Search Engine Optimisation

You know from your own search experience that you usually follow links that appear high up in search results. It's important to know how you can improve your website's position in search results — this is called search engine optimisation (SEO).

There's no magic to it — SEO goes hand-in-hand with good writing, structure, usability and accessibility. Here are some things to consider when thinking about SEO on your web pages.

Content

Use the language of your readers; what terms would they use to search for your site? It's important to use these terms in your content alongside your own keywords.

Keep your content up to date — when a page was last updated matters to your users and search engines. Consider adding content that you can update regularly eg news and events. It is important that you check for, and edit or delete, out-dated content.

Keywords and phrases

Identify keywords and phrases that you want to rank highly for in search results. Keep the focus narrow — competing against general terms like 'student experience' is unrealistic.

Include your keywords several times in the content of your page, including in the page title, sub-headings and link text.

Links

Link to other relevant content elsewhere on the Newcastle website and externally. Make sure link text is descriptive and understandable if read out of context. Regularly check for and update broken links.

Links to your site from related external websites act as verification of your content's relevance and importance. Look for opportunities for collaborators and partners to link back to your site.