Help with Search Engine optimization

This is a controversial topic and one we take very seriously. First of all let us start off by saying this is not a requirement for all sites.

Some companies really do not care if their site can be found using a search engine. There are several reasons you might want your company to be found online.

One of the most important reasons would be to help gain market share. If a potential customer does a search and finds you and not your competition, the odds of you getting the business is obviously much greater.

Another reason might be to make your company look professional. If you were calling on a customer and they decided later on to "check you out". Finding YourComany.com by doing an online search is impressive. You are considered a serious player.

There are several things that have to happen to make your site rank well. First and foremost, the site needs to be prepared properly. There are literally hundreds of things to make your site attractive to a search engine.

Secondly, you must submit your site to the search engines. In a nutshell, it is a search engines job to make sure your site is really about what you say it is. Based on this assessment it will rank your site according to how relevant it "thinks" your site is.

Each search engine uses a special algorithm to determine the actual relevance. These algorithms are very complex and the pages within your web need to be designed to coincide with each search engines specs. If your pages are submitted and the they meet the criteria when the search engines visit, your site has a much better chance of ranking high.

This is no single step solution to high rankings. You probably get e-mail from companies saying they will submit your site to a 1000 search engines for some ridiculously low price. Don't waste your money. If your site is not ready, the search engines will pass you by.

Another type of search device that is not really a search engine is "directories". Yahoo is a directory. More searches are done on Yahoo than any search engine. The difference between a directory and a search engine is that search engines have automated spiders that crawl through your site and index it. Directories on the other hand have an evaluation staff that will come out and review your site. Your site ranks based on how well they like it and how relevant they feel it is.

Unfortunately, this is becoming a big business and the cost are starting to reflect it. If you are a business, it is going to cost you $299.00 to submit to Yahoo. Other companies are charging on a per click basis and the newest deal is big against your competition.

We normally do not recommend going all out unless your market justifies it. So, our recommendations are on a case by case basis. Give us a call and lets discuss what we can do for you.