I have just read the recent posting by Mark B on Search Engine Optimization, which I found very interesting. I am too old to be of ‘the computer generation’ however, call it a coincidence if you like, but about two weeks ago sitting at the bar in my local watering hole, sipping a pint of my favourite beer brewed by ‘Salopian Breweries’ two chaps close to me were discussing the importance of S.E.O.

My eyes were just beginning to glaze over, when the penny dropped, and I started to grasp the essence of the conversation. I asked one of them to explain in simple terms what S.E.O was and what was so important about it.

Niall, having introduced both himself and his friend Paul, went on to say all Search Engines require Website Designers to follow a strict procedure in the configuration and development of a site.

Apparently, on a regular basis Search Engines send out a ’spider’ to read the data of websites, and update any input.

Niall explained, In order for a search engine to optimize any site correctly the following things must be to the liking of the ’spider’.

(Heading 1) (Heading 2) (Title) (Description) and all (Keywords) All these must be relevant to the body text within the site. Then there are things like (Inbound Links) and (Outbound Links)

The above should be imagined as being the sign posts that the spider follows, in order to journey through out a website.To obtain the all important front page listing in any Search Engine, the sign posts have to be correct, or the spider will go away and may not return.

Optimize and Validate your site properly and your site should get a satisfactory listing

Niall ended by saying. “It’s no good having a website that no one sees”. “Do not allow the competitors to pinch the business you need, simply, because you did not get the above right!”

Please let me know Mark B, if in fact Niall explained the crucial part of optimization accurately to me.
Many thanks!

How do I get in contact with Mark B as I am interested in his services for websites.
Many thanks

Looking to improve the search engine position of your site then Mark B is absolutely correct in stressing the importance of Search Engine
Optimization (S.E.O)

If your site has not been fully optimized then you are failing in your objective. The purpose of building and submitting a website to Google, Yahoo or any of the major search engines is to attract visitors to your website.

Site owners use S.E.O to obtain the maximum amount of qualified visitors to the site.

If the site in question has not been correctly optimized then the site is about as beneficial to the owner as a ‘fart in a spacesuit’.

Quality visitors use specific words in order be directed to a site and obtain the information they need.
It could be to make a simple purchase, or it could be to view and download a particular page from a site. It may be that the visitor just requests some further information.

Therefore it is essential that the sites words are meaningful and relate to the sites content.

Meta Tags are a waste of time. Most search engines do not place a great deal of value on the content contained within Meta Tags because they are used by spammers.

Instead, if you need to, use Meta description elements. Although keywords will not hurt, they don’t really help either, so generally it is not worth the effort to use them.

Often there are some search engine sites which will use the content of a Meta description element to describe a site in their search result listings. So whenever possible, make their contents unique and descriptive for every document or page.

S.E.O is a marketing ploy which generates a good return for the site, and sadly there are no shortcuts, you will need plenty of patience and work hard on the content of the site.

High-quality content is probably most important point you should remember when doing S.E.O, especially if you want your site to be found on the web.

Don’t allow the site to remain dormant, keep adding fresh subject matter, and make the site appealing so visitors return. Visitors who return are more likely to add a link to your site, the more quality inbound links you have on your site will improve your search engine ranking.

Make your page titles as simple, descriptive and relevant as possible so that search engines know what your site is about, it is important to ensure that the title on the page is one of your most important elements of your site. You need to get it right!
It is claimed that this is the most important part of any site.

Submitting your site to directories and search engines can actually be useful. This is especially important if the site happens to be new and has not as yet been picked up by google and many of the other search engines that abound.

Think about submitting it to some directories, you may want to consider using Yahoo Directory and Open Directory Project and some directories specific to your topic (for example, if you have a Blog try submitting to http://www.blog-search.info). But you will need patience, as it can take several weeks for any submissions to be processed unless you pay for it to be listed.

I have tried to explain the basics as I see how S.O.E works. No doubt Mark B will correct any thing I have said that is incorrect.

The Codger