SEO

Search Engine Optimisation

Women play a large part in the web design and search engine optimisation business - and in some ways, because women are better at multi-tasking, they often excell in this field. As there are no physical strength issues - ie all is accomplished on computer, this is an ideal occupation for creative and logical thinkers, ideal for a woman. But what exactly is search engine optimisation?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an absolute necessity for any small business hoping to make money with a website. Unless you have the advertising budget of an Amazon.com, the main way customers will learn about your web site is through a search engine. The first thing a search engine optimizer will do is ensure your site can be 'read' properly when search engine indexing programs, called 'spiders', come to visit. A site that can't be indexed will not appear in search engine results, which basically guarantees few people but your friends and family will find your site.

Some common problems that may prevent proper spidering of a website include: making a site entirely in Flash, which may look very nice, but doesn't give the search engine spider anything to 'read'; using a lot of fancy scripting on the page, pushing the important content further down the html page than a spider may look; and using scripted menus that may prevent some spiders from finding their way from one page of your site to another. These and other basic problems can be easily corrected by a knowledgeable optimizer.

Another basic issue a good search engine optimiser will fix is to make certain that important 'keywords' (the words customers use when searching for your products and services on the search engines) appear in the right places on each page. Putting key phrases in the page titles and headlines is helpful, as is optimizing the page text to mention specific phrases your potential customers are searching for. Many SEO services also include keyword research, where the optimizer finds out what the most commonly used search phrases are for your industry, so you know you're targeting the most effective keywords.

In addition to these 'on page' techniques, link building campaigns are an important part of many search engine optimisation programs. Some search engines base their result rankings in part on how many other sites link to yours. They assume if a site has a lot of links pointing to it, it must be an important site. It is very important to ensure your search engine optimisation company offers reputable link building services, because sites can sometimes be penalized for using linking patterns that the search engines determine are artificial. It's best to use link building optimisation that involves personal requests submitted to hand-picked, relevant sites, as compared to companies making outrageous promises about automated linking systems or exclusive link networks.

There are many other, more risky, search engine optimisation techniques offered by some companies. While taking risks may be worthwhile if you're in a very competitive and lucrative field, in general small business sites may do well to avoid them. If you're approached about SEO services by a salesperson who seems reluctant to reveal the techniques that will be used on your site, or who offers 'too good to be true' guarantees, it is in your best interest to keep asking questions until you find out whether or not their services include advanced or risky optimisation strategies. If you're interested in promoting a single business site as your sole internet presence, any reputable search engine optimizer will advise you to err on the side of caution.

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