Search Engine Optimization
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What is an optimized page?
The basic theory is that a page should be constructed to suit what the search engine software judges to be relevant to the required search term. This means that the page should be well constructed (i.e. conform to accepted standards), should have a logical layout and that the title, description and text content should be relevant to the required search term. If a page is constructed that contravenes any of these criteria then search engine software may list the page low. This isn't rocket science, it's obvious that these criteria should be adhered to and any web designer worth his salt does this as a matter of course - it's simply good practice.
Don't believe all the claims you readOften seen on web designers' websites are testimonials from customers saying something like "I'm number one in Google!" - It sounds good, and as proof you may find a link with a search query string to Google, that will forward you to the listing on Google where the site may indeed be at number one. However, have a look at the query string (i.e. the search terms). What you'll often find are very narrow search terms - for example "widget supplier Inverness". And here's the problem - how many widget suppliers are there in Inverness? If there are only 4 then it's obviously not difficult to get a high listing. And how much traffic outside Inverness is the site likely to receive? It's easy to get a good listing with very narrow search terms, but how useful is it? |
Can optimization provide a number one listing?
Possibly, but there's a problem here too. Even if you get to number one with a useful search term, you will still not show at the top of the listing since most major search engines now use pay per click feeds that will always be listed above yours. But of course they're paying to be listed at number one and you're not - it's free, or is it? Well no, nothing is free. If you have to pay someone to optimize your pages, or even if you spend time doing it yourself, then it's not free.Checking Ranking
If you wish to check the ranking of any web page listed in Google you can do so by downloading and installing Google's toolbar. The toolbar displays the text, "PageRank", with a little green meter below to display the rank level. If you mouse over the "PageRank" text, a tooltip informs you that "PageRank is Google's measure of the importance of this page (5/10)" where the numbers in brackets display the rank as a score out of 10.High ranking pages are desirable but don't guarantee a high listing for a particular search term since page relevance is obviously taken into account. High ranking can be obtained by seeking out sites that are willing to link to your site. A website owner can do this for themselves or can ask a web designer to do it - but it's time consuming and therefore expensive.
Using the PageRank tool can give you some interesting results (apart from finding your own ranking). You'll find that the web sites of many web designers, who boast of the effectiveness of their search engine optimization services, rank very low in Google. Why, you might wonder, don't they work their magic on their own pages?
Another interesting thing you'll notice is that if you note the listing position for a particular page on your site, then change so much as word on that page (or for that matter don't change anything), then often after the page has been routinely spidered - the listing position will have changed. So what you must ask yourself is - Just how useful is a web page that can't be altered for fear of losing position? Isn't the whole point of a website to display fresh content on a regular basis?
What are the lessons?
If you hire a web designer to construct a website then you have the right to expect that they will use good practice to create pages that will meet the criteria that search engine listing software expects. However, if you ask a web designer if they can improve your site's listing then you're really asking the wrong question. You should ask how they can increase your website traffic - because that's what you really want and there are ways of doing this that don't involve search engine optimization.© 2000-2008 smallbizonline website design Tel: 01501 771106 Privacy Policy Terms & Conditions
