How to use Internet Marketing to Generate Business

Once a new website is launched, and before anyone will find it online, you have to "tell" the search engines (Google, Yahoo, Msn etc) that it exists. But that in itself doesn't mean that the search engines will place your site highly in search results.

Search engine optimisation refers to the process of designing a website in such a way that it will appear higher in search engine rankings. Website promotion is a critical success factor for any web site. Search engines often turn a blind eye to what you might assume are some of the web's most attractive pages.

Quite simply Search engine optimisation provides benefits to your business that just can not be overlooked.

What happens when a new website is launched?

When a new website is launched, it can take from several weeks (even months) before your website appears in the search engines and is shown to people searching for any of your industry "search terms".

An example of this might be if you owned an online shop selling fishing gear. You might then think it is as easy as people then searching for "hooks" in the search engines and then finding your fishing website. Unfortunately as with many things, it is not this easy - or everyone would be doing it.

Being on Page 1 or 2 of The Search Engine Results

Think about the thousands of companies wanting to do exactly the same as you. There is only limited room in the "hot" areas of Page 1 or 2 of the search engine results - and everyone wants to be in them!

Once a new website launches, it will effectively be "invisible" to the search engines and as a result, people searching online for products and services on the website will not find your website for several months.

This is for a few reasons for this, the main one being:

The "Search Engines" (Google, MSN, Yahoo) do not want a website that appears "overnight" that might be here today and gone tomorrow. It would give them a bad name.

Imagine if a "get rich quick" website was to launch; if the website owner then managed to get it on the first page of the search engine results, extract money from people in a scam - and then vanish several weeks later. I think you will agree that it wouldn't exactly show the search engines in a favourable light if this was the case.

As a result, the majority of websites are put in a "holding area" for a period of time, which, in our experience can be anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending the industry sector. Gambling and other "high risk" sites would generally expect to sit longer in this "holding area" than, for example, an architects website.

What Happens after the "Holding Period"

Well some of this depends on the competitiveness of your industry. It is far easier to help a company appear high in the rankings where the online competition is less, but of course with the internet becoming more popular by the day we have to work hard to get our clients a good position. If you use the Internet yourself, you will probably know that you rarely go beyond page 1, 2 or 3 of the search results when looking for something.

This is certainly a feat of achievement when you consider all the competition vying for the same spot. We are often asked "how do you get a website to number 1 or the 1st page of the search engine results?

The short answer is - lots of experience and patience.

The "secret" way that search engines rank websites is never publicly disclosed by the search engine companies of course, but web and marketing companies have slowly worked them out by testing and making small adjustments to their websites to see what "works" to get them higher.

It is science, not luck, that enables companies to do this - and as I am sure you can appreciate, this information and highly sought after and takes years of experience to learn and understand.

Getting "Instant" Search Engine Results

Many customers ask - "If I have a few weeks or months to rank anywhere in the "natural" left-hand side results, is there anything else I can do in the meantime to get our website in front of our potential customers?"

The short answer is absolutely YES. In the ever expanding world of the Internet, Search Engines are keen to cash in. It's called "Pay Per Click".

If you already have a good idea as to which keywords you wish to optimise your website call us today on 09 4076964 to talk about our search engine optimisation services.