Ensuring your website is looked at - WEBSITE MARKETING via the Internet and an introduction to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) & the Web Design trade-off
Please note that Website marketing is only one way to get your website noticed and may play no part, a large part or the entire part of promoting your web presence
Please refer to http://www.webcouk.co.uk/marketing.asp which contains a short paragraph on each of the following:
- Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
- Link Building and Directories
- Email Campaigns
- Advertising Spots
- Pay per Click
SEO - Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Web Site Design
WEBcouk adopt consensus based good working practises at all times within our website development. There is however an acknowledged trade-off between web design and SEO goals for all websites. Our website developers can only work with commonly accepted SEO advice and guidance; and as technology is continually improving we are always revising our methods for developing websites. At the time of developing your website, we will adhere to accepted working practises as much as possible, (please note that these working practises are not supplied by a single authoritative body as one does not exist - they are the consensus opinions of a number of SEO consultants, all of whom have to constantly second guess Google, Yahoo, MSN etc).
Initial SEO work vs Ongoing SEO Process
It is important to separate the initial task undertaken by the website developers to ensure that your website is search engine optimised, i.e. the major search engines can access your website for analysis purpose; and the ongoing process of search engine optimisation in order to improve rankings and as importantly preserve them once they are achieved.
Initial SEO work
All good website designers as standard should perform the initial task of SEO together with the initial registration with the major search engines. Some, including WEBcouk, offer ongoing SEO services with a view to improving rankings of (and therefore traffic to) your website over time.
When we design a website, we try to ensure that the way in which the website has been created is as search engine friendly as commercially possible. Initial registration is a process of placing customer domain names within an initial search engine registration program to ensure that the website is indexed.
A Collaborative Effort
Unlike many other website design companies, we simply wish to be realistic and the truth is this, whilst we try to ensure your website has all the basic features to be search engine friendly, it is actually a collaborative effort to ensure the right amount of time and effort is allocated, to help promote your website.
Ongoing SEO work
By common consensus, search engines concentrate on six major things when deciding how highly to rank your website. The total set of rules they use are closely guarded secrets, more precious than the recipe for Coca Cola!
- 1. The keywords and phrases behind the scenes of your website identified as being important to those looking for your site. These are typically coded by the website developer in the Title & body text plus the Meta Description & Keywords
- 2. An analysis of the visible content (textual copy) of the website using some very clever rules that are difficult to fool - in essence the search engines try to determine relevance of content within the overall context of what they think the website is about
- 3. An assessment of how popular your website is based on how many other web sites are prepared to link with yours without you having to return the favour. These are called inbound one-way links. In order to move your website as far up the ranks as possible – you must try very hard to get other websites to link to yours in this one-way fashion. The trick is to make your website as useful and relevant as you can in order to encourage and attract others to link to yours without being asked to.
- 4. Reciprocal links - I'll link to your website if you'll link to mine - are also counted but with less weight than one-way links as these are perceived to be easier to obtain.
- 5. How popular your website is on a number of other types of site, i.e. Directory Listings, web blogs and forums
- 6. Traffic – an assessment of the number of visitors to your website
You can see from the above that some things are within your control, i.e. the keywords you want to highlight as important, reciprocal two-way links and directory submissions.
However, how a search engine rates your content together with how many other sites, directories and individuals are voluntarily referencing your website are not.
Some independent reference material:
Google - What's an SEO?
Wikipedia - Search Engine Optimisation
Article copyright WEBcouk 2008
If you would like to discuss your website design requirement or revise an existing website design proposal over the phone, then please call WEBcouk between 8:00am and 6:00pm, Monday to Friday.
Free Phone:0800 5426 555 or
Fax to:0870 740 3436
Click here to email WEBcouk and our dedicated, friendly team will ensure your request is dealt with promptly.
WEBcouk does it all - Professional Website Design - Flexible Editor Systems (Content Management) - Logo Creation - Search Engine Implementation and Optimisation - Bespoke Programming - Online Shops / Ecommerce Solutions - Business Hosting - Web Statistics - Business Email and Domain Names.
'Stylish Websites at Suitable Prices'
