Search Engine Optimisation
I had a call this morning from one of my web customers; they have been contacted by a company called something like “First Found” offering to make sure their website appears at the number one position in various search engines.
This is an old ploy which, I suppose, may work in some cases. Unfortunately the results from the “black art” of SEO are not really something that can be promised – the obvious error comes to light if you consider two companies selling the same product, how on earth can they both appear first in the Google listings, or any other for that matter?
These masters of search engine placement charge a fee (of course!) of about £200 for starters and then a monthly payment of about £30 to ensure “your site stays at the top”. A quick visit to their website reveals something more like the truth; they make no explicit promises and in fact only say they can get your site on the front page of the search tools.
I suggest anyone considering this method thinks very carefully before spending anything:
- Google are happy to take your money for a paid advert placement on the search page – in fact using their method means you only pay when people search for suitable terms.
- Your web designer should be able to advance your search position with a well designed site and a few simple tweaks.
- There is loads of free info on the subject – just search for SEO tips.
Using my customer as an example:
I set up camasonics.co.uk about a year ago and built it using pretty much standard techniques. The company provides specialist ultrasonic transducers to manufacturing and testing companies (this is a niche market but nonetheless has quite a few players).
By incorporating a number of features into the pages when the site was created and following some well publicised advice, a Google for “transducer specialists” (the quotes aren’t needed) puts the site at the top of the first page! Now I’m not for one minute suggesting the same can be done for anyone – in fact I’m sure it can’t, but it just proves you don’t need to pay £500 or so to get noticed!
Of course the results may change from day-to-day, but that’s all part of the SEO game. I need to revisit the site periodically, check the visitor logs and adjust aspects of the pages to suit. Any sensible host or page designer should be able to do the same.
Filed under: Scams, Search Engines
