If you're confused about SEO our SEO explained page will help. Below are some answers to common questions we get asked by people looking for an SEO package.

It's vital that any SEO project starts by establishing what you hope it to achieve, that's why we include it in all our SEO packages. This phase of the project helps us understand your business and your current search-related challenges.

Looking at websites competing in your marketplace can provide valuable insights. For example, it can show how difficult or otherwise it's going to be to rank for a particular search phrase. It's also a good way to find places from which to secure links. In short, it's always beneficial to understand who your competitors are and what they are doing helping you to stay up to date and in competition.

Sometimes websites can't be read and understood by Google, this is obviously a bad thing as it will prevent them from appearing in search results. There are other issues that also need to be addressed such as duplicate pages. A technical review is vital to make sure a website isn't tripping itself up.

Keyword research helps us to understand what people who would buy your products and services search for. There are tools that help us with this and we don't have to simply guess and hope. Sometimes keyword research finds a search phrase lots of people are using that your competitors haven't optimised for, this can result in some very targeted traffic = sales!

Site activity tools show you how people found your site, what they searched for or where they clicked from and what they looked at. Sometimes you can also see where they are based and the company they work for. This information is valuable for measuring the effectiveness of what your visitors are currently doing and it also helps guide further work. For example, if you run a Pay Per Click campaign it makes sense to see if visitors you paid for actually bought something from you or got in touch.

SEO isn't something you 'do' and then forget about. An SEO package is just the start and if you are serious about generating business online you need a plan and a strategy to take things forward. We provide that as part of the package.

Becoming an authority in your area of expertise should be your goal. The more of an authority you become, usually because of the information on your website, the more quality traffic you will get and the more links you will receive. It's a virtuous circle.

If your site has been gathering data there is usually a wealth of market and visitor intelligence that can be put to good use. For example, if you have been securing visitors using a specific search term, yet you are on page 2 of Google for that search term imagine what might happen if you were on page one for it? Simple but very effective and just one example of how historical - or sometimes hysterical - data can be useful.

We look at your existing links to see how relevant they are and if any of the links you currently have could possibly be harming your SEO efforts.

Looking at the links to your competitor's websites sometimes provides linking opportunities for your website. This isn't always the case but it's worth checking.

Search engines index content. People link to content. People look for content. See the theme?

Link analysis helps us to find really juicy links, links that will improve your search positions.

Google uses links as a way to measure popularity and authority. Links are like votes and votes win search positions. But this should actually be called link earning not link building as the links that add the most value are links your content has earned.

It's easy to misuse social media but we'll find ways to use it that will benefit your business.

Blogs can be a great way of building your online reputation. Here's a great explanation of the purpose of a blog.