Could we manage without search engines.They are extremely powerful tools, whether being used by the ordinary person wanting to find a local florist or a scientist trying to save the world.They can also be an extremely powerful tool for organisations using the web to market their products or services.
The world’s best-known search engine has been around since 1997 when Stanford University colleagues, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, decided to change the name of their search engine from ‘BackRub’ to Google.The name relates back to the mathematical term for the number 1 to the power of 100, ‘googol’, which they saw as an appropriate description of their search engine’s capacity to provide access to a limitless amount of information.And they were right!
Research from AOL shows that a page one position one ranking can deliver 14 times more traffic than a position 10 ranking can.In the same vein, findings from the 2006 iProspect Search Engine User Behaviour Study revealed that sixty two per cent of searchers will click on a link on the first page of results from a search engine. For any business, achieving a position one, page one ranking on search engines is the ultimate marketing prize. And that can be achieved through appropriate web design and search engine optimisation (SEO).
Search engine optimisation is the term used to describe the strategies and techniques that websites used to get high rankings in the free listing sections of Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. In simple terms, it is the generation of traffic to a website by building incoming links through a variety of sources.Links can be accummulated through internal links in the website itself as well as by linking out to others.
Appointing a well-established web design company is the first step to making the most of SEO opportunities.The environment is in a constant state of flux and extremely complex, so success is not instantaneous. An SEO strategy needs to be carefully planned and well executed with ongoing evaluation.
GTP iCommerce is a leading Perth web design company and has, over the past 13 years, built a reputation for SEO success.The company has developed a structured approach to SEO, which covers a range of areas such as marketing objectives, market definition, keyword analysis, site map creation, SEO articles, web traffic analysis and regular evaluation.
One of the most vital steps in an SEO programme is to identify and target the most appropriate keywords and phrases, says Dale Carter, managing director of Perth web design company, GTP iCommerce.”It is surprising how many websites don’t contain the keywords and search phrases that someone would use to look for their type of business.Once the site has been designed and coded with the best keywords to make it search-engine friendly, it is important to then build links from other websites back to the original site.Traffic is generated through these links, and the search engines recognise them when working out the rankings. Google uses a very complex algorithm to rank websites and it is important to build as many internal and two-way external links as possible,” he said.
There are many ways of building links, including setting up reciprocal links with compatible websites, linking to credible web resources, regular newsletters, downloads, blog posts and article writing.
GTP iCommerce is prepared to put its money where its mouth is, guaranteeing its clients a page one ranking for its clients’ websites using its SEO methodology.Now, doesn’t that sound better than a backrub!