Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of our frequently asked questions. If you can't find the answer to your question here then use our contact form and we'll get back to you straight away.
Q1. I've heard of Search Engines, but what do they do?
Search Engines are effectively an indexing system for the Internet. When a website is designed, the majority of them are categorically submitted to Search Engines like Yahoo, AOL, Lycos, Google, AskJeeves, MSN and AltaVista. These Search Engines act as a 'gateway points' to the Internet. They have become extremely popular with the vast majority of users looking for products and services.
back to topQ2. So what difference does it make if I am on the first page or the nth page?
This popularity has shown that your position within a Search Engine can boost your sales. if your company has been submitted to any one of the Search Engines, you should be able to see it by typing in your company name. However, only you and your clients may know your company name. The vast majority of users will only know the industry sector.
For example, Mr. Smith is looking for a TV to buy. His first stop could be the HIgh Street, however with the Internet taking off and the talk of many bargains available online, he decides. like many others, to use a Search Engine to find what he is looking for. He types in 'cheap TV' into the search box and is presented with 2,500 pages of results. Rather than looking through every single page of results, he is likely to click on the a link from the 1-4 page of the results list. This is why it is optimise your website so that it appears high up on the search results.
Mr.Smith is not unique in his user journey. Many-a-users use this same method time and time again to get what they are looking for. If your website is not optimised for Search Engines through keywords, metadata and the likes of it will be very difficult to benefit from the popularity of Search Engines.
Q3. Should I create a blog for SEO purposes?
This parrot that I talk to in the pet store told me that I should create a blog for search engine optimization purposes. Can you speak to this?
Blogs have no special powers of high rankings. What they do have (if done correctly) is fresh, unique content. Search engines do tend to like that, regardless of the format. If they know any given site is adding new articles on a frequent basis, they will come around often to index it. Blogs are certainly one way of easily adding new information to your site. Newsletters archived on your site can provide a similar benefit, as can archived press releases, or a popular forum.
back to topQ4. Should I add a robots follow meta tag to my pages?
The default for all search engine spiders is to automatically follow the links that it finds on any given page, which makes any "robots follow" tag redundant. If you *don't* want the search engine spider to follow the links, you can try the "no follow" tag, but it may or may not be obeyed by all robots.
The "revisit after" tag is not necessary, nor is it helpful. The search engine spiders work on their own timetable, and couldn't care less what your revisit tag says. I've heard that the tag was actually created for one specific search engine a long time ago, but I've never bothered to confirm it. At any rate, there's no need to clutter up your code with it as today's engines ignore it.
The "pinging" done by most blog software these days also seems to help get blog posts spidered and indexed very quickly, which is a plus. In addition, blog posts will also show up in blog searches such as Google's Blog search, and Technorati Blog searches.
back to topQ5. If I submitted my site and it's not showing up, does this mean it's been banned?
If the site you submitted doesn't have any deceptive qualities, then no, you're not banned or penalized. However, all the submissions in the world won't get your site listed or bring search engine traffic if there aren't links pointing to it from other sites -- and if it's not optimized for specific keyword phrases. As I've mentioned elsewhere submitting to search engines is not necessary nor even helpful. The search engines automatically find new pages on their own.
As with everything SEO related, the keys here are patience and time. If you don't have both of those, you might as well get out of the SEO game right now and simply buy your way into the search engines through PPC ads.
back to topQ6. What good is having a web site if it is not being seen?
90% of Internet buyers are turning to search engines to find the products they want. Google alone conducts over 150 million searches a day. In fact, recent studies show that purchasers are about 12 times more likely to buy your products or services after finding your site through a search engine than all other traditional advertising methods combined (including trade shows, print ads, direct mail, radio, and even television)... at a fraction of the cost! Why? Simply put, when a consumer finds you through a search engine they are ready to buy. With traditional forms of media, you are broadcasting a message hoping to reach the right consumer at the right time.
As searchers generally only explore the first two pages in the search results, achieving high rankings on the search engines will make an enormous difference in the amount of visitor traffic your site receives.
back to topQ7. Why doesn't my Web site rank very well in the search engines?
Having your web site rank high in the search engines is a science and the rules for search engine optimisation (SEO) are always changing.
Here are some reasons why you may be having poor ranking:
- Incorrect usage of the TITLE tag or no TITLE tag content.
- Too many occurrences of the same word in a page (spamming).
- Missing H1 and H2 heading tag content.
- Missing ALT tag content in your graphic links.
- No meaningful content in the first 250 characters on each page.
- Less than 200 words per page.
- Very few pages on your website.
- No links from other websites to your website (link popularity).
Q8. How does the Search Engine find websites?
There are two ways a search engine can find a website to add to its database. The first and most direct method is to accept submissions from website designers and optimisers. Most search engines have a "submit your URL" section inviting submissions from Internet users.
The second, and least obvious method of finding websites is to send a "spider" to follow each and every link on, off, and through a website. New URLs encountered by the spider will be added to the database. In this way, some search engines will grow very rapidly.
back to topQ9. How long does it take for SEO results to kick in?
The amount of time required to see results of search engine optimisation work range anywhere from 2 weeks to a few months. This is dependent on how often search engines update their index and subsequently re-rank sites. The Google Dance for example is almost a spectator sport among the SEO community.
back to topQ10. Does every page of my website really need to be optimised?
In a word - yes. Every page of a website can be a potential entry point or 'landing page' for visitors. You can't predict which page or pages will be ranked the best for specific keywords. As such, each page must be individually optimised for optimal ranking. Collectively, all pages of your website reinforce the common "theme" of the site, which also can help boost ranking. Don't assume that your home page is the only important page on your site.
back to topQ11. Isn't This Something We Can Do Ourselves?
Large amounts of time, attention and expertise are needed to achieve the desired results in such a constantly changing niche industry. The expense of adding personnel and necessary resources alone would quickly outweigh the cost of hiring our company, which is why outsourcing SEO is by far the most popular method. Remember, Strategy Internet Marketing has already established strong, ongoing relationships with all the top search engines, and has experience professionals who are constantly researching the changes and trends in this dynamic field.
back to topPlease also see our 'Search Engine Optimisation - Glossary terms for an explaination of exact SEO terms.
Should you have any outstanding questions which have not been answered above please do contact us. We understand that you may have questions prior to committing to anything which is why we will be more than willing to co-operate at no charge.
Tel: 020 8959 8337
Email: info@indigoideas.co.uk
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