With millions of websites competing on the 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.

There are many impressive websites entering cypersace daily. An award winning website might be regarded as an accolade for a web designer, however that does not mean that the website is going to be winning the company many rewards unless it is ranked highly in the search results pages. 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

 

Google Ads Do Not 'Pop Up'
Those who know me all to well are aware of my irritating resistance to the word "pop up" in connection with Google AdWords ads.That was one of my many suggested corrections to a recent story on Google ads over at The Register, for example.My take is that slipping the term "pop up" in journalistic pieces about Google (as in, "and for only a dollar or so, Mr. Neufeldt's ad would pop up on Google when searchers typed the words 'truck tires'...") is part of an ongoing, insidious campaign by sellers <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300956033"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300956033" border="0"/></a></div>
YouTube Copyright "Fair Deal" Methodology
Stale news, but interesting:Jeremy Toeman received a notice from UMG regarding his posting of a video on YouTube that included copyrighted content (U2's Beautiful Day) in the background. The offer from the copyright owner, facilitated through YouTube, basically said, go ahead and leave the video up if you wish, but we'll be showing advertising on it.To some this might sound heavy-handed; to others, a nice compromise. I tend to think the latter. As Toeman writes, "I'm basically being encouraged b <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300956032"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300956032" border="0"/></a></div>
"Drat!" Say Big Online Media Players as Popular Opinion Mandates Run-of-Network Sameness...
Yahoo, under pressure from Congress, Google, consumers, and their own shadow, decides to allow consumers to opt out of targeted advertising across the portal.Meanwhile the session titles for the next ad:tech conference are already being rewritten:"Opt-Out Means Yes: Depending on What They Meant By 'Opt,' 'Out,' and 'Hyphen'"Spyware Isn't So Bad... Depending on What You Mean by 'Spy,' 'Ware,' and 'Bad'364 Ways to Stick Ads in ContentEtc. <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300836332"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300836332" border="0"/></a></div>
Revenge of the Straw Man Argument: Jarvis Unhinged
Jeff Jarvis, apparently writing a book called What Would Google Do?, must have Michel Foucault spinning delightedly in his grave, as he has just discovered post-modernity! Jarvis asserts that "the Internet" is what "... opens up creativity past one-size-fits-all mass measurements and priestly definitions."I understand that as a journalism professor whose job apparently hinges on the lucrative current trade in old-media-bashing, Jarvis sort of has to say this stuff. "Curmudgeons" don't get invite <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300836331"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300836331" border="0"/></a></div>
Google Street View: showing us what we may or may not want to see
I?m typing this post from my basement. Yep, I?m holed up here with bottles of water, canned tuna and powdered milk ? everything I?ll need to survive the Apocalypse. I can only assume Judgment Day is upon us, given the new low human contact recently hit when Google employee Michael Weiss-Malik proposed to his girlfriend using Google Street View. We?re all probably familiar with Google?s kitschy new gadget now ? you know, the one that essentially combines Google Maps wit <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300307737"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=300307737" border="0"/></a></div>
Example SearchMonkey Deployment
So basically, what SearchMonkey does is allow publishers to push their customized content look and feel right into the Yahoo Search results. Well, not push, actually, but make available, based on open formats. So for users who opt into the widget for any given company's rich content, if the listing for that content comes up in search results, custom look-and-feel info included. So if it's a Yelp review, you get a bit of the Yelp "richness, look, and feel" right on Yahoo.When I search for "g h jo <div class='nifad'><a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=299322737"><img src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?x=f12728ffbc9f44cc94f52c398cf8cd7a&u=299322737" border="0"/></a></div>

 

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.

Search engines apply hundreds of variables to their very scientific formula for ranking websites. 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 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.

There is no instant recipe for getting ranked highly on search engines. 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).

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Gillian Meier
Blue Magnet Web Intellect is an 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 www.bluemagnet.co.za for more information.