Search Engine Optimisation Web Log (BLOG)
Editor: Matt Paines

| This News Blog is dedicated to bringing news, information and innovations targeting the Search Engine Optimisation industry.

Conspiracy theory.
Just imagine you have registered your new domain, built a dynamic site with session ID's to track your visitors with a shopping cart and you are now looking to optimise it for the search engines in the hope that you can attract punters with bulging wallets. OK, now what I tell you that it is suspected that Google employs filters that look at the age of a domain (after all how can a site be authoritative if it's only a year old...). Then I tell you that dynamic sites present search engines significant navigation problems, coupled with the fact that session ID's cause issues in Google,Yahoo! and MSN with duplication of pages.

On top of all that you find that a major part of the search engine algorithm is biased towards the process of incoming links. And not any old link, for a start they must be true links. In HTML, on a real page, (that has in itself been seen by the search engines) is of a similar theme and content. Now throw in to that the fact that Google has announced the introduction of filters that "null" domains that reciprocal link.

What the search engines really want is to stop the manipulation of their SERPs (search engine results page) by webmasters. The problem is that with so many filters preventing small sites from getting higher rankings, doesn't this mean that the sites already at the top will stay there. And because to keep within the new parameters the costs of Search Engine Optimisation, is going up the only people able to pay for SEO will be the big boys anyway. Forcing everyone else to pay per click... which will please the shareholders at Google no end.

Ah ha! ... doesn't this devalue search. When the only way to the top is dependent on how deep your pockets are? Keeping within the rules has made the process of SEO more manual, and time consuming. If webmasters were to think about the optimisation of their sites during the build (instead of an after thought). Despite the millions of emails to the contrary top listings don't happen in days / weeks for a few dollars. If site owners do not wish to be forced into the PPC trap, they should start insisting that webdevelopers seek advice on SEO during the build.

M.P

Adv