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With millions of websites competing on the Internet for top search engine rankings, it should go without saying that website owners should be sure to commission web developers that are SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) smart from the very beginning of the web design project.
Surprisingly, many companies do not realise the significance of having their website developed and design to be read and understood by both search engines and human visitors. Companies get blind-sighted by designers that impress them with flashy presentations, impressive creative's and clever navigation techniques.
Many extraordinary looking websites are being launched onto the worldwide web daily. Impressive splashy entry pages and dazzling creative's demonstrate the creativity of the web designer, but unfortunately these websites do very little for the websites rankings in search engine results. Very often, the only objective that is achieved by these types of websites is that the person or company that designed the website is has unquestionable creative talent. As brilliant as these websites may look, unfortunately many of these are simply doing absolutely nothing for the company. It is surprising how few web designers today are taught the skill of optimising the websites that they design for search engine rankings.
From the start of the web development project, a website owner should commission an experienced search engine optimiser to prepare the website brief for the design company, thereby defining those essential elements that should be incorporated. Without properly configuring the page architecture, and content a website stands very little chance of being positioned anywhere of significance on search engine results pages.
There are more than one-hundred variables that search engines include as part of their ranking algorithm. Thus, website owners, web designers and marketers should take cognisance of the fact that it is simply not good enough to publish a fancy looking website onto the Internet and expect it to start attracting and converting customers in the hope of producing income from their new online presence.
It takes a substantial amount of research, skill and careful planning to create a website that will be recognised by search engines as relevant enough to rank anywhere on the first page of results. This alone does not guarantee that that the websites offers a user experience that satisfies the researcher's needs and eventually may convert the researcher into a customer.
Getting ranked highly on search engine results is not a quick fix. It is a process that requires a great deal of planning, editing and monitoring in order first climb into the top ranking positions and then to try to remain there. With the algorithms changing at will, there is no one technique ‘cast in stone' that will guarantee top rankings. If you want to reap the rewards, you need to invest time and effort into properly researching your competitor's position, and then carefully plan a strategy that will hopefully outrank them, while at the same time attracting niche targeted audiences.
Beware of companies promising to have websites ranked in the top ten results pages within weeks. Although some websites do rank much faster than others, those companies practicing spamming techniques may get websites ranking in a matter of weeks but, in return they can expect to be dropped from the rankings – or even worse, be blacklisted by the search engines within as little as six weeks.
Companies should be careful to approach search engine optimisation from an ethical, spam-free perspective if they want to thrive in this very competitive environment. Until such time that a website ranks highly, there certainly is a place for paid advertising (pay-per-click).
Blue Magnet Web Intellect is an Internet Marketing Training and Consulting company in South Africa offering Search Engine Marketing and SEO training and consulting services to new and existing website owners, developers and marketers. Visit http://www.bluemagnet.co.za for more information.
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