When is SEO advice not really SEO advice?
Posted by Jacob Ball
Sometimes, what is touted as SEO advice isn't really the advice you need to help YOUR website. Read on, to find out what I mean...
I recently received an email from TrueLocal, purporting to offer Search Engine Optimisation advice for helping your business reach the top of the search engines.
The problem is that the advice given is how to improve your TrueLocal listing by adding descriptions, images, reviews, opening hours and categories.
Sure, this will help TrueLocal rank more highly for your particular industry's search terms, but it certainly won't help with improving the ranking of your own website.
One of the biggest gripes I have with the search engines is that they'll often rank a directory site (which is what TrueLocal is), over and above a genuine business website which closely matches the search entered. Google has indeed tweaked its algorithms to try and reduce this, but do a quick search for yourself, and you'll no doubt see Yellow Pages listings, TrueLocal listings, and so on.
So, should you have directory listings? Sure, but do the work on your own website FIRST.
That means proper page titles, meta descriptions, and appropriate content - do these simple things, and you'll be a long way in the right direction!