Firms 'should take common sense approach to SEO'

It is important that businesses only implement search engine optimisation (SEO) tactics if it makes sense to do so, it has been advised.

According to Google user experience researcher Ricardo Prada, SEO should ideally only be deployed if it will offer a significant benefit to web users.

For example, websites should only use page titles that are relevant and help users to properly understand the content of the website, he said on the Inside AdSense blog.

Furthermore, marketers would do well to steer clear of the "sneaky" SEO tactics used by some firms, Mr Prada warned.

"Most of those don't work anymore and they might actually harm your site's reputation," he commented.

Those new to SEO can consult Google's SEO Starter Guide, which was launched by the company last year and is regularly updated with new technical advice and more general optimisation tips.

The guide covers topics such as anchor text, URLs and meta tags.

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