Easy to remember domain name, attractive design, lots of content, etc. all sound good and well but aren’t enough to benefit from your online presence. In order to truly benefit from the world wide market, your website needs visitors. Lots of visitors! And the vast majority of them will come to your website from Google and other major search engines rather than directly. To be noticed on the world wide web, it is therefore crucial to impress the search engines.

What Do Search Engines Want

Many website owners make a huge mistake by simply hiring a search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist without taking a few minutes to understand what do search engines want in the first place. By doing so, they aren’t only risking falling into the hands of self-proclaimed SEO gurus who often do more damage than good. They are also highly likely to be disappointed not due to poor service but due to non-realistic expectations from what SEO can and can’t do. The truth is that SEO can’t do magic. No specialist can guarantee the No.1 position on Google or make you rich. A quality SEO campaign can only help you meet the requirements of search engines which may or may not help you get that No.1 position everyone is trying to reach.

Before launching an SEO campaign, you need to understand how search engines work. Believe it or not but they have to compete for users just like website owners have to compete for visitors. Google is the No.1 just because it delivers the best user experience. And to remain the most popular search engine, it needs to continue to provide the best service. As a result, Google as well as other major search engines are doing whatever is in their power to direct their users to websites with the most relevant content for searched keywords. If you want them to rank you higher for particular keywords, you therefore must persuade them that your website is the most relevant. To do this, you need:

• Relevant content. Search engine users aren’t only looking for products but they are also looking for interesting and useful information. And search engines know that very well. Therefore it is crucial for your website to offer quality, original and engaging content.
• Attractive yet user friendly design. Does your website immediately attract attention? Is it easy to navigate? Does it load fast? All these factors have a major influence on how well you rank on search engine results pages (SERP) because if you have a high bounce rate, it means that your website probably doesn’t provide a good user experience.
• Backlinks. These indicate your website’s popularity, so the more backlinks you have the better. However, it is highly important to remember that the days when large quantities of backlinks did the trick are long gone. Google and other major search engines have found a way to distinguish between natural backlinks (those that are left by satisfied users) and artificial backlinks.

Bottom Line

There are no short cuts when it comes to improving your online visibility and dirty tricks don’t work, at least not for long. To achieve a better SERP ranking and make your website a success, you need to play by the rules. If you need help in making your website more search engine friendly and are looking for results that last, please contact our SEO specialists.