Search Optimisation
Search optimisation is the art of marketing and promoting web pages in the search engine results pages (SERPs). There are clear benefits to being as high as possible in the search results of major search engines such as Google. Searchers rarely look beyond the top ten results, and most clicks are given to the top three results, with the number one position for any given search term taking the lion’s share of the web traffic.
With this in mind, achieving the highest possible placement on search engines requires search optimisation, or search engine optimisation, often referred to as SEO for short. The processes involved with search optimisation can broadly be described by a two-fold approach; on-page optimisation and off-page optimisation.
As the name suggest, on-page optimisation involves enhancing the various elements of a web page such as the title tag, meta description and page content to best reflect the subject matter at hand. An SEO expert may advise that a page needs fresh content or a better internal linking structure in order to perform more favourably in the SERPs. Usually, on-page search optimisation is carried out alongside an off-page optimisation campaign.
Off-page search optimisation involves various techniques designed to give a web page a more respected presence among its peers. A search engine will basically retrieve the most appropriate web page available based on the search terms entered. In order to give a page a better chance of placement at the top of SERPs, backlinks can be created to point both users and search engines in the direction of the page you are promoting.
Search engines use countless different factors to determine the position of a page in their ranking results. Many of them are unknown to anyone outside the search engine organisations, but it has been well-established that high-quality page content, contextually relevant backlinks, a presence in online directories and fast page-load speeds are among the most significant elements.
Consulting with an experienced search optimisation expert about the specific positives and negatives of your own web pages is the best way to reach the high standards set by the major search engines for entry into the SERPs. Some smaller businesses may question the strength of SEO given that many of the top positions are dominated by big business, but with so many keywords entered into search engines every single day, there is a niche position available for any business with proper search optimisation.
