Natural Search Engine Optimisation

Can your future customers find your site?

Natural Search Engine Optimisation, sometimes referred to as Organic Search Engine Optimisation is a vital cornerstone of any Web marketing activity. If your prospective customers cannot find your site, all that time and effort put into building it in the first place has been wasted.

How can Searchsmith help?

• Site analysis
• Competitor analysis
• Keyword research
• Consulting
• Training
• On site optimisation
• Link generation campaigns

See our full search engine optimisation services

Each site is inevitably different and will require a different approach.  Contact us today to discuss your needs and situation.

What are Natural Search Engine Listings?

Typically, Search Engine screens are split into 3 sections . At the top of the page, the Paid Placements attract 20% of all click throughs, the right hand Paid Placements attract 10% and the Natural Search Engine results attract the vast majority with 70% of all clicks*.

This simply underlines the importance of not relying overly, or entirely, on Paid Placements for your Search Engine strategy.

How can you get listed?

No one can guarantee results; if they do, they are likely to be lying or not using best practice.  Not all Search Engines work in the same way but most look out for the same characteristics. The process is normally:

• Keyword and keyphrase research
• Checking and amending site architecture
• Site platform
• Optimising Page Title
• Optimisng meta data
• Optimising file name
• Optimising Alt Tags
• Sensible use of and optimisation of Headings
• Optimising Body Content
• Creation of internal links
• Creation of inbound external links

The Importance of Natural Search Engine Optimisation & High Ranking Positions

It is a much quoted and rather tired statistic, but it has borne the test of time, that over 80% of users found new Web sites through a Search Engine.**

But being on the Search Engines is no reason to be complacent; to gain success, you have to achieve high Search Engine Positions.  The first three pages get over 90% of all search traffic, and the top 10 results get nearly 80% more traffic than all of the sites in positions 11-30.***

Which Search Engines should I target?

Unsurprisingly, Google accounts for the largest marketshare with some statistics suggesting it has 85% of the UK market.  Globally, the split is lower, but the main players remain much the same.

Statistics from July 2006

Best Practice in Natural Search Engine Optimisation

Optimising a Web site must be done in a responsible and considered manner.  Any of the major Search Engines can and will blacklist your site if they deem that it has not been optimised in an appropriate way for the benefit of the searcher.  It has happened to big Blue Chip organisations - it can happen to you!

Sources
* Webtrends
** UK Internet User Monitor, 2000 from Forrester Research
*** Penn University Research, 2003