In my article The Rationale For Search Engine Optimisation I explained the thinking behind SEO. In a nutshell it is necessary that your website, as well as simply looking good, enjoys a constant stream of visitors if the product or service that you offer is going to sell, and sell good.
Understanding the concept inspires one to seek out ways of insuring that the quality inbound links you require in order to achieve respect from the search engines can be placed.
What do we mean by "quality"? Well Google, by some margin the largest and most widely used of all the search engines, operates a ranking system, assigning Page Rank to sites on the web using a complex system of algorithms to determine the relative worth of any particular website.
The precise formula used by Google is a closely guarded secret, and probably changes constantly. However it is known that the single biggest and most important factor in determining Google Page Rank is the existence of good inbound links.
Obviously if you are lucky enough to have friends in high places who will place your links on high performance websites commanding high Page Rank then you will benefit from their existence soon enough. For most of us though the best available option is to place links yourself whenever you can so as to persuade the search engines to notice you and to afford you respect.
One way of doing this is to write articles (just like this one) and place them at article directories that the search engines take notice of. If you take the trouble to identify the best keywords to use within the article, and in particular which to place as anchor text (keywords linking directly to your site) this will improve the chances of your site finding its way onto the front page of Google when a casual user types these words into a search engine.
Another method is to register your membership with well supported internet forums. Please don't be cynical about this, if you register with a forum provided for your use by somebody else it is reasonable that you should be expected to contribute to the discussions on that forum in a meaningful way. Posts as "Yeah" and "I agree" are usually deleted by the moderators of the forum within hours if not sooner. But usually just by registering your URL within your profile and, if permitted, by adding it to your signature, you will have generated a useful link. If the signature permits you to link using anchor text it becomes more useful still.
Thirdly, you can place links from social networking sites. Most people these days are familiar with Facebook and Twitter, but did you know that simply by optimising your Profile on both you leave a useful trail for the search engines to pick up? Include a sprinkling of carefully chosen keywords and there is a good chance that anybody searching for them will be directed to your Facebook or Twitter page.
However Facebook and Twitter are not the social networking sites around. There are literally hundreds of them around the web and although they do not enjoy the same recognition as these two giants they can also serve as a useful repository for inbound links. Some unfortunately use a "No Follow" instruction in the source to ensure the user does not benefit from your links but others do not, and these pages do help you to arouse search engine interest.
Of course this is all inevitably very time consuming even if your technical competence does extend to generating inbound links. This is where the dedicated SEO company comes into play. Here you will be able to delegate the task of building quality inbound links whilst you spend your time concentrating on developing your core business.
SEO companies vary massively both in terms of the service they offer and of the price they charge. You are entitled to assume that the higher the price the better the service but this is not always the case. A telephone number fee does not in itself guarantee that the SEO provider will do a great job or indeed any job on your behalf, and similarly a low-cost business promotion service need not mean a poor service.
If you wish to use an SEO company find out precisely what they are offering first, then keep them to it.
Search Engine Optimisation is essential in today's increasingly competitive and complex market, but you would do well to shop around and see what is best for you and what you feel comfortable with before committing.
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