Search Engine Optimisation
To be successful, a website must not only look good and work well, it must be easy to find.
First of all, you should choose a domain name that closely reflects your business name. Then you should check - has your website has been search engine optimised and submitted to the major search engines?
What is Search Engine Optimisation?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a term used to describe various techniques employed to improve the ranking assigned to your website by search engines.
Website design as an SEO tool
Websites can be designed and built so that search engines can "read" and better understand their content. When a search engine "spiders" a website, it builds a profile of each page against the "metatags" assigned (keywords and/or phrases that you think visitors might use to search for your website). It compares the relevancy of metatags assigned with actual content. A strong correlation between the two is advantageous whereas a weak or non-existant correlation can adversely affect your ranking. It also uses the profile built up to score the content of the site against that of other "competing" websites. This score is a major factor in where the website will be ranked by the search engine.
Box Design provide SEO free of charge for all of the websites that we are commissioned to build.
Links as an SEO tool
This involves asking other reputable websites to create a hyperlink to a particular page (or even the homepage) of your website. Some websites will link to you without being prompted; others will need asking and may request a reciprocal link. Search engines will find these links when "reading" the other websites and this will be a factor in the rank that is assigned to your website. How much the links pointing to your website help your ranking has a lot to do with the reputation of the other website (and also if the content of that webpage is relevant). If the search engine has "blacklisted" a website (e.g. for spamming) that links to you (or that you link to) then this will have an adverse effect on your ranking.
Using this technique is an ongoing process and you must be diligent in the selection of websites to link (or ask to be linked) to.
A word of warning
Many other criteria also factor into the rankings assigned by search engines and the exact nature of these are closely guarded industry secrets. There are techniques out there specifically designed to artificially enhance rankings but beware - if search engines catch a website using such techniques (and they do), they act quickly and harshly - sometimes blacklisting the site immediately.
For this reason, we strongly advise you to do your homework before handing your money over to a anyone claiming to be able to guarantee you high rankings
