Jargon Buster

Here at Online Brand Manager we understand that a good deal of the terminology used within our industry means nothing to the general public. We have put this page together to at least give you a basic understanding of some of the most commons terms used.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

Is the science behind improving the rankings of a website in the organic listings of a search engine. At its most basic SEO can be broken down into two distinct paths -

On Page Optimisation

Is the altering of various aspects of a website to improve its ranking within the search engines. This may include adding meta tags, improving the sites struture and layout, altering text, changing titles and much more. While these changes (when done correctly) will improve the rankings and contribute towards the growth of the website, many people make the mistake of optimising the site for the search engines and ignore the needs of the potential customer and lose the sale anyway. Optimisation must be a careful balance between the needs of the customer and the needs of the search engine.

Off page Optimisation

Is the technique of improving the rankings of a website by building backlinks, advertising, marketing, viral links, writing articles and blogs. The process of creating backlinks is a time consuming process which cannot be rushed. Many companies offer 1000's of backlinks in just a few minutes, however these actually do more harm than good and can actually result in your website being delisted from the search engines altogether. A gradual campaign of relevant backlinks will ensure your website climbs the search engines and remains at the top.

Google PPC (Pay Per Click)

While SEO is a long term solution to get your website on the first page of the search engines. The quickest way is via PPC which allows you to bid for keywords and then you pay the bid amount everytime someone clicks your advert. The adverts appear at the top (yellow background) and the far right on Google and allow your website to be seen on the first page almost instantly, providing your bid is high enough to secure a first page position. A PPC campaign can be configured to suit the needs of your business and with the ability to put a cap on how much you spend each month via PPC it nevers spirals out of control. PPC is best suited to a business who want results fast and do not mind the initial outlay to get those results

Social Media

Social media has grown in popularity over the last ten years, with Facebook and Twitter leading the way. If you do not have a social media account you most certainly know someone who does. While Facebook and Twitter are easily the most popular amoung the general public, Linkedin has quickly established itself as the business person's social media site of choice offering unique opportunities to network with other people from within your business sector. Social media is now one of the fastest developing means of advertising a business due to the massive amount of traffic that social media sites generate, so implementing a successful social media campaign can reaps massive benefits for your business.

Meta Tags

There are three main meta tags all with varying degrees of influence on search engine rankings. Each of these meta tags has a different role and unique properties.

Meta title

This is the most important of the meta tags as this is the meta tag the search engines will actually use to name your webpage in the search engines.

Meta Description

Is the small description of the webpage the search engines display under the meta title. The search engines also use this as a ranking factor, although how much weight this meta tag actually carries is still up for debate. However as the meta description acts as an advertisment for the webpage to the customer when seen in the search engines, having a well worded meta description is a must.

Meta Keywords

Are words and terms you wish your website to rank for, so making sure these are relevant to the webpage they are referring to is very important. If you have a particular webpage which sells 'large blue balls' then your keywords will be a mix of thses words and associated terms such as, 'large blue balls', 'large blue balls for sale', 'blue balls', 'large balls' etc. Using these terms will help search engines identify the important phrases on the webpage. Goolge have said they no longer use meta keywords as a ranking factor however many believe this is not so and therefore many people still continue to use the meta keywords tag.