Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Q&A

Noreen, I don't think I can provide a comprehensive answer to your question, but I'll add my own experience to the mix.

I recently switched from one content management system (CMS) to another. The previous one had a database. The new one did not (flat-file). I kept the URL structure exactly the same for porting over all the old articles I had written.

Note of importance: ensure that you have a global redirect (404 page) setup. This page can be simple, but should at least have the global website navigation. The file where this information needs changed is the ".htaccess" file. If you know your way around code you can change it yourself. If not, you can search and find boilerplate code to use.

Some content management systems by default don't use "search engine friendly" URL structures. The result is something like "yourdomain.com/blog/12420291942.php" that doesn't mean much to your users or search engines. Even if a user bookmarks such a page, they may not remember what it is about without revisiting it.

So if you switch to search engine friendly URL structure (usually referred to as the "mod rewrite" - again search for more detail) search engines and users will be able to make more sense of your content. Having redirects (permanent or temporary) in place will also funnel people that try to visit old links to a page that can refocus their search for your content.

Top tier resources you should check out:

Ahrefs
Backlinko (don't follow his email templates, it's overused)
SEMRush
NeilPatel.com (not all tips here are great and Ubersuggest is only decent because it's free) (sorry Neil).
Search Engine Journal

 

Screaming Frog is a really good application that you can use for broken links as well. Under the free plans you can crawl 500 urls per website as well as get more information regarding the website that smallseotools broken link checker doesn't provide.

The obvious choices such as Ahrefs and SEMRush have already been mentioned but I'm mindful that for the small business, these can be pretty expensive. 

Thankfully there are cheaper options, in fact, I'm going to concentrate on free options....

Why not start with Google and @Aishah Mustapha listed great places to start of which I'd like to add Google My Business which is crucial for the local business. Also, more recently for the small online retailers, make sure you get yourself a Google Merchant Centre account and submit your product feed so you can get your products in the free Google Shopping listings (Surfaces Across Google).

But beyond the tools, don't underestimate the power of using Google's search engine itself. Want to rank for a keyword? Type it in. You'll be able to identify the top-ranking results and by way of this you get to understand:
- What Google believes the user is looking for (so you can address their questions/intent)
- The content the top-ranking competitors have, how it's structured and the sub-queries you should address
- You can also see the publish date of the top-ranking pages. If it's all within 6 months and the page you expect to rank is 3 years old then it may be hard, so get in and optimise the page and change the publish date. 
- The other SERP features that you could optimise for. For example if there is a featured snippet, People Also Ask feature or the Local Pack. 

Aside from Google, there are other tools such as:
- Keywordtool.io - Find the keywords you should target.
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools - ahrefs.com/webmaster-tools - Ahrefs just launched this free tool and it's terrific to give you a picture of your site's health and how you can improve it. 
- GMBSpy - chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gmbspy/hijfnlgdhfpmnckieikhinolopcolofe - If you want to improve your Google Maps/ Local Pack results, it's important you have the right categories. With this Chrome extension you can uncover the categories your competitors have selected. Match them. 

Hope that helps. If you're looking for more advice on doing SEO yourself, check out this post from Matthew Woodward https://pocketinsights.io/diy-seo/

Create a product or service that lots of people want. If you find out how people are feeling just before they need your product you can work out how to provide information that will help them solve their problem. Then, when they are solving their problem, they'll come to you to solve it.

Using Social Media and a PR campagain pre-supposes that you know your customer really well... if you don't, it'll be money wasted.

Would love to get your thoughts on this @Lauren Clemett @Mark Reidy @Quentin Aisbett @Sonja Ceri @Saijo George