Search Engine Optimisation - what is it where can I get it?
Users love useful content and search engines, such as Google, love useful content. So what's the problem? When a user types a search into Google, or Yahoo, or whatever, they rarely get past the second or third page of results. If you're on the fourth page (or page 104, or 1004), you won't get a look in.
So what can you do?
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the art (or science) of increasing a site's appearance in search engine results pages (SERPs), and SEO specialists can cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. However, for those of us on a more limited budget there is still a lot that can be done to help your search engine ranking.
Some of these things are:
- Concentrate on your content.
- Use keywords.
- Ensure that your web developer is using valid and semantic code.
- Build good quality links.
- Accept that improvements to search engine ranking take time.
- Don't try and trick search engines - they'll catch you out.
1. The web is about content
The starting point for being recognised and indexed by search engines is to ensure you have useful content that accurately describes what you are offering. Google is constantly altering the way they index pages with the aim of giving more weight to original useful content. Their Webmaster Guidelines have useful information on what you can do practically to increase your chances of being rated by them (their guidelines are equally applicable to other search engines) and they are good reference source.
2. Keywords
Keywords are the search terms that people are likely to use when they are searching for the service or information your website provides. You can increase your visibility to search engines by making use of these keywords both in the title of your pages and in the copy.
3. Validity and semantics
It's far easier for a search engine to index and evaluate material that is marked up using semantic code which has been passed by a validator. If your web developer doesn't know what semantic markup means and can't write code that validates you might want to look elsewhere.
4. Linking
One of the things a search engine does is check the popularity of your site by who else is linking to it - not just the quantity but also the quality of the links. If a highly ranked site links to something on your site that link will count for more. Link building is a hotly debated topic with some web site owners participating in link exchanges or paying for links in an effort to appear more attractive to search engines. Google claims to be able to distinguish what they call "natural" links from unnatural ones. "Natural links" is Google's term for links that a site builds up over time as a result of genuine and useful content which encourages other sites to link to you. Linking is something that should be built up over time and result from useful and relevant content.
5. Patience
It takes time for your site to noticed and rated by search engines. Any good SEO company will tell you that, which is why most of them work with you on an ongoing basis. Although there are things you can fix straight away you won't see an immediate effect. If somebody offers you instant results see point 6.
6. Don't Try to Fool Search Engines
Ever since indexing the web began, people have tried to improve their rankings. With good reason - a few places higher up in a results page can make the difference between making sales and going out of business.
It is possible to use various techniques to boost search engine ratings, but Google and other search engines are constantly refining their indexing methods to weed out sites that are trying to artificially alter their ranking and if you use techniques that are frowned on and discovered, your site could end up being banned from search results altogether.
Accessibility
Accessibility for websites has been largely ignored in the past but is increasingly being given the importance it deserves in web development and we constantly work towards ensuring accessibility for all your site's visitors. Read more about our approach to accessibility.
Usability
How easy to use is your website? Can your visitors easily find what they are looking for? Is your navigation intuitive?
At Quorange, we put an emphasis on all these elements to enhance your site's usability.
Simplicity
There is a tendency in web development to make sites overly complicated, implementing features that don't always add value. We believe a better approach is to keep development simple, concentrating on the main functions of a website adding more complexity as it's required without compromising its main purpose.
Services
- Web design and development
- Coding for accessibility
- Content Management Systems
- Blogs
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Hosting and Maintenance
Contact
Whether you're looking for a one page site, an ecommerce catalogue or need to update your existing site, we're happy to discuss your requirements
Telephone us on 0161 408 4192 or use this form to contact us and we'll get back to you.