You may have heard about a feisty little critter causing havok in the online SEO world.

Google Penguin has been launched and lazy SEO bods are running scared. Whilst the early signs have been a little hit and miss this new and latest update is aiming to drive better websites to the front pages of Google.

But what does it mean to you? That depends on how you have been doing your SEO. If you have been using a piece of software to do the job of many then look out, if you have littered you pages with a keyword at every opportunity then its time for a rethink and QUICK!

The drive towards gaining a real perception of the online world is happening and it won't go away. The days are gone when you could use automation to drive results and as the algorithms get more advanced and social media gains even more importance it all goes back to an early SEO lesson we talked about, content is and always will be king.

Our series of pieces on SEO are even more relevant now so if you haven't already it's worth a recap and a quick read back through. We are going to be putting it all together in an e-brochure soon so keep coming back if you would like to recieve one or send us an email and we will add you to the list.

Google Penguin isn't nasty or scary it's just getting rid of low level websites that do not deliver what the Google user wants. If you are regularily updating your website, using multiple keywords and then supporting this effort with a good social media strategy the chances are the penguin will be your best buddy. Google wants to get rid of internet fakers and automation to provide Google users with a truer picture and ultimately a better online experience,  for that I take my hat off to them.

The best advise I can give is make sure you are balanced in your strategy, create killer content based around your buyers and then use all the channels that you are comfortable with to get your message out there and drive people back to your website. Social media channels are a great tool for this. Post multiple times your new content in a variety of ways with opportunities to click to go to the content on your website. Don't overuse keywords here, try varying the way you are speaking to your audience as different headlines will appeal to different people.

There are lots of plugins and software to allow you to do this easily and without the need to go onto each individual channel to upload your message a number of times (Hootsuite and tweetdeck to name two). To get the best out of social media make sure you do think about the channels you are using and on occassion post just on a platform if the content lends itself to that particular channel. For example got a fantastic image that you want to get out there? Maybe Pinterest and instagram are better placed to get the most impact for this image (I am a huge Twitter fan but not keen on uploading pictures to it).

Vary your content and for the first time ever forget all the old restraints and just start to deliver great content consistently. Have a broad keyword strategy and go for long term gains. Use your social media channels to promote and backlink to your website and make sure you are still active on forums and blogs relating to your business.

Don't overuse keywords, one of our phrases is web design Cardiff but we are cautious about how much we use it, don't flood your website with them. I have always hated this approach and often advise clients to focus on good quality well written content rather than % number of keywords per page as I have always felt overusing them makes the wording overly contrived and less genuine. Get the balance right, I am a firm believer if it reads right it is right.

The more active you are and the more genuine your online presence is the better the results you will achieve.

The key to real online results is the amount of work you now put in.

Your website is optimised and when they arrive your killer content is in place but unless they do come and are going to want to buy what you sell your shop window may as well be boarded up. The way in which the search engine ranks websites is constantly evolving and it is fair to say as they become more and more sophisticated the job becomes more difficult.

The past has seen bots doing the work of thousands but the reality is this is not great for the consumer and so the search engines like Google have changed and are constantly changing the way back links are scored. Social media channels which provide a truer reflection of online influence are fast becoming very important for SEO strategies. The line between marketeers and techies is blurring meaning a well rounded strategy will now combine marketing departments with the SEO team to provide a content rich multiplatform approach covering blogs, video blogs, pod casts, forums, social bookmarking websites, video bookmarking channels and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Once you have your foundations in place you need to start thinking about these back links (posts on other websites that link back to parts of your website). Some use software to generate these but beware, the SEO landscape is changing and don't be surprised if these types of auto generated links become redundant. Google's drive is for quality back links to provide a real picture for customers not auto generated ones and this is why social media channels are becoming so important.

Twitter accounts provide a real snapshot of authority and online influence and it is near impossible to generate this type of content via software as it is difficult to replicate personality and thus drive up a following and interaction on these types of platforms. They require personal details to set up and effort to maintain, so Google has been looking at these platforms and giving them real weight in SEO terms.

If you are to gain real traction for your online campaign become an active member of the communities your buyers are involved in. Participate and pass on messages that you find interesting and the likelihood is so will your potential customers, growing your own online influence.

Checking your company and mentions about your brand or the products/service you sell is also important. Products like HootSuite or TweetDeck are free and allow you to do this all in one easy to view page. They also allow you to manage multiple accounts all from one platform easing the workload. If you are mentioned ensure you react quickly especially when the quotes are negative this will ensure even negative comments can be turned around into positives (think about giving a dissatisfied customer a discount or replacement).

Driving up the search engine rankings take time and effort, unless you are very lucky you will need to either invest time and effort to see results or pay a SEO company to do the leg work for you. Either way the rewards can be enormous so a real website strategy is a must for all forward thinking companies looking for growth.

Now that the foundations are laid the hard work begins. As with any marketing tool a focus on the end user, your potential customer is key here. What are they expecting/hoping to find when they click the link to visit your website?

You had better have a very good idea on what it is or chances are they will be gone again very quickly. I see lots of local businesses websites and most share exactly the same problem, they are so wrapped up in themselves they forget their buyers. The truly outstanding websites that I have visited have the buyer or better still buyers at the heart of all the content on their website.

I love all things online and social media and so when I click on a link in a tweet or am sent a link to interesting content like this morning from the legend that is Mark Schaefer I am really happy when I can download a free report of e-book on a topic I am trying to learn more about. Most great online personalities understand the online experience and the attitude of sharing that is fundamental to the internet's massive appeal.

Whatever I am interested in can be found online for free providing I am willing to look and here in lies the opportunity. Engaging and well optimised content will be found and downloaded. This offers your business the numbers your sales funnel needs. Trying to capture data here whilst really worthwhile in the long run, is in my opinion a sledgehammer approach to data capture. Resist the urge to get them to fill in their details straight away so you can rapidly build your spreadsheets and instead woo them into reading more of your content on a regular basis before finessing them onto your database because they actually want to receive content from you on a regular basis.

Content is criticle in all forms of marketing, working in radio taught me that as the limited seconds a client paid for in an advert meant all faff and un-necessary content was stripped to give airtime to the creative hook and the offer the client wanted the listeners to react too. Your online space is no different, break it up into bite sized chunks with the client in mind always and deliver it in as memorable way as possible.

Lesson 3 is content is king, the best way to keep someone on your website and move them through the buying process is by engaging content that is unavailable elsewhere (or at least difficult to find!). Ensure you are reaching different buying groups by putting on content that is directly related to them, not generic cliche riddled copy that is unlikely to be looked at by anyone other than the author.

An example of what I mean is when you consider a car servicing garage. As well as the general details you need on your website think about a winter car check document or better still video that potential customers can view for free.  How about a series of "how to" videos for basic car maintenance, changing a tyre, topping up the radiator fluid or recharging a car battery do you think potential customers may find these useful? I do and the likelyhood is you are on the way to becoming a top of mind garage for someone like me as you have helped me without expecting anything in return.

Positioning your business as a source of great information and content will put you in great position when the buyer needs their next car service done or whatever else it is you sell.

You have done your research and you now know what people are searching for regarding the product or service that you offer, so now what?

If you already have a website the first thing to do is make sure that your website is fully optimised with the search terms (keywords or phrases) in mind. If properly built it should be optimised but it still amazes me when we take on a project just how many aren’t.

Remember you are in competition here and it is fierce online, there are millions of websites and in your field you are competing on a local, regional, national and international level so capitalising on this lucrative stage takes time, effort and a plan!

Be careful of the keyword choices you pick, are they likely to be looking for what it is you sell or could they be looking for something else? Take one of our clients Chimtech Fires a specialist woodburning stove installation company. One of his chosen keywords was stoves UK which has a huge amount of search traffic. The thing to remember here though is to also consider there is a National brand of cookers called Stoves (who rank incredibly well for this search term No.1) and I like many others would call a cooker a stove.

The point here is he will naturally be getting people looking for products that are completely irrelevant to his business as well as people searching for wood burners so the more specific the keyword or phrase is, the more likely the visitors that arrives at your website will be potential customers.

Lesson two is make sure the basics are in place. A good web developer will have asked you what it is you want to be found for and given you a report on keywords so you can make an informed decision.

Things to look for (or get someone to look for) are:

• Are all the page titles, meta descriptions, keyword tags completed and optimised.
• Has all the on page keyword SEO been looked at?
• Is this page specific and have the search numbers been checked (see SEO blog article below - be careful what you wish for)
• Has the website been pinged to the search engines you are basically telling the engines that’s something is worth looking at on your website.
• Has the site got your logo in the top web browser bar (A favicon) this is great when bookmarking a website.
• Has a 301 redirect been done on your website
• Has it been checked in all browsers (Internet explorer 6,7 & 8, Firefox, safari and chrome etc.
• Have you got a sitemap this helps point crawlers at all your website pages.
• Is it mobile friendly

As long as these basics are in place you can begin, if not get them done before you spend any money on your online marketing. As with any strategy in business you can only build on solid foundations and if these basics are not in place you will be wasting time and money.

If you want a guide to check your own website there is a great tool on www.hubspot.com called website grader. Just type in your domain and it will give you a free analysis of your website including helpful tips on improving your ranking score.

There is lots of conflicting advice online about these grader software solutions but as in my last article about Google keyword discrepancies what they do offer is a guide. We use more advanced tools and experience but as mentioned this is a self help guide not a replacement for employing a specialist, so for the purposes of empowering you to help yourself this will be adequate as a starting point.

When I first meet a new potential client about a website project one of the first things I discuss is creating a website with buyers in mind. All too often local businesses create a website to massage their own ego rather than do a job for them.

Harsh? Maybe but I don't think it is done intentionally, more likely its a lack of proper planning and poor advice. How many pages do you want? What are the tabs you need? Exactly the sort of questions I asked in our early years but what that leads to is the same one size fits all website that 99% of local advertisers end up with.

Take a look at 10 local advertisers websites and 10 National advertisers websites and I can virtually guarantee that they will in almost all cases follow two distinctive paths.

The local company will have a home page that will probably include some or all of the following:

The fact they are a family run business.

How long they have been established.

How great they are.

What awards they have won.

How trustworthy they are.

How fantastic their customer service is.

Where they are.

All valid you might say but who cares? People are going online to either buy or get information but almost always they are trying to find the information they need to make a purchasing decision and your families involvement in the business is of no interest to me or your buyers. Furthermore I expect you to be trustworthy and provide excellent customer service so you don't need to tell me that you have to prove it.

A home page with all this detail is likely to miss your buyers needs completely and like all advertising if you are not clear about what you want your buyer to do they will switch off and move on.

Now take a look at those Nationals. They look fantastic right? But they have massive website budgets we can't possible compete you might say but the point here is not the sparkle it's the content that's key.

The home page will in almost every single case not have any of the content we mentioned about the local websites. If it does it will certainly not be centre stage, that privilege is kept for sales messages to reach out and grab their potential buyers or information that the buyer really needs before they can buy.

The great ones will have lots of information rich content that will answer the buyers questions and leave them in a position to make an informed decision and position them as the place to purchase the product or service from.

I call these sticky home pages but whatever you want to call them make sure yours has your buyers in mind and is not a company CV.