Search Engine Optimisation Basics

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Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is still one of the most overlooked and under utilised means of advertising a website, and even many web development companies seem to have trouble understanding it and applying it to the websites they design and develop.

Search Engine Optimisation: Back to Basics

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is still one of the most overlooked and under utilised means of advertising a website, and even many web development companies seem to have trouble understanding it and applying it to the websites they design and develop. SEO is simply the process whereby a website is designed and developed with a view to it being well indexed on one or more search engines. 

Search engines are the cornerstone of your website marketing campaign because the majority of websites are still found via search engines.  Here are some commonly asked questions about SEO:

Is it free? 

For the most part adding your site to a search engine is still free, although with the huge number of websites now going live the wait for your site to appear on that search engine can be long (several months).  This is especially true of International search engines, many of whom have introduced paid “express submissions”.  These can be value for money, but be careful.

Submit to 15,000,000 search engines for free?

Don’t you believe it.  I do not recommend any company that uses these tools to submit their website to search engines.  These services can spam search engines with your URL and effectively get you banned or certainly prevent you from submitting your site again under controlled conditions.  Submit your site to search engines one at a time.  Remember: do it once and do it right!

What are the tricks then?

There are several key things, which need to be considered:

1. Domain name.  Perhaps the most easily overlooked, a domain name that “says it all” about your business is really the first step
2. Meta tags.  While not the answer to your prayers, they are vital to good search engine rankings
3. Keyword density and layout.  Attention to keyword density in your both your meta tags, and site text is essential. 

Another thing to remember: search engine optimize every page in your site separately, and relevant to the topic of that page.