Search Engine Optimisation FAQs
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimisation is a process we use to increase the ranking of our clients websites in the search engines. This results in more potential customers visiting the website, driving increased sales and customer acquisition.
Search engine optimisation falls into two categories.
a) Engineering a website’s structure, content and code to achieve the highest possible rankings in the search engine results for commercially viable keywords and keyphrases.
b) Ongoing work which promotes your site in Google, for example getting backlinks for your website. This is most effective when the site has the appropriate on page optimisation.
How will my business benefit from search engine optimisation?
How long does it take to see results from SEO?
Within 2 to 6 weeks most of our clients have benefited from increases in their website rankings.
For more competitive online markets it is reasonable to expect a time scale of 6 to 12 months to achieve first page positions.
Pricing
We are transparent in the way we price our work. In addition to the monitoring and reporting deliverables we always give you a breakdown of the exact work which has been undertaken so you can see the value on your marketing spend.
Do You Have to Make Changes to Our Site?
Most of the changes that we make to your site will be to the source code and server configuration and therefore not visible to your end users.
Changes to the look of your site will most likely only be necessary if your site uses certain types of menu, frames, Javascript, dynamic content, flash or login protected pages. In most of these scenarios we can implement changes that do not affect the look of your site.
Where we see benefit in making changes that will affect how your website looks to your end users we show you how the changes will look on our test server and request your approval before making any live changes.
Why might I need to have extra elements added to my website?
Search engines use ‘spiders’ to find pages to put into their databases. The spider also collects information to help the search engines rank web pages.
As the spider is a computer program it can not interpret web pages in the same way that we can. It has to look for specific ‘tags’ which tell it about the web page and what is on the web page. For example it cannot look at an image and know what the image is of, therefore we add information to tell the spider what the image is. This allows the spider to give the web page a better ranking.
If these elements are so important, why didn't they get added when my site was originally designed?
Although recently web designers are improving their approach to search engine friendly web design, it is really a distinct area that requires different knowledge and expertise. Most of our clients are very please with their web designer - the site designer is a highly skilled and creative person whose job is to put your ideas on the web. However generally, the designer has not pursued understanding in search engine optimisation and don't think about it while pursuing a great looking design.
In addition search engines are also constantly changing their ranking criteria in order to help prevent manipulation of their search tools. Often, website designers are not fully up to date with changes to search engines.
Does every page of my website need to be optimised?
Not every page needs to be optimised. However it is each page on your website is an entry point or ‘landing page’ for visitors so needs to be considered.
Importantly, all pages of your website work together to form a common theme, which is considered by search engines when ranking sites.
In addition, we use methods to tell the search engines which pages are the least important. This helps increase the rank of your most important pages – the ones that increase your business.
Can you guarantee a number #1 position in the search engines?
There are no search engines firms that can guarantee a number #1 position or specific ranking for your site for a given keyword phrase in the organic search engine results. This is because there are too many factors to be 100% certain - the search engines changing their ranking algorithms, efforts made by competitors, and new sites being added to the Web.
Attaining a specific ranking in the search engines is analogous to overseeing a portfolio. A good financial advisor will monitor the stock market and other indicators, and make sure your portfolio is managed to the best of their ability. However, your advisor cannot guarantee that your portfolio will be at a specific value or even that the amount will be up at all by a given date.
Will You Need to Access Our Web Server?
Yes, we will need access to your web server in order optimise specific web pages.
Where we see benefit in making changes that will affect how your website looks to your end users we show you how the changes will look on our test server and request your approval before making any live changes.
How often will I receive search engine ranking reports?
Our reports detail the organic traffic to your website and the ranking in Google for specific keywords and key phrases.
In addition to the monitoring and reporting deliverable we always give you a breakdown of the exact work which has been undertaken so you can see the value on your marketing spend.
You will receive a report monthly.
However, in our experience monthly reports do not really cover the information requirements of our clients so we tend to be in communication with our clients in person and over the phone a lot more!
How will I know if my business increases as a result of top rankings?
We will install analytics on your website, set them up and work closely with you to ensure that we track the goals that matter to the success of your business.
What about your past results? Do you provide references and testimonials?
Yes, you can view testimonials here.
Can search engine optimisation techniques be applied to any website?
We have used our techniques on many different types of website. whether you use your site to inform your customers, generate sales and leads or something else we have done search engine optimisation with a similar site.
