What is search engine optimisation (SEO)?

Search engine optimisation (SEO) describes the process of developing a website's structure and content to enable it to achieve the best possible rankings within the results being displayed on a search engine, once a search is conducted for a particular term.

The whole focus of any search engine optimisation strategy is to achieve these high rankings for relevant search terms that will be used by prospective customers who may be looking for a particular product or service, as this will attract the best quality prospects at a time when they are actively looking to buy. Therefore the process of optimising a website needs to be focused on the best possible rankings that can be achieved at any one time.

For example, a new website is unlikely to be able to compete for top rankings on the most popular terms within the first few months as it will take time to develop the factors that will support its ranking performance, whereas a site that has been online for longer and is better established will probably be in a better position to compete for the most popular and competitive terms.

The importance of website optimisation

In this section we explain the differences between search engines and directories and how the techniques required to achieve a high ranking on different search tools can vary. As the web continues to grow at a rapid rate, search engines have become the dominant search tool for online users and therefore the optimisation of your website is a critical part of determining how many visitors your site may attract from these sources.

Every website that wants to achieve a high ranking will need to have a structure that enables the search engines to visit each page and content that can be indexed in a way that the targeted search terms will be given priority. However, optimisation doesn't just depend on factors within the website but also a range of external factors, such as the number and type of links into the site. All these factors have to be developed together to give the site the best chance of achieving a high search engine ranking.

Search engine optimisation is a long-term process. It is not likely to produce immediate results - for that, you need to use pay-per-click advertising. Ranking performance cannot be guaranteed either, despite what some companies may falsely claim. What search engine optimisation can offer, however, is a cost-effective method of generating visits from prospective customers to a website, in a way that can be controlled and adjusted to suit the market or the budgets available. We have outlined the main factors and some optimisation tips that need to be considered when following an SEO strategy for a website.

Find out more about search engine optimisation for your website

To find out more about optimising your website, please contact us now or visit our optimisation services page.

You can also phone us for an initial 'no-obligation' discussion about what is involved, or you can request our FREE website assessment where we will give you a detailed review of your current site optimisation and suggest what else might need to be done to improve your search engine rankings.