I am trying to boost my website (Website Design in Bradford) ranking on google and am sure it is optimised well enough to do well for searches like 'website design bradford' and similar phrases. However the ranking isn't great, so I am wondering if I even have a chance without a great deal of inbound links.

I have inbound links from all the websites I have designed, and there are more as time passes, but they don't seem to be doing any good, or even getting recognised by google.

Will I stand a chance with the website alone, or would I need a great deal of inbound links to progress any further?

Also I am busy so I don't chance my site much - Will this mean my google appeal is going to under-perform?

Any advice would be great./

Thanks
Frank Dillon

Pages seem to need a lot of inbound links to rank in google for competitive phrases (I wouldn't have thought 'Website Design in Bradford' would be competitive though).

Updating content might coax a spider to visit more frequently, but that's the only benefit. You won't improve your ranking directly by updating frequently.

You might try and get some links from other local Bradford sites or sites related to web design. A lot of people write and syndicate articles with their links, submit to directories or get blog links--but, all time consuming, of course.

According to Webmaster Help Center - Webmaster Guidelines,
try to get more relevant, content related inbound links to increase your page's relevancy in a long run.

You could try submitting your site to lots of free directories. If you don't have the time, I have seen people offering submission to 200+ directories for something like $30 or so. You can try that. Good luck!

You can try these 10 SEO tips to improve your search engine rankings.

It's not necc. the number of inbound links as much as the importance of the links you get in the SERPs. For example, if you get a PR 4 SEO related link for your site, it may be worth 10 or more 0-1 PR links, or even more.

Don't go solely by PR as a measure of a page's importance, but it's not a bad start. Pages with a good deal of relevant content, regardless of PR will likely help you out.

Regards

Thanks for all the advice people. I think the problem is having the time to get everything done. The problem is I never trawl round the internet looking at leaving links, as I'm too busy running a business. I think I may make myself a blog aimed at getting some more traffic and better rankings.

I understand about content-related inbound links, but have trouble finding anywhere to get these from, as everywhere will cost money or be competitors in the same field.

If I was to leave a link on all websites I have created, back to my own, what would be the best structure for these links. It used to be 'swish pixel' inside the a tag, but would I be best using 'website design in bradford' inside the a tag and in the title attribute?

I suppose these links aren't really that relevent as the rest of the content isn't related.

..also as you said Gringo, website desgin in bradford and related terms shouldn't be overly competitive and I'm not performing well enough for this. I definitely need help here :0

I would think about the keyphrases you are targeting. There isn't much competition for "Website Design in Bradford", that's true, but also it doesn't appear that anyone is searching for that phrase.

Keyword Discovery have a free trial for their keyword analysis tool, and that could help you find other related phrases that you could target with better results.

Thanks for that Gringo, as you are totally right - Judging from my adwords stats, things like 'web design bradford' as a wide-matching phrase are much better. I am making good progress now I think.

Also I have created search engine friendly URLs to include my keywords and phrases such as Website Development in Bradford - which used to be services.php?service=1.

Following on from my original question about the relevance of inbound links, what do people think about the importance of key phrases in the page's URL?

From my own experience I seem to think this is a big thing, but I am not an SEO expert, as my main thing is design and programming. However, it seems easy to get to the top of Google when you are searching for keywords that are contained in your domain name, so I am presuming that the rest of the URL after the domain name must also help matters?

I'm interested in opinions as I am on a mission to climb to the top of all search engines for at least 25 word combinations.

keywords in URIs both filenames and domain names are only of real use when anyone links to your pages using JUST the URL, then you get the benefit of keyword anchor text. They may also play some small part in SE algos BUT it isn't enough to plan a naming stratergy around or to embark on a wholesale file renaming plan.

The problem is people look at one thing in isolation and assume that is the reason for ranking (as you have done). If someone has decided to use a keyworded domain name, would you suppose that is the only thing they have done?
As part of a co-ordinated plan it may have some benefit BUT again it is not enough to warrant throwing away a branding chance with a memorable domain name for something that may not fit your business in 12months time because you now encompass more services than originally envisioned.
Do you really want to be known as webdesign-in-bradford.co.uk for ever ? or would you rather brand SwishPixel to be THE resource for webdesign in and around Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Bingley or anywhere else in the West Yorks area.

Originally Posted by gringo

I would think about the keyphrases you are targeting. There isn't much competition for "Website Design in Bradford", that's true, but also it doesn't appear that anyone is searching for that phrase.

Keyword Discovery have a free trial for their keyword analysis tool, and that could help you find other related phrases that you could target with better results.

Maybe there is no one searching for that prhase but there is still i'd say about 30 other major website design companys competing for top spot on the one keywored. I managed it though blog backlinks thats only becouse i have a very high traffic PR5 blog. Also though lots of article websites and classified ads.

Originally Posted by greenlush

Maybe there is no one searching for that prhase but there is still i'd say about 30 other major website design companys competing for top spot on the one keywored. I managed it though blog backlinks thats only becouse i have a very high traffic PR5 blog. Also though lots of article websites and classified ads.

Why compete for a term that nobody is searching for? Unfortunately, being #1 for this term (and #2......#x) will give you no traffic because nobody is searching for it.

Originally Posted by swishpixel

I am trying to boost my website (Website Design in Bradford) ranking on google and am sure it is optimised well enough to do well for searches like 'website design bradford' and similar phrases. However the ranking isn't great, so I am wondering if I even have a chance without a great deal of inbound links.

I have inbound links from all the websites I have designed, and there are more as time passes, but they don't seem to be doing any good, or even getting recognised by google.

Will I stand a chance with the website alone, or would I need a great deal of inbound links to progress any further?

Also I am busy so I don't chance my site much - Will this mean my google appeal is going to under-perform?

Any advice would be great./

Thanks
Frank Dillon

One suggestion, change the ALT for the images on your site, use relevant keywords that people should use in search engines.

Also, don't expect that the links from the sites you desing are enough, not because your site are not good, but because maybe don't have enoughr PR yet.

Go and get some links (with good anchor text) from BIG sites, THATS will push your site up