Does Google love/hate my Web site?

At Web SEO, we regularly hear clients saying they have a Web site but no one is calling them. They are under the impression that by having a Web site, they will rank on Google for their service/product and will be exposed to the millions of people that are online on a daily basis - wrong!

Jon Henshaw of Raven Tools has the following to say in response to this: “What most companies don't realise is that they themselves are the reason they don't rank well. It's not Google's fault or a competing site's fault; it's their own fault.

“That may sound harsh, but it's true. Companies, especially large brands, have traditionally approached the Web as an extension of their existing marketing efforts. In doing so, many have relied on the same creative team to both produce their Web presence and extend their brand. Big mistake.

“Until recently, most creative agencies didn't know anything about search engine optimisation (SEO), and they didn't care about it either. Instead, they focused on what they knew and did best - visual communication. The result was the creation of beautiful Web sites that had no consideration whatsoever of SEO.” ...full blog post

Have you ever wondered how Google decides which results to favour above others? Or how the search giant is able to produce accurate and relevant results within a mere fraction of a second?

Well, listen up folks, because understanding the inner workings of Google search can be a decisive factor in your business' online success.

What sets Google apart from other search engines is how it ranks search results. This, in turn, determines the order in which Google presents its results on its search engine ranking page (SERP). The secret to this methodology is Google's trademark algorithm, called “Page Rank”, which makes use of certain key factors to assign each Web page a “relevancy score”...full article

Matt Cutts (Head of Web Spam for Google) explains in very basic terms how Google rankings work. It is very important to take note of these factors if you wish to get your Web site, products or services ranking well on Google...View Video

Matt Cutts (Head of Spam for Google) goes through what a search engine is and what factors Google uses to get the most relevant search results and deliver them to you as the Internet browser...View Video

Marketing your online business using social media Web sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google+1 buttons are a great way to encourage engagement with your clients. Getting started with this new type of media can be intimidating, and it is for this reason that most business owners tend to stay away from social media marketing. Having interactive social media buttons on your Web site is very important in your content going viral, and getting a wide reach with very little effort...full article

The +1 button is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out". Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1s can help friends, contacts and others find the best stuff when they search.

Do you know what people will see if they find your Web site in the search results following a search on Google?

There is an easy way to see this, simply go to Google and type the following into the search box site: webseo.co.za (remember to replace the webseo.co.za with your Web site address - make sure you leave out the http://www part).

This request in Google search results returns all of the pages that are in Google's index that stand a chance of appearing in search results.

If these results are not enticing and explain what your business is about then people will not click on them and come to your Web site.

Would you be able to answer the following question? How well does your Web site feature as far as some of the Google ranking factors are concerned? Most people don't have any idea of their Web site strength or how easily it will be to rank their Web site for certain search terms should the Web site have SEO done on it.

To get an indication of the chances of your Web site ranking in Google search results, please go to our Web site - Custom SEO Analysis Tool - and simply fill in your Web site address.

This will give you a score of your Web site strength. The factors used to get this figure are at the bottom of the Analysis Tool.

* Your Web site does not have enough quality content on it.
* Your Web site stays dormant for long periods of time.
* You engage in cloaking (showing different content to search engine robots and human browsers).
* Your Web site has duplicate content.
* The backlinks to your Web site are spammy or even purchased.
* You use an SEO tactic called keyword stuffing. Always ensure that your content makes sense to a human reader and is not generated for search engine robots.

* You have quality content.
* You add new content regularly to your Web site.
* You have links to your Web site from reputable Web sites that are in the same industry.
* Each page on your Web site is unique and carries some value to Internet browsers.
* Social media is integrated into your Web site.

Do you need some advice/help with your Web site or online marketing campaign?

Please contact us for a no-obligation initial consultation.

Web site: www.webseo.co.za