Web Site Optimization, don't get lured into spending money on software and
services You don't Need by Skye Conroy
What is search engine optimization? It is constructing a web site that will
attain a high ranking in the major search engines. This is done by using a
combination of techniques which will appeal to the algorithms used by the
search engines to rank web sites and web pages. The reason people seek out
companies that offer this service or software products that claim to do the
same, is because finding the formula that delivers high ranking in the search
engines is often very difficult and time consuming. This is because the search
engines are always changing and updating their formulas.
What search engines want and what marketers and search engine optimization
services want are often very different things. The search engines want pages
that deliver what the user is searching for and not necessarily a marketing
message. They therefore try to set up formulas called algorithms that prevent
marketers from fooling the engines into thinking that a web site or web page is
delivering what the end user is searching for; when in reality that web page
may just be filled with advertisements and not information.
People use the internet to search for information and to do research. They are
not looking for advertising messages. But on the other hand marketers and
search engines optimization services want to get their product or service out
there and want to expose it to as many people as possible, whether they are
looking for it or not. This being the case the search engines are constantly
trying to keep the information they are providing free of advertising, unless
that is what their user seeks.
How to get your web site ranked high becomes an on going task. If you are not
designing your own web site then you may well be looking for a company or a
software product that can help you out. But beware, some companies and or
products may try to use methods which are against the search engine rules,
which could result in getting your web site banned.
What are the search engines looking for in order to give a web site or web page
a high ranking? they look for what their users look for, good information. A
web site that is providing good information about the subject that the person
using the search engine is seeking. This is referred to as content. If this is
what your web site is providing then you stand a good chance of gaining a good
rank.
However their are more elements to page rank than good content. You also need
to be able to configure your web pages in a way that the search engines can
relate to. This entails the actual structure of the web site or page. The
structure of every web site and or page has a number of elements that relate to
the computer language that it is written in known as HTML. This is the language
that allows web pages to be viewed in browsers and search engines to find them
. When a web page is being built it has something called keywords that are used
as a short hand way of describing it's content and subject. The search engine
spiders( the computer programs that go out to the world wide web and look for
web pages) use these keywords as a way of locating what the end user (the
person searching) is looking for.
Keywords and there placement in the web page are important in the way the
spider interprets what your web page is all about. Marketers and search engine
optimization services have tried various methods to fool the spiders by
creating what are called landing pages or doorway pages. These web pages have
nothing really to do with the web site. They are simply meaningless pages
loaded with keywords and computer generated text. Once a visitor arrives on
this page they are then redirected to the real web site, which if often not
what they were looking for. Search engines will detect these types of pages,
perhaps not immediately, but they will eventually and may decide to penalize
your web site for using them.
Another method of achieving a high page rank in the search engines is to
develop links that come into your web site from other web sites. Search engines
look at these links from other web sites, and if they come from good quality
web sites they can increase your page ranking. Once again marketers in an
effort to circumvent this sometimes use a quick fix. They create what are
called link farms.
As the name implies, these are a network of sites where links are created for
the sole purpose of increasing page rank. The links all link back to the web
site the marketers are promoting. The search engines have ways of evaluating
links so a strategy like this will not last long and may be in violation of the
search engine rules, in which case your site could be suspended or banned.
Still other methods include cold calling and email spamming. Cold calling is of
course a mass marketing method that has been used for years. Armed with very
little knowledge about the person they are calling the marketers/ search engine
optimization companies attempt to convince a web site owner that they can
improve their web site's ranking and attract traffic to their web site, for a
price of course. Sending unsolicited email or spam is another mass marketing
method. I'm sure everyone has at least five or ten of those a day, if not more
offering everything from Viagra to hair growth products.
Search engine optimization companies that are using these kind of methods are
not the kind of company you want to be doing business with. They are
concentrating on methods that may get temporary results but overlook the bigger
picture. If you work at delivering what the search engines want ,you will not
have to resort to these kinds of methods.
Two other methods that are sometimes employed by search engine optimization
companies are mirror sites or duplicate content web sites. Using multiple
domains with the same or duplicate content. Different keywords are placed in
the site to make it appear that they are not exactly the same but the sites
basically have the same information.
Search engine optimization company hosted web sites are also presented as a
method of boosting page rank. The search engine optimization company or service
proposes to create a new web site for you or take over hosting yours. Never let
your web site be taken out of you immediate control. Once you give up control
the search engine optimization company will be able to dictate terms and fees
and you will be helpless. If your payments are not forth coming they can shut
down your web site and or direct away from your site. The lesson here is that
good content, keywords and links are important elements in promoting your web
site, if they are used properly and do not violate the search engine rules. You
as a web site owner should know about these things. Why? because if you choose
to use a search engine optimization company to help you promote your web site
or decide to buy software that claims to provide search engine optimization for
your web site you need to beware of the potential problems and pit falls. If
you are informed you will make good decisions and save money.
So ask questions of any company you are thinking of hiring and if you are
considering software, check out the techniques and methods they are using and
how often they update their program. The search engine world is in constant
motion, your search engine optimization company or software must keep current
on every change they make or you will be out of date and wasting money very
quickly.
Can you optimize your web site for the search engines by yourself? Yes. A good
article that is available free and outlines the steps and Subscriptions for do it
yourself optimization is Maximizing Your Keyword Placement, by A.P. Taylor. It
can be found at think avenue.com.
Remember you as the web site owner always need to know the basics of how your
web site works on the world wide web. You don't need to be a complete technical
expert on every facet of the web site but you should understand all the basics.
If you do you will not fall prey to all the tempting advertising messages that
search engine optimization services offer.
Copyright webdesignpartners,inc. 2006
About the Author
Skye Conroy works for www.websitedesignpartners.com, the site offers help and
free information and Subscriptions for small businesses wishing to market
themselves on the internet. Everything from e-commerce to business plans.
|
