Funny thing search engine optimisation: it's a weird combination of techy knowledge, marketing nous and skilful copywriting. Here we find ourselves in real smoke and mirrors territory - eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog - that appears to be the stuff of search engine optimisation.
Some will tell you that Google (for example) takes into account 250+ signals when determining a site's ranking; others say that it's less than 100. In the absence of any definitive and comprehensive guidance from Google, Yahoo and MSN, I haven't found anyone who claims they categorically know what it takes. What I do know is that in an ideal world, your website should be built from the ground up with your search engine optimisation requirements spelt out and kept firmly in mind.
Anyway, here's what I wish someone had told me when I commissioned my first website..
• Having your company name in the domain name is not usually very search engine friendly, better instead to buy a domain name that helps prospects track you down • Don't be impossibly ambitious: create search terms where you stand a real chance of claiming ownership
• Get the designer, the writer and the website builder working together from day one
• Keep Flash content to an absolute minimum
• Having your company name in the domain name is not usually very search engine friendly, better instead to buy a domain name that helps prospects track you down • Don't be impossibly ambitious: create search terms where you stand a real chance of claiming ownership
• Get the designer, the writer and the website builder working together from day one
• Keep Flash content to an absolute minimum
• Use as much html code as possible
• Ensure that your keywords and phrases appear in the right places, on the right number of occasions throughout the site
Follow those fundamental search engine optimisation rules and hey presto! you'll be on your way to the top in no time at all.
• Ensure that your keywords and phrases appear in the right places, on the right number of occasions throughout the site
Follow those fundamental search engine optimisation rules and hey presto! you'll be on your way to the top in no time at all.