Great web design is born more
from great discussion than great
design; websites should evolve
through discussion, not simply be
produced.
Getting on top
We all want to be at the top of the Google/MSN/Yahoo/Ask search engines lists but that just isn’t possible. Optimising the ranking of your website is both complex and can be a waste of your time, particularly if you don’t really know what you’re doing. Some of the top companies have dedicated teams who aim to outsmart search engine companies and increase their ranking, but the likes of Google always stay one step ahead chopping and changing their minds as to what criteria they view as important.
We have a sound understanding of search engines and can optimise your current site or ensure anything we create for you is optimised. There are no free shortcuts to the top of the list; we employ a range of techniques that will contribute significantly to the overall success of your search placement. There are always going to be two givens with search engines the first being that they will prioritise frequently visited sites, so if you have a small retail outlet it is doubtful you’ll ever rise above Marks & Spencer and the second is that can never always plan for the weird and wonderful thing that the general public type into a search engine trying to find an organisation that does what you do.
A word of caution, commission search engine specialists with care, as it is possible to fill a website so full of ‘search friendly’ buzz words and phrases that your sales message gets lost, those who are truly at the top of the search engine game will however ensure this is not the case, check their marketing credentials. We can carry out effective basic search engine optimisation from as little as £150, depending on the size of your site. We would however stress that we are marketing specialists, with a good understanding of search engine optimisation, but would not class ourselves as absolute search engine optimisation specialists.
For more information about Search Engine Optimisation or any of our services please get in touch.
Pay-Per-Click
The only shortcut to ensure your search engine ranking places you on top is to pay for it, with pay-per-click. Search engines such as Google and Yahoo are just like the rest of us in that they look to make money out of their services. They do this by offering enhanced listing which, if well managed, can provide a relatively inexpensive way of guaranteeing your website appears either at the top, or down the right hand side, on page one of their search results. It works on the basis that every time someone clicks on your site you pay them (Google, Yahoo etc) a small fee.
You choose a range of keywords/phrases, set a maximum budget and each time someone searches you will appear as a featured site. The more you pay the higher your ranking. Equally the cost will depend on what you pick as your key words. If you want to be top of the list for everyone who types in ‘Marketing’ you are likely to be heavily out of pocket and quickly too. If on the other hand you want to be top of the list for ‘Website designers in Yorkshire’ you’ll find you’ll get much better ‘hits’ and spend considerably less. Pay-Per-Click offers control and flexibility enabling you to instantly activate and deactivate the campaign, you can change/add keywords and resubmit your budget one a day by day, hour by hour basis, and you can even take the facility off for months at a time. Spending your money wisely takes time and skill. Our marketing experts can offer you advice and help you manage your pay-per-click campaign to ensure you get the maximum return from your budget.
For more general information on websites read our ‘Web Matters’ article
For a rough idea of Website development costs look at our ‘Website Cost Guidelines for SME’s’ information