Course Overview

Week 1 (7th March)

• Introduction to Search Engine Optimisation
• Understanding how the search engines work.
• Planning your Website
• Defining main objectives of the website
• Structure
• Key word research and selection
• Domain name and web hosting
• Copywriting
• Branding/Appearances
• What to include in your website and what to avoid
• Feedback
• Testing
• Meta Content (What’s this?)
• Positioning of key words
• Links

Week 2 (14th March)

• Measuring Success
• Google Analytics
• Driving Traffic to Your Website
• Who are the main search engines and how to submit your website to them
• Link building
• Page Rank
• Google Maps Business Listing
• Pay Per Click Advertising
• Competitor analysis
• RSS Feeds

Week 3 (21st March)

• Social Networking
• Mobile Marketing
• Blogging

Week 4 (28th March)

• Email Marketing
• Common mistakes in on-line marketing and how to avoid them
• Recap
• Final questions

About the presenter

Alison Winn grew up in Glasgow and originally trained as a bi-lingual PA in French and German. Her first major role was with Express Newspapers where she spent 10 years working through the ranks on the News Desk and Sports Desk in Glasgow before moving to Fleet Street to Circulation and finally culminating in 5 years as PA to the CEO.

On returning to her native Scotland she spent the next 12 years as a senior PA for a Scottish plc. It was during this period that she discovered her passion for all things on the internet. When asked to become the plc’s Webmaster her first question was “What’s that?”

A quick introductory course to web design was lined up by her employers. This was a light bulb moment. Juggling full-time employment with motherhood Alison knew that when her daughter started school, it would be impossible to combine the two. And so started the night time studies. Alison commenced an Open Learning Diploma in web design which she passed with Distinction a year later. During her lunch hour she would sit in Princes Street Gardens and cold call potential customers for new business.

Fast forward seven years, Alison now has a portfolio which includes her previous employers, blue chip organisations and sole traders.

She embraces good, honest, organic SEO with a passion and gets a real thrill from seeing her clients achieve good search engine rankings and indeed turning their hits into orders. She strongly believes that there is no mystery involved with SEO and in addition to providing SEO services to her own clients and design/PR/marketing agencies, she provides training services to show businesses how they can optimise their own websites by a combination of good SEO and on and off-line marketing.