Search Engine Optimisation

In the mid 1990’s, Yahoo Directory, LookSmart, Ask Jeeves and Alta Vista were launched, providing the world with the very first commercial search engines. Of course, the daddy of them all - Google - was launched in 1998 and the world could truly search and be found on the web. Initially, traffic volumes were all important in ranking a site as more visitors meant more popularity meant more profile. As the internet monetized through ad revenues and e-commerce the Search Engine Optimisation industry was born to service the needs of those websites who recognized the value of high ranking on the internet high street - the search results page.

Today, the rewards for top ranking on search engine pages, ”above the fold” on page one being the best real estate available, the search engine ranking criteria (currently employing over 200 algorithms) are far more complex. This is to satisfy the search engine’s appetitive for relevant, authoritative content and clear, logical structure. As the SEO professional became more adept at interpreting the rules and manipulating results in order to drive ranking, so a number of poor practices were used to ‘fool’ search engines which in turn developed ever complex ways to avoid this trap.

In a nutshell, Search Engine Optimisation is today a complex discipline which seeks to address the following issues:

• How to construct a website which is easy to navigate for audience and search engine alike
• How to ensure that site content is both relevant and a provider of value to the audience whilst providing evidence of this to the search engines
• How to support the view that the website is a recognized and reputable authority in a particular area
• How to support the view that the website is around to stay rather than one of the many ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ websites
• How to convince the search engines that the site employs SEO techniques which are ethical or ‘white hat’ rather than an attempt to fool and manipulate.

Atommedia’s Search Engine Optimisation service addresses these issues using a wide range of interlinked and ongoing techniques against each of these main categories:

• SEO Friendly Websites are designed (or re-engineered) for accessibility and ease of search and navigation. Site maps are used to enhance the user experience whilst content, link and URL hierarchies are rigorously checked to support the search engine’s criteria for quality and relevance. Keyword linking and use of relevant keywords in titles, meta tags, headers and alt  image tags provide a consistent reference anchor for the content throughout the site and alongside any external links.
• Audience value is ensured through the provision of well written, well structured and relevant content designed to impart information and compel the audience rather than simple to provide an opportunity to pack in a large number of keywords. The content is further linked to relevant reference content both on site and off to further enhance the value to the audience. Linked content is anchored using specific relevant keywords to support the navigation and demonstrate this to the search engines
• Reputation and authority are reflected in the quantity and origin of inbound links. This is where external sites, recognizing the value and relevance of your site, are prepared to link and hence send their hard earned traffic to you. Good Search Engine Optimisation practice in this area focuses on gaining inbound links from authoritative sites (Human Edited Directories, Government and Educational sites and news sites being the highest authorities) before seeking other, relevant sources for inbound links (industry sector sites, commentators, etc).
• History and longevity are valuable commodities in support of Search Engine Optimisation techniques. The longer your site has been around the better it will be ranked. Careful consideration needs to be taken here when merging, acquiring a new business or launching a new brand around the availability of domain names with history and link provenance.
• Proving that your Search Engine Optimisation techniques are ethical and ‘white hat’ is quite straightforward - always ensure that they are!

Through a combination of these techniques, Atommedia Search Engine Optimisation ensures a strong and continuing focus on making sure that you can position your site on prime Google real estate without employing techniques or practices which could lead to a delisting or at best a negative impact on your ranking.