A Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Search engines generally carry 2 sorts of results.

What are the main factors that affect search engine ranking?

Here is a brief overview of some of the key factors to be taken into account. Search Engines do not reveal their rating methods and are constantly trying to improve their algorithms. Search Engines try to assess the text content of your web pages as seen by the human visitor. They actively try to combat any tricks used to try to mislead them about the real content of your pages.

Web Site Design:

Web sites designed specifically to be as successful as possible on the search engines must adhere to a set of specific guidelines that have a significant impact on the web site design options available.

Web Site Text Content (Copy) - Focus is the Key:

Good quality well crafted text copy that is helpful and useful to your human web site visitors is the number 1 priority above all other considerations. This is what search engines try their best to rate your web pages on. Also no amount of search engine optimisation is going to be of any value unless your pages are useful to the human visitors when they arrive at your web site.

Links to Your Website:

Links to a web site from other good quality relevant sites give web sites a boost in the rankings in Google in particular.

The Competition:

There is often a large number of competitors for common Keyword Phrases so how well your web site can do in the search engine rankings depends how hard the competition is working.

Timescales: SEO is for the Long Term

Good search engine rankings usually take time and effort to achieve. It may take any thing from a few months, 6 months is more usual and even up to a year in a highly competitive area, before a web site is properly listed by the search engines.

Pay Per Click (PPC) - Google Adwords

You ask a search engine such as Google to list your web site (in their sponsored links section – column on right hand side in Google) against selected key word search terms. Then if someone clicks the link to you web site in your advert you pay the going rate for that click (you usually fix a monthly budget to limit your spend). This is a way of getting immediate results but like all adverts, is lost when you stop paying.

Beware of Search Engine Optimisation Spamming

Search Engine Optimisation techniques fall into 2 distinct camps.

Regards

Michael Spencer, Managing Director.
michael@epsilis.co.uk
Epsilis - Website Designers
47 Farthing Drive
Letchworth Garden City
Hertfordshire (Herts)
SG6 2TR
UK

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Web Design and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) covering Hertfordshire (Herts) and Bedfordshire (Beds)