more useful as an answer than anything else for the problem it solves.

    And you need to do this more consistently and at a higher rate than any of your competitors if you want to lead – and stay on top of your market.

    OK I Get It. But Is There Any Part Of Traditional SEO I Should Still Use?

    Yes. Meta tags. An article’s Meta Title and Description tags are your advert.

    When a search engine decides to show your page to its audience, it may* choose to use your meta title and description.

    If it does, then you have control over your hook (a hook is how you attract and engage readers).

    However, if your meta title and description do not precisely describe the content of your article, then you run two risks. a) the search engine may decide you’re using clickbait in order to get people to click on your page, and b) readers who do click will be disappointed with your page and will bounce back to the search results and click on someone else’s page instead (which will in time hurt your rankings – for hopefully obvious reasons – search engines will demote pages that either a) no one is clicking on, or b) has a high and deserved bounce rate).

    What To Do Next To Fix Your SEO Problem

    If you’re unsure about how to do any of this, talk to us here at ProofMEDIA. It’s what we do for our clients.

    * Search engines will select part of your text if no meta tags have been defined, but even if they have, they may also choose to ignore them.

  • The Truth About SEO

     

    Back in 2016 Google announced a whole bunch of stuff, but what caught my attention was not the new “RankBrain” AI they’ve been putting together in the background, it was that backlinking is no longer the be-all-and-end-all of SEO.

    It made so much sense. Why would you rank an article just because it had more backlinks than any other article? That’s no indicator of quality.

    Google have known that ever since SEO began.

    Quality backlinks are no different either. It’s one thing voting for an article, but it’s quite another whether that article answers the problem the searcher is looking to solve.

    And if that article, when found and clicked on, does the searcher no good, then it does Google no good (and its advertisers lose confidence in Google’s ability to bring them QUALITY traffic).

    Google have a single job. Discover and highlight the best content on the web. Do that and advertisers will come in droves.

    Shareholders may or may not understand that, but get it wrong (by relying on unreliable sources such as backlinks) and the traffic goes elsewhere, followed swiftly by the shareholders.

    Which tells us one thing: you either write quality content or you’ll no longer be in the game.

  • Secret Engine Optimisation or Search Engine Optimisation (SEO explained)


    Secret Engine Optimisation or Search Engine Optimisation

    Although everyone knows that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, for most people, it means SECRET Engine Optimisation. And that is because, quite frankly, no one knows how Google truly works except Google, otherwise everyone would be gaming the system and it would rapidly become useless. This is fine and good, but how can you influence Google in a Google SEO approved way, and thereby reveal the SECRET?

    It is actually quite simple.

    You use Google itself to reveal which pages it thinks a certain keyphrase or title should show in the search results. Then you reverse engineer those articles, the ones that appear on page 1 of the results, so you can start to get an idea of the semantics involved. From there you can create your own version of the page using that data as your primary research source.

    Why This Works, Without Guesswork

    Google’s first page already tells you what the algorithm believes satisfies searchers. You can learn intent, structure, length, media types, and common questions, just by reading the results. You are not copying, you are understanding patterns, then creating something better for your audience.

    • Use the SERP as a living brief, it reflects real user behavior.
    • Spot consistent themes, questions, and entities that appear across top results.
    • Build a page that answers the query more completely, clearly, and credibly.

    Step by Step: Reverse Engineer the SERP

    1) Start with a clear keyphrase

    • Choose the phrase you want to rank for, note synonyms and close variants.
    • Search in a clean browser profile or incognito to reduce personalization.
    • Scan the whole first page, including People Also Ask and related searches.

    2) Capture what Google is favoring

    • Content type, guides, product pages, lists, comparisons, videos.
    • Format, H2s and H3s used, presence of FAQs, tables, checklists.
    • Depth, estimated word count, detail level, use of images and charts.
    • Authority cues, expert authors, citations, original data, last updated dates.
    • On page signals, title tags, meta descriptions, internal links, schema.

    3) Understand search intent

    • Informational, learn something, how to, definitions, guides.
    • Navigational, find a brand or site, login, pricing page.
    • Transactional, buy now, best, discount, near me with purchase intent.
    • Commercial research, compare, versus, reviews, alternatives.
    • Local, services near a location, opening times, directions.

    4) Map the SERP clues to your plan

    SERP clueWhat it tells youHow to respond
    Featured snippetGoogle prefers concise, structured answersAdd a clear 40 to 60 word answer box, use a descriptive H2
    People Also AskCommon follow up questions and entitiesAnswer top PAA questions with their own H3s and short answers
    Video carouselVisual walk throughs are valuedEmbed a short original video, or add step images and GIFs
    Listicles rankingComparison or curation intentCreate a well structured list with criteria and scoring
    Local packProximity mattersUse local terms, add NAP details, build a Google Business Profile

    5) Extract semantics and entities

    • Collect phrases from titles, H2s, and PAA, they signal key subtopics.
    • Check related searches at the bottom of the SERP for variations.
    • Note recurring entities, brands, tools, locations, measurements, standards.

    6) Outline, then write something better

    • Draft an outline that covers the shared essentials, then adds unique value.
    • Include examples, data, checklists, and visuals your competitors missed.
    • Use plain language, short paragraphs, and clear headings for scanning.

    Real World Example

    Query: “how to prune lavender”

    • Intent, informational, seasonal timing and step by step care.
    • Top results, how to guides with images, some video carousels, PAA questions about timing.
    • Semantics, varieties, tools, timing, avoiding woody growth, aftercare.

    Build your page with a quick answer box, a tool list, a seasonal schedule, step photos or a short video, and an FAQ tackling PAA like “Can I prune in winter” and “How far back can I cut.” Add a printable checklist and a simple mistakes to avoid section to outperform the basics.

    Make It Credible, Not Just Optimised

    • Show experience, include your own examples, photos, or data.
    • Cite respected sources where relevant, standards, research, government guides.
    • Add author byline, date, and an update note when you improve the page.

    On Page Essentials

    • Title tag, include the main phrase naturally, keep it compelling and under about 60 characters.
    • Meta description, summarise the benefit, aim for a natural call to action.
    • H1 and H2s, mirror the intent and cover key subtopics cleanly.
    • URL, short and descriptive, use hyphens, avoid stop words where possible.
    • Images, descriptive alt text, compress for speed, add captions if helpful.
    • Internal links, connect to related guides and category pages with clear anchor text.
    • Schema, consider FAQPage, HowTo, Product, or Article when relevant.

    Case Study Snapshot

    A local pest control company targeted “wasp nest removal price.” Page 1 showed price guides, FAQs, and local intent. They created a transparent pricing page with a cost table, photos of typical nests, an embedded booking form, and an FAQ answering PAA questions like “Do wasps return to old nests.” Within six weeks, impressions and clicks for the term, plus close variants, grew in Google Search Console, and calls from the page doubled.

    Measure, Iterate, Improve

    • Publish and request indexing in Google Search Console.
    • Track queries, average position, CTR, and pages that now link to yours.
    • Refresh the page if you see impressions without clicks, refine title and description.
    • Add internal links from relevant older posts to boost discovery and context.

    Common Pitfalls to Avoid

    • Copying structures without adding value, aim to be the best answer on the page.
    • Keyword stuffing, write naturally and cover topics thoroughly.
    • Ignoring speed and UX, slow pages and cluttered layouts hurt engagement.
    • Thin pages competing for the same term, consolidate and build one strong resource.

    Quick Checklist

    • Identify intent and top content types on page 1.
    • List common subtopics, entities, and PAA questions.
    • Create a skimmable outline with real examples and visuals.
    • Optimise on page elements and add helpful schema when relevant.
    • Link internally, publish, and monitor Search Console for feedback.

    Build on a Solid Foundation

    If you are starting from scratch, structure and speed matter as much as content quality. A clean information architecture, fast hosting, and an accessible design give your pages a fair shot. Use your SERP research to plan categories and pillar pages before you write.


  • How To Build An Affordable Search Engine Optimised Website From Scratch

    This guide will show you every step to build an affordable website from scratch including ensuring it is optimised according to Google guidelines in the best possible way. We start with choosing a good domain name, then look at hosting options, content management systems, the content itself, and finally what you can do in terms of extending the page content including the addition of video.

    Step 1 Choose a Domain

    1. Choose a domain name

    This could be your name (eg. JaneJones.com), or your Locality + Industry (eg. LondonAccountant.co.uk) – or vice versa, or your name + Industry (eg.

    JonesAccountants.co.uk), or something random (eg. JazzyJazz.com)

    2. Choose a domain extension

    a) Always choose .com if your market is global (or if you want to punch above your weight)

    b) Choose local (eg. .co.uk) if you serve a local or national market

    c) Avoid any other extension unless the .com and .co.uk are not available

    3. Check if your domain is free

    I suggest purchasing your domain and hosting from Krystal and enter our referral code PROOFMEDIA for a small discount. More about this in step 4.

    Step 2 Choose a Framework

    There’s no point in reinventing the wheel, so go for WordPress. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it’s not secure, or it’s only for bloggers, or it’s rubbish, or any of a myriad of other reasons.

    WordPress is the most widely used website framework on the planet – by a very long way (according to W3Techs, over 43% of all websites are now run using WordPress).

    Some of the world’s most respected brands run on WordPress including: BBC America, Sony Music, Bloomberg, Variety, Beyonce, Sweden (yes the country’s official website runs on WordPress), Walt Disney, Microsoft News and on and on.

    Do you think those brands would use it if it were insecure or ‘just a blog’?

    Step 3 Choose a Theme

    WordPress has more plugins than there are stars in the universe (not quite true, but sometimes it feels like it). But if you choose the right theme, you can forget most of those plugins. The theme will have the most important ones built in.

    Here at ProofMEDIA we use the standard WordPress Twenty Twenty Five theme. You don’t need anything fancy.

    Step 4 Choose Where to Host your Site

    You will need somewhere to host your site. The choice is massive. There are hosting companies everywhere.

    Hundreds of thousands of them. But most are simply affiliates and resellers.

    The key thing about your hosting company is access to your files, email, DNS, server speed, server reliability, backups and support.

    We’ve used most of the main ones and now stick to just one: KRYSTAL Hosting. Use the referral code PROOFMEDIA and you’ll get a small discount too.

    Krystal are a British company established in 2002 and remain a 100% private company (unlike many others who have been bought out by the huge dinosaur hosting companies).

    They care about our planet, so use 100% renewable energy and plant trees on behalf of each customer. They also only use solid state drives (vital for speed and reliability) and free SSL (security).

    Step 5 Connect Everything Together

    Now you have your domain name, framework, theme and hosting, it’s time to link it all together (don’t worry, we’ll cover email a little later).

    NOTE: If you buy your domain name and hosting through the same company, eg. Krystal, you’ll find this a LOT easier to administrate.

    1. Login to your hosting account and get your DNS server names

    2. Login to your domain name registrar and point your domain to the new DNS

    3. Go back to your hosting account and use cPanel to install WordPress on your domain (choose the https:// option – eg. https://yourdomain.com)

    4. Wait up to 72 hours for the DNS to update across the web (test by entering your domain name into a browser – if it comes up, you’re ready to go)

    5. Upload and install your theme into your WordPress installation

    Step 6 Setup your Domain Email

    1. Login to your hosting account, click on the Email option and add a new professional email address for your domain (eg. jane@yourdomain.com)

    2. Set up a Google Gmail account if you haven’t got one. This is by far the easiest way to handle multiple email addresses from a single place.

    3. Inside your hosting account, click on the Email Forwarding option and forward your new email addresses to your Gmail account (Gmail allows you to reply to any email address direct from your Gmail account using the same address the email was sent to – eg. if an email was sent to jane@domain.com, when you reply to it from Gmail, the reply will show it’s from jane@domain.com)

    4. Repeat the process until you have all the new email addresses you need

    Step 7 Install Plugins

    1. Make sure your site is GDPR compliant – use plugins from the ProofMEDIA Professional Plugin Suite for self-hosted WordPress websites.

    2. Install the Google Sitekit WordPress plugin.

    Step 8 Content Architecture Part 1

    Does the architecture of your site really matter? No, not really. Google and the rest of the search engines DO NOT show sites.

    They show PAGES. So creating specific pages that answer specific problems is the way to go. People share pages not websites (you can’t share a website anyway – only a link to a page).

    However, thinking about how your site links together WILL improve your visitors experience. And it will improve your position as an expert in the market if it’s done well.

    NOTE: Don’t be confused by terms like POSTS and PAGES in WordPress. Posts are meant for blog entries (i.e. time bound), Pages are meant for long-term pages such as contact or about us. Either way, they are all ‘pages’ as far as search engines are concerned.

    Step 9 Content Architecture Part 2

    Here’s how to think about and design your website architecture.

    Break down your industry into its most important topics. Write a landing page summarising each topic. Then write a series of sub pages for each topic, breaking down each topic into as much detail as possible.

    Link each of those sub pages to the topic summary page, and link each of those main topic pages to your main navigation menu. This lets anyone explore your site in detail starting at the home page.

    It also breaks down your site very nicely for search engines, especially if you include an XML sitemap (which you absolutely should do).

    Step 10 Content Architecture Part 3

    You have a choice with your subpage linking. You can either include a menu on the topic page that links to every sub page, or you can link each subpage to the next page – and have a START HERE link on the main topic page.

    There’s advantages to both depending on your marketing strategy, but if in doubt, use a menu so the reader can choose what they want to do next.

    And just to finish up, there’s nothing wrong with adopting both approaches – use a menu AND a START HERE link.

    Step 11 Create Standard Pages

    As well as figuring out a good architecture, you’re going to need a set of standard pages. These are the pages search engines AND your visitors will expect to see.

    Contact Us page – how to contact – include map if people can visit you

    About Us/Me page – who you are and why you do what you do

    Privacy Policy – vital if you want to stay safe legally

    Cookie Policy – this can be included in your privacy policy, but is vital for GDPR compliance

    Disclaimer – important protection for yourself if you sell things from your site including acting as an affiliate or distributor

    Terms and Conditions – similar to a disclaimer but just as important

    Step 12 Create Your Home Page

    There are two types of home page:

    A) Content Page

    B) Hero Page

    The purpose of SEO is NOT to rank your home page UNLESS your home page IS the business and you have no other pages other than the standard ones such as a privacy policy etc.

    This is because search engines rank PAGES not SITES. And the best pages are almost always interior pages that solve specific problems.

    Step 13A The CONTENT style Home Page

    Think of your home page as you would the Contents page of a book. It is the place people visit to get an overview of what you do together with links to go deeper into any area they are interested in. The vast majority of sites are built this way.

    The key to making it work is to identify your different audience segments and include an easy way for each visitor to choose the area they’re interested in.

    Making the home page look like the menu of an app is how to do this. Paying a professional designer to make it look good will more than pay for itself. User experience determines success (great graphics, easy navigation and clear descriptions).

    Step 13B The HERO style Home Page

    If you major on one single thing, then positioning what you do on your home page is the best way to go.

    A hero home page SHOULD be optimised for search engines. Unlike the Content Home Page, it IS the way you want people to find you.

    A hero home page tells a story that aligns perfectly with its ideal prospect. It’s the first touch point on the site and the starting place to build long term trust.

    Hero home pages lead people deeper into the journey using carefully placed links that ensure they arrive at the right destination for them.

    Step 14 Use Images

    Words start and end wars. They are the single most important element on any page. They are how we communicate.

    But a picture adds even more.

    Step 15 Use Video

    Video uses text. Either as captions or as audio narrative.

    YouTube is growing faster than ever. We are built to watch moving things. They get our attention because back in the day, this ability was our only defense against attack by sabre tooth tigers.

    Every article you write can be turned into a video and placed on your YouTube channel.

    And that video can then be embedded back in your article giving Google and your readers a choice of how to find and consume your content.

    Step 16 Page Word Count Matters

    An article on rocket science will need to be the size of an encyclopedia if it wants to answer the question “what is rocket science” fully.

    Search engines are discovering that serving up half baked attempts at articles do them (and their readers) no favours – even if there are 100,000 links pointing to a page.

    If the top 10 results for rocket science show that the average page length is 5,000 words, then you’d better make sure that not only do you have more words, but that they’re better words too.

    Step 17 Research your Articles

    When we’re searching for answers on Google (and who isn’t) we want the right result to our search.

    We want a single point of reference that tells us precisely what we want to know, or where we can get further information.

    Every search engine, and every searcher knows and wants this. And every search engine and searcher knows it can only happen if the search engine is clever enough to pick out wheat from the chaff.

    Every article worthy of being found must be based on the best research there is. And right now the best source is Google (which includes YouTube).

    Step 18 Share your Work

    Everything you create for your site can be repurposed and shared on social media channels. Use small snippets (text/image) with a link back to each article.

    Slice and share everything you have on every possible channel there is.