Learn more about Search Engine Optimisation

So you want to learn more about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

While we offer our own Search Engine Optimisation services and can take care of all your sites SEO needs, we feel that it’s important that you have at least some idea of what the “Search Engine Optimisation” process entails. There are numerous reasons for this, but the driving force behind us releasing these “education facilities” is to guard you, the potential client, from many of the “snake-oil SEO salesmen” out there.
For a long time now, many SEO specialists have portrayed the field as one shrouded in the “dark arts” of online business, with murky depths far too complicated for the average site-owner to understand.

The simple fact of the matter is… it’s not.

Search Engine Optimisation is not a complicated “rocket science” process. Anyone can aspire to become an SEO. However, while it’s not difficult to get your start in SEO, it is far more difficult to become an expert in the field, and set yourself apart from the rest of the crowd, which is something that we pride ourselves on here at Elite SEO - SEO Brisbane.

In other words… while it’s not hard to become competent in SEO… it’s VERY difficult to become excellent.
This is something we would like to help our clients with. We feel that the process should not be a closed one, and as such we try to involve you in all the processes, and educate you along the way. It’s our way of giving back to you.

As such, we’ve compiled some education resources for you to use below. Feel free to click through the links below and learn more about Search Engine Optimisation; if you have any troubles, we invite you to get in touch via our “Contact Us” page.

Why do I need SEO?

With literally hundreds of thousands of pages being added to the internet each and every day, it’s easy to see how YOUR site could be an online casualty and drown beneath a sea of information. It is the search engines aim to catalogue and organise this information so that their users can find the results that they seek.
Depending on the brand strength of your business, anywhere up to 90% and over of your websites traffic could come from search engine queries. With such a vast amount of traffic out there, it should be clear why YOUR business needs SEO. There is business out there, quite literally for the begging. Why do we say this? Because when someone enters a search query into a search engine related to your field, they are actively seeking out your business, and are much more receptive to a sale. In other words, they are coming to you, rather than being marketed to.

What is SEO?

SEO is the process of organising your website, and promoting it in such a way that the search engines can find your website, and present it to their users if it is relevant to their particular query. To put it in more technical terms, SEO includes:

* Review of your site content or structure
* Technical advice on website development: for example, hosting, redirects, error pages, use of JavaScript
* Content development
* Management of online business development campaigns
* Keyword research
* SEO training
* Expertise in specific markets and geographies.

Are there any rules to SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation is a constantly-evolving field, and as such the rules are often mutable. However, there are certain best-practices guidelines, which are even set out by the major Search Engine player, Google. You can read more about their guidelines here: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769&ctx=sibling
However, it is important to remember our first statement: As SEO is constantly evolving, what works today might not work tomorrow. However, the solid basics, such as a logical, clear site structure, great content and site promotion will never go away.

I’ve heard of Blackhat SEO… what is that, and do you offer it?

Blackhat SEO and it’s exact definition hearkens back to our previous question above. Generally put, Blackhat SEO is SEO that goes against the Search Engines guidelines, subverting their “rules” in an order to rank highly. If you visit this link again, you can see some examples of what Google considers deceptive or manipulative SEO practises.
As so the second part of your question, “Do we offer it?”… the answer is no. Elite SEO prides itself on offering only feasible business solutions for your website’s SEO needs. While Blackhat SEO might seem tempting for a quick-term win, eventually your site WILL be discoverd by the search engines, and could be banned from their index as a result… hardly a tenable business proposition, we think you would agree.
However, although we do not endorse blackhat SEO practices, we are constantly testing and evolving to stay at the cutting edge of modern-day Search Engine Optimisation.

Is Search Engine Optimisation hard?

As mentioned previously, starting out in Search Engine Optimisation is not hard at all… however, to become extremely good at it IS hard. However, if you do go ahead with tacking your site’s SEO efforts yourself, then be prepared for some hard work and long hours keeping up with the constantly-shifting SEO plane. Even if you reach that much sought after position #1, SEO is an ongoing process, and you’ll need to keep on top of it to ensure that you stay there. If you want to try this yourself, and cannot afford full SEO services in an ongoing fashion, then Elite SEO offers affordable SEO consulting on a once-off, non-recurring fashion.

How long will it take to start ranking better?

This is a question that is impossible to answer, and any prospective client should be wary of any “SEO firm” that claims they can guarantee a specific position in a search engine, or a specific ranking change in any set time period. Ultimately, the search engines are the only entities that can know these details… and they are obviously details that are closely guarded.

What are “inbound links”, and why are they important?

Quite simply, inbound links are links from external websites, directed towards your website. They are important, as - to the search engines - inbound links are often seen as “votes” for your site. Obviously, the more quality “votes” a site has, the more favourably a search engine would view that site.

Can you guarantee me a top spot in the Search Engines?

No. See our above point about this being something you should be wary of. If these words are ever uttered by an SEO firm to you, back away quickly. As Google itself says on the point:

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.

Beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings, allege a “special relationship” with Google, or advertise a “priority submit” to Google. There is no priority submit for Google.