Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
What is Search Engine Optimisation or SEO?
Have you ever done a search on Google or Yahoo?
Most people these days have...it has become the world's new "Yellow Pages"...only it is much faster and information rich - plus nowhere near as expensive....
The only "problem" with these search engines is that most people only look at the first page of results. That means you need to be in the top 10 or you don't get seen.
So how do you get to be on the first page of search results?
That is where SEO comes into play....it is used to get your business a top search engine position...
SEO is a way of optimising your website for search engines. SEO makes use of free methods to push your website to the top of search engine results.
Search Engine Optimisation can take the form of:
Submitting your website to search engines. Major search engines like Google have Webmaster Tools which allow you to submit your website to them. Sometimes Google can miss your website - by submitting the site's url to Google then you can insure this does not happen!
Optimising the content of your website, through the identification of keywords & key phrases. These are identified through research & more research.
Increasing the content of your website - content is king and the more quality content your website has, the more keyword rich it will be which means it will also come up in more searches.
Making regular updates to your website so the content is fresh & relevant.
Ensuring the website is designed to facilitate SEO - poor quality website design can hinder your website's search engine position - so it is best to get it designed properly the first time or else it will just cost you more in time, money & clients in the long run.
These methods are free, however, they require a lot of expertise and continual research which is why many website owners hire SEO experts to do this for them...many web designers are also experts in SEO, however some are not. Often you can see if they deal with SEO by looking through their website.
SEO - Key Points:
- Build a content rich site which is visitor friendly
- Submission of your site to major search engines
- Ensuring your site has submitted a sitemap to search engines
- Keyword & key phrase research & identification
- Optimising website using those keywords and key phrases identified
- SEO takes time to generate traffic
Why Does My Website Need SEO?
It is pretty simple really, Search Engine Optimisation aims to get your website to the top of the Search Engine Results (or at least on the first page of them). Most people do not look past the first page of search results, so to ensure you are not missing out on website traffic which equates to potential clients & sales, you need to have your website optimised for key words & key phrases. There is no point in having an invisible website that no one can find. One of the best things about websites is that they can reach clients you wouldn't usually be able to.
If your website is not ranking well in searches then it is time you really looked into doing something about it - the longer you wait the more traffic you are missing!
- 90% of a website's traffic is from a search engines like Google, Yahoo or MSN
- 80% of people using Search Engines DO NOT go past the 1st page of results
- A position on the first page of Google can provide many-thousands of unique visitors to your website
- Organic Search Engine results are a lot more than effective than Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising in delivering vast numbers of visitors to your website
- Search Engine Optimisation offers the most effective and cheap method of promoting your website
How Long Will SEO Take to Work?
This is one downside of using SEO alone as your Internet Marketing Plan - after altering your website, the results can take anywhere from one day to 6 months to start appearing. There is no magic trick to make it happen faster - it just depends when it gets "crawled" by the search engine "spiders".
How Do I Find Someone To Optimise My Website?
This can be one of the hardest things...first and foremost - if you already have a Web Designer who you trust, find out whether they are an expert in SEO. Many web designers ensure they stay up to date on the latest trends and techniques in Search Engine Optimisation as it is an absolute necessity for any website and should be implemented from the very beginning of the website creation. If your trusted Web Designer is not familiar with Search Engine Optimisation then here are some things to look for when finding an expert in SEO:
- Use your instinct in choosing a SEO company. If you are uncomfortable with the deal, walk away. Never force yourself to make a deal with a SEO company. If you do not like their terms, or, if there are some conditions which you feel uncomfortable about, never hesitate to ask. Their answers should not increase your anxiety, if it does then walk away. If they become agitated with you asking questions then walk away.
- A good SEO company will start by performing an analysis on your website and provide you with a Website Analysis Report. This report will identify all key areas hampering Search Engines from properly reading and indexing your pages. It will analyze page design, functionality and content. Proper web site design and functionality is not only important to spiders, it's also important to human indexers, who subjectively analyze and select pages to add to their directories. Poorly laid out websites with irrelevant content will more than likely be bypassed by both.
- Do they use automated submissions? If they do, stay away from them. Automated submissions can get you banned from search engines
- High price does not guarantee high quality. If you are eager to pay more, this does not mean that you will get more. Just because a firm costs more DOES NOT make them better at SEO.
- If you think you can pay peanuts for a professional SEO campaign, then you need to think again. Professional SEO companies offer realistic prices.
- Ask tricky questions. Asking tricky questions is a double-edged sword, especially if you are not an expert. But there are few easy questions that can help you determine their expertise:
- Tricky Question #1: Ask them how many search engines they will automatically submit your site to.
- Wrong Answer: Any number over 10.
- Right Answer: The best answer to this question would be "no automatic submissions" or that they submit your website to the top 3 - 10 Search Engines - Google is by far the most popular Search Engine used worldwide - so if they tell you that they focus mainly on your Google Ranking then that is okay too.
- Tricky Question #2 : Do they offer ongoing SEO optimisation services?
- Right Answer: SEO is a constant process and if you want to rank well and keep on like that, efforts are necessary all the time. Because of this, it is better to select a company that includes ongoing-optimisation maintenance, than get a company that pushes your site to the top and then leaves you because it wont remain at the top for very long.
- Wrong Answer: A wrong answer in this case would be that you don't need ongoing optimisation - once your site is on top then is stays there (or some variation of this).
- Tricky Question #3: How Long will it take for my website to appear on the first page of Search Results?
- Right Answer: Anywhere from one day to 6 months
- Wrong Answer: Overnight - 1 month
- Tricky Question #1: Ask them how many search engines they will automatically submit your site to.
I would be wary of anyone who deals with SEO and promises to push your website to the top of search engines in less than a month or 2...usually they are scamming you or utalising poor SEO techniques which will see your website completely banned from Search Engines without any warning.
SEM can give you some more instant results with Pay-Per-Click advertising...however you still won't see the full benefits of the campaign for up to 6 months.