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.

So you think you should be Number One!
In the scheme of things, compared with other industries, the Internet is still in it's infancy, but what makes anyone think they can appear higher in the search engine index's than those that have been in the game for a few years?

Not everyone has woken up to the fact that having a web site doesn't make you a dot com millionaire, marketing your online presence might get you that bit closer. For many the prospect of being high in the search engines is being taken for granted. Money is therefore being allocated to the site build but not the marketing of the site.

As with everything web sites have to be marketed, a good analogy would be to print 10,000 catalogues and then not buy a qualified database in which to mail them to.

For a site to do well in the search engines it has to attract attention, it has to be much talked about and has to have a high profile. Ideally Search engine optimisation shouldn't be considered as a stand alone area, search engine optimisation forms part of a cohesive marketing strategy. Of course we are not just talking about marketing online, marketing off line is also critical.

That said search engine optimisation technically is a unique field, and there are many traps for the unwary. We all get the email's offering top listings for next to nothing. So to dispel some myths:

• There is no such thing as guaranteed placement.
• You do not have to submit to 100's or 1000's of search engines.
• The benefits of reciprocal links are being phased out.
• Googles PageRank is not everything.

The moral to the story is if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is. Web site owners must learn to refine their expectations to match their budgets.

There are options, you can be patient and accept it will take time and money. You could pay for your traffic with one of the many paid advertising schemes. Or align your strategy to compete for less competitive terms, and build up gradually.

So I come back to the original question - why should your "book" site topple Amazon.com, or your "gadget" site topple Iwantoneofthose.com?

M.P

Adv