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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