Many search professionals and indeed general marketers continue to focus on working towards the panacea of making their website search friendly for the widest possible group of keywords, rather than opting to hone in on a small number of terms and ranking well for those, according to PR, social media and SEM agency, Punch Communications.

There is significant value and merit in developing visibility in the search engines for any term, particularly for a new domain. Obviously the greater the volume of traffic to the term the better but developing a good position – preferably first – even for relatively low volume terms, can have the effect of increasing a site’s authority and thereby making it comparatively easier to rank for additional, more competitive terms, thereafter.

Consequently, a ‘grass roots’ approach to effective search engine optimisation can be more effective than the big picture approach, simply because it begins to deliver traffic immediately, albeit on a smaller scale, whilst paving the way for a successful site-wide approach.

Pete Goold, Managing Director of Punch Communications, which has developed from its initial role as a PR agency into other areas, to include online PR alongside search and social media, commented: “There is a clear, symbiotic relationship between the overall authority of a site, and therefore its visibility generally across a breadth of terms, and the authority of specific pages due to a strong association with one or two highly relevant terms.

“Therefore, it’s surprising that some site marketers still focus efforts on what could be thought of as a long term, big picture goals rather than dividing their attention between the short and longer term, to ensure some results are delivered more quickly. Looking at both immediate and short term aims seems to me a more sensible strategy, for sites of all sizes.”

For more information regarding online PR or any other aspect of PR, search or social media campaigns, please visit www.punchcomms.com or call +44 1858 411600 for an informal chat.