David Quaid [ 23:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

David Quaid runs Primary Position, an agency which specialises in Search Engine Optimisation or SEO.  Recently he met Conn for a coffee and an interview for the Small Business Show.

David points out that SEO and marketing is the first step in online business.  Before you build the site – before you choose a domain name – you need to consider your target audience: who they are, and how they will find you.

Content is critically important, he explains.  It should be meaningful and useful, in the language of your customers – not of the ‘trade’.  Users go online to research solutions to their problems but they may not know the technical terms for those solutions.  Good SEO anticipates these searches and responds with meaningful content that draws traffic.

Links are important, he says, but they must be relevant, in the context of the text where they are found and in the overall nature of the subject matter or business in question.  You can’t fake this stuff – he says.  Search engines devote considerable resources to making sure their results are relevant – otherwise they lose trust and, as a consequence, business.  Good SEO, he agrees, is about good marketing and good customer relations.

The Small Business Show is broadcast each weekend in syndication on Irish radio.  Items from the show are published as podcasts throughout the week on FocuSMEIreland.com.  You can subscribe for free to download the MP3s automatically using RSS or iTunes.

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