Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO, is a combination of techniques designed to improve the ranking (position) of a website in Search Engine results, known as the Search Engine Ranking Position, or SERP.

Typically the higher a website appears in the Search results list the more visitors it will receive and will lead to increased business.

For businesses that rely heavily on Search-based leads (e.g. Google searches) SEO is a critical business task to generate more leads.

Put simply, SEO is the art of tuning web pages (on-page) and performing tasks outside of the website itself (off-page), for example use of Social Media, to increase a website’s ranking (SERP).

Website content should be regularly modified to ensure information is up-to-date which further increases the likelihood of a higher Search Engine position. Our licence-free CMS websites or an integrated blog (news) feature allows you to easily write new or updated content to improve your ranking positions for an almost unlimited number of search terms.

To ensure a website starts near the top of searches all web page elements must be properly coded and regularly reviewed, from a Search Engine perspective, to ensure it stays high in listings.

The algorithms that Search Engines use to order websites in the Search Listings are continually being extended and modified to ensure people find the material (websites) they are looking for. An example of this is the new Google Caffeine algorithm, end 2009, where they are now attributing more weight to live news stories and real-time changes in web pages to offset the use of twitter as a Search tool. This was designed to address the problem of reporting of the Hudson Plane crash (Jan 2009) which was reported on twitter within seconds and did not appear in Google until some six hours later.

This type of algorithm change means that expert SEO companies, like Somerset Web Services, will perform SEO tuning of their client websites to take advantage of the latest in Search Engine behaviour.

There are many different aspects to SEO that mean there is a not a “one-size-fits-all solution”. There are certain short term quick fix tasks that give the fastest return and are the most cost-effective. Other tasks are more complex and time consuming that will only be appropriate for businesses with larger budgets where website ranking above competitors is extremely important.

The best place to start with any SEO exercise is to know where your website currently stands from an SEO perspective.

Our SEO Health Check service will analyse over 40 points in your website and highlight areas of SEO weakness.

Most problems can be easily fixed by your web designer, or you if you have basic HTML and CSS skills. Alternatively, ask us and we’ll give you a highly competitive quote to fix them.

For more information please call one of our SEO specialists on 01823 353760.