Search Engine Optimization is the practice of manipulating computer code to make websites easily accessible to search engines. Search engines are, in essence, indexes of websites that are on the internet.

How Websites Appear On Search Engines

     Websites don’t just “magically appear” on search engines. In order for a website to be included in a search engine’s listing, it must first be indexed. There are two main ways that websites can become a part of a search engine’s index. The first, and probably the most common, is by submission. That means that the website must be submitted to the search engine to alert it that the website exists. The second method is by being crawled. Search engines have computer programs called spiders which crawl the web to search for sites that are not in their indexes. Spiders are programmed to search for specific things that are included in the website coding that will trigger them to capture the site’s information and add it to the index. Spiders also look for elements in the coding that will influence the way the index places the site in its search listings. This is what’s known as a “raking.”

Getting Front Page Placement

   Studies show that being at or near the top of the first page of major search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing is the ideal place for your web site to appear. So the question then becomes, “How can I get my site to show up near the top in the search results?” Search engines use closely guarded sets of constantly changing algorithms which generate search results.  After twenty four years of developing web content, we have discovered that each individual search engine provides a set of “best practices,” that should be incorporated into the coding to make sites appear close to the top of each of their searches. For example, Google wants sites to be mobile friendly and include a site map. When these best practices are implemented correctly, visitors who are searching for your business or service will find the sites that have done what is prescribed by each engine to appear near the top of the search results.

     As long time developers, we incorporate the best practices for all of the major search engines into every site we build. Doing so gives your site the best chance of cutting through the clutter to be placed near the top of each search. We can’t guarantee first page placement, but we can guarantee that we implement these best practices.

 

A Word About SEO Companies

     Have you ever received a call from “Sharon, Your Local Google Expert?” These calls originate from SEO companies. The idea is they want to charge you a monthly fee to insure placement on the front page of Google. They traditionally tell you that they have a secret formula, or have a trick, or have a secret code to put you on the front page of search engines. If anyone tells you that they can put you “at the top” of the first page of any major search engine, do not believe them. That just simply is not the case. Even if you buy advertising directly from the search engines themselves, they WILL NOT (by their own admission) guarantee you a specific place on the front page of their search results.

      To get started on your website construction, if you’d like to discuss how we can help you put a website online, or if you have questions about any of our services, simply give us a call at (334) 233-4235, contact us here, or find us on Facebook.