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There are a number of steps that we can take to ensure that your website gets the best results possible in search engines.
1. Meta Tags
Firstly, when building the website, your developer will need to put into place a couple of things called META TAGS. These are the “description” and “keywords” for your site. A number of years ago these used to be what search engines used to index sites – they now use much more complex algorithms so META TAGs are almost irrelevant from this perspective, however it is still a good idea to cover all bases. The description META TAG is also used to display information about the site in the search engine results (shown below).
It is important to consult with your website developer so that they can determine the best description and set of keywords for your site.
2. Search Engine Submission
The second step is to submit the site to all the big search engines.
These can take anything from 24hrs to 3 months (depending on which search engine it is and the nature of the listing, directory listings usually take longer) until your site is "indexed" and starts coming up in search engine results.
3. Indexing
You should consider gaining a link to your site from another already indexed site - when you are linked from other sites it DRASTICALLY improves your results in search engines and also the speed at which you are initially indexed. So hopefully the results are seen soon after submission has taken place.
4. Monitoring
There are a number of ways to monitor your Search Engine standing. Google Webmaster tools and Google Analytics can be installed and used to monitor the search engine results and keyword hits on the site. These can be configured to regularly send reports, so you know how your site is doing. You should also use other methods to manually monitor your standings - regularly perform searches using different search engines to see where you come up, and employ other methods such as hit counters, enquiry forms etc, to monitor the general traffic flow to your site, and identify trends etc.
5. Link Building
If you would like to improve your search engine performance in the future, there are two ways to go about it:
- Get other sites to link to your site - you might do a link exchange deal with them. eg 'You link to me, I link to you' kinda thing which helps both sites in the long run.
and...
6. SEO Services and Products
- Employ the services of an SEO (search engine optimisation) company. These products/services vary greatly in price and actual content through the market. You should approach with much caution and get advice from a professional, or act on a recommedation, as incorrect proceedures in this area can actually harm your search engine standings, or in extreme cases even have you de-listed! Remember, the bigger the bells and whistles doesn't always mean the better the service!
I have used and can highly recommend the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services of RESEO, a local Melbourne company. Tell them I sent you!
Please note: This information has been provided by C-Squared Web Design to help you make informed decisions about your website requirements. This information has been written to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing the document and no guarantees are made to any specific points contained herein. Search Engine technology is a fast changing industry and whilst this information may be correct at time of writing the relevant technology may change at any point rendering some of this information out of date and/or incorrect. This information is copyright and may not be reproduced and distributed in any form (digital or printed) without my permission. Please ask if you have any queries. |
