Search Engine Optimisation FAQs
Can search engine optimisation techniques be used on any website?
Search engine optimisation techniques can, with a very few exceptions, be
used on any website to raise its search engine rankings, and thereby generate
additional quality traffic. One exception is when websites purposely deny
search engine spiders access to any of the website’s content pages.
A good example of this is a website which is password protected, requiring
users to log on before they can enter the site and access its content. Exclusion
of search engine spiders is entirely appropriate in this case, as the website
owner would not want content, to which access is restricted, appearing on
the search engine results pages (SERPs). In many cases search engine spiders
are inadvertently prevented from accessing website content through the use
of either inappropriate website technologies or of poor development techniques.
One of the key aims of search engine optimisation is to improve a search engine’s ability to index a website’s content. This is achieved both by removing obstacles which prevent search engine spiders gaining access to content – frames, JavaScript navigation, explicit session IDs, erroneous robot text files and robot meta tags – and by using techniques which enhance the spider’s ability to index content – site maps, reserve navigation, alt and meta tags, CSS based layout and externally referenced JavaScript files. These coding enhancement techniques, used in conjunction with key phrase targeting and SEO copywriting, form the basis of on-page search engine optimisation. Combining the on-page optimisation with a comprehensive link development strategy lays the foundations of an effective search engine optimisation campaign.
Although search engine optimisation is an effective means of improving a website’s search engine rankings, attention needs to be given to the projected ROI to ensure that it is also cost effective. A search engine optimisation campaign for a business operating in a competitive marketplace, such as IT, mobile phones or DVDs, requires skilled evaluation and selection of target key phrases. Optimising a website to achieve first page rankings for a broad search term such as ‘web design’ would cost considerably in excess of £100,000 per annum and would represent a poor strategy for all but the handful of web development businesses who have a truly global presence. However, by targeting key phrases which are relevant, specific and have a favourable traffic to competitiveness ratio, Optillion is able to implement cost effective search engine optimisation campaigns for businesses operating in even the most competitive of marketplaces.
