What is Search Engine Optimisation?
Search Engine Optimisation or SEO, for short is a subset of website marketing, focuses on optimizing all of the aspects that affect rankings in the major search engines in order to maximize visitor traffic. Optimization involves researching the right terms to target, modifying the site to be search-engine friendly and marketing/promotion of the site to improve link popularity. Once a website has been made and developed website owners often wonder why their newly designed site is not pulling in the traffic. This is where Search engine optimisation plays an vital role in bringing in targetted vistors and produces those important sales.
Why does my website need SEO?
The majority of web traffic is driven by the major commercial search engines - Yahoo!, MSN, Google
Allo WebMaster, & AskJeeves (although AOL gets nearly 10% of searches, their engine is powered by Google's results). 80% of people well go to a search engine to find something they need from the internet.If your site cannot be found by search engines or your content cannot be put into their databases, you miss out on the incredible opportunities available to websites provided via search - people who want what you have visiting your site. Whether your site provides content, services, products, or information, search engines are a primary method of navigation for almost all Internet users.
Search queries, the words that users type into the search box which contain terms and phrases best suited to your site, carry extraordinary value. Experience has shown that search engine traffic can make (or break) an organization's success. Targeted visitors to a website can provide publicity, revenue, and exposure like no other. Investing in Search engine optimisation, whether through time or finances, can have an exceptional return of investment (ROI).
Professional SEO vs. Do-It-Yourself SEO
As in many other areas of web development, a long-standing argument exists between those who feel that learning and practicing SEO should be done in-house, vs. those who feel it is best left to the professionals. There are advantages to either side, and it's best to weigh these against each other when making a final decision:
Advantages of Working with a Professional SEO
- Diverse Experience - Professionals with several years of SEO experience under their belts can tell you what to expect from the search engines as you conduct the optimization process. They can also interpret and understand rankings data and "hiccups" in the results that may indicate certain trends or strategies that should be implemented or avoided.
- Pre-Existing Relationships - Many SEOs have contacts inside the SEO industry to folks with experience in certain fields and expertise in unique areas (i.e. press releases, article distribution, directories, etc.) that can have a great impact on the success of your efforts. Several SEOs even have personal relationships with the folks at the search engines, although the use of these contacts is very rare and SE representatives pride themselves on not showing favoritism.
- Top SEO ProKnowledge - Professionals will have the ability to quickly identify topical communities and the most popular and relevant sites in them, thus saving time when link building. SEOs also have considerable experience with link acquisition and will recognize the requirements of certain sites for paid links, link requests, etc.
- Identifying Linkable Content - SEOs are often masters of crafting and launching content. Not only can they identify the content most likely to get links from the specific web community, they're also experienced in how to package and promote it.
- Fixing Possible Problems - Professionals are competent at identifying and managing issues that can cause a lack of indexing, low rankings, or penalties from the search engines. This is a skill that can be very hard to develop without years of practice and experience. If you have a ranking issue, an SEO can be of great value.
- Time Savings - SEO can be an exceptionally time-consuming endeavor. An experienced SEO has the processes and systems of optimization down to a science, and can use that efficiency to provide better service in less time.
Advantages of DIY SEO
- Complete Control - With personal responsibility comes complete control for each element of your site's progress. There can be no question as to who or what created a link or modified a document.
- Learn from Your Actions - The ebb and flow of the SERPs will quickly teach an amateur SEO what works and what doesn't. Certain links, timing, and on-page changes will be fully visible and recordable, making it a learning process.
- Personal Responsibility - Your success or failure will depend entirely on your own efforts, narrowing responsibility and preventing overlaps in work or issues of blame.
- Cost Savings - Doing SEO yourself means you don't have to pay someone else. If you find that your time is less expensive than hiring an outsourced provider, do-it-yourself SEO can be a great way to save money.
With these pieces of information in mind, you're prepared to make an informed decision. Remember, too, that many SEOs offer consulting services, which provide you with a strategic plan that can be implemented and a helpful consultant to provide advice as needed on the project. This type of arrangement may offer a good balance if you're torn about which direction to choose. Look for costs between £100-£300 per hour, depending on the experience and notoriety of the consultant.
Finally, if you opt for do-it-yourself-SEO, be aware that are many, many parts of the SEO process not covered by this guide. SEO is a practice that has even the most respected professionals learning and researching every day to keep with trends on the web and algorithmic shifts in the search engines. A business or site owner will certainly want to join several SEO web communities and keep up-to-date with information and best practices from the industry experts.
Our SEO Services
All our Search engine optimisation is currently done by our inhouse SEO Specialists. Our SEO department is currently in development and we are not providing SEO services to the general public. At present only private clients currently using our Web hosting services will benefit from our expertise. For more information about when are services are more widely availiable please contact us and we will be able to provide further information
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