Search engine optimisation (SEO)

 
How to be found in the
ever expanding internet

A single web page can be likened to a grain of sand on a beach. Someone recently estimated that there are some 2 million NEW WEB PAGES being created  EVERY DAY. So how is it that some web sites continually rank close to the top search results at sites like Google, Yahoo, Alta Vista etc?

Let me first say what is not the answer. It has nothing to do with luck. It has little to do with paying $100 to a submission service to submit your site to 3,000 obscure, never heard of search engines. Nor is a few dozen "keywords" embedded into a web page going  to get you there. There is no simple answer but it can be done and at surprisingly little extra cost.

What is required, if you are to have any chance of those top listing positions, is a carefully considered strategy, that must permeate the web site from the first keystroke to the last GIF file. The site must be designed from beginning to end with the desired outcomes in mind.

So what are these strategies, you ask. 

Well for starters, we prefer not to use the term "Search Engine Optimisation", as we (nor anyone else) can optimise search engines. A better description of what we do is web site Search Engine Preparation in that we prepare web sites with all the design elements that search engines like to find in order to create their web indexes and that they use to decide which web sites appears on page 1 and which are buried on page 101. 

While it would seem nice if we simply listed the procedures for our process, experience has taught that to do so would likely not help you achieve optimal results. It really is a case of experience and "understanding" what is required as opposed to "reading the instructions".

When you become a client of ours we will not only be creating a number of web pages for you but will also be incorporating the essential elements of our strategies into the design from start to finish. These are sensible strategies that are "search engine friendly" as apposed to short lived "tricks" that attempt to deceive or manipulate results artificially. Our design strategies will lead to content rich, easy to navigate websites that search engines will be able to index fully without impediment.

TIP: If a few hours of our time are beyond your budget and you feel you must attempt what we do yourself, here is some advice....

"To achieve favourable listing on any search engines, start by constructing web pages that are worthy of those favourable listings".  Cryptic maybe, but absolutely true. If you want to appear on page 1 of Google when someone searches for "Widget Winders", then you really should have a web site packed with lots of information about "Widget Winders". Remember the old saying, "you cant make a purse out of a sow's ear" (apologies to all pigs).

Here is PROOF:

If you require proof that our methods are valid and will give results, here it is. Seeing is believing. We are also able to demonstrate similar success with many of our clients web sites.

Search engine ranking for this web site as at 1st April 2004. Paid for positions at the beginning if search results have been discounted from the "position" results here. We have not paid any search engine or index to be included in their results let alone given any preferential ranking.

For the term: "web designer sydney"   Page    Paid For Position
www.google.com  1 NO
www.sensis.com.au 1 NO
www.anzwers.com.au 1 NO
http://au.altavista.com/ 2 NO
www.webwombat.com.au 1 NO
www.excite.com 2 NO
http://ninemsn.com.au/ 1 NO

 What do you think this quality of results would we worth to your business ???

While these results were not "paid for" listings, there are circumstances that such paid for services can form a valid element of a structured marketing strategy. Some of our clients are enjoying great results using the Google AdWords program but as a word of caution, this is a complex area with many traps for the inexperienced.  We are happy to advise you regarding this.

A Word on SPAM:  "Don't"

Some SEO strategists promote various Search Engine Spamming techniques to achieve results (although they won't call it that). This may involve numerous specialised "doorway" or "gateway" pages, meaningless repetition of keywords (keyword stuffing), disguised text (white text on white background), or other methods that result in meaningless and nonsensical pages. These techniques are rapidly losing effectiveness as the major search engines introduce their own strategies to defend against SEO spamming. In fact it is now quite possible for a web site to be heavily penalised or even banned outright for use of some of these techniques.

WebStart Design does not use these techniques, yet we regularly achieve excellent results for our clients.

 

Our favorite search engines...

Google

www.google.com 

   

 

"improve YOUR bottom line - with a WebStart web design"

  

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