Search engine optimization (SEO)

Search engine optimization is, perhaps, the most critical aspect of your website’s design. Some have heard of it. Few understand its importance. Virtually none have a formula which works. For the most part, search engine optimization is transparent to you as the web designer’s client. I do, however, feel that web design customers should be partially educated on its importance. Otherwise, you may hire a designer who gives you a website but does absolutely nothing to help ensure search engines like Google and Yahoo are able to find – and value – your website.

Search engines have millions of websites to browse through. This is called indexing. They review your web page names, the text on your webpages, the names of your photos and other graphics, and special (hidden to the website visitor) code that web designers choose to include in your website. The words the designer uses, sentence structure, what text is bold, what text appears as headlines, and many, many other factors work together to build a consistent message for the search engines: This is the website that has the most relevant information on the subject at hand! The website visitor will find what he or she is looking for right here!

There are no black and white rules which, when followed, guarantee your website will appear on the first page of Google. In fact, any web designer or search engine optimizer who claims to guarantee such results is either ignorant or an outright liar. The system just doesn’t work that way. Additionally, the “rules of the game” are constantly changing. Recent factors which now play roles in search engine ranking include how long your website has been in existence and how many other (relevant) websites link into your website. Factors like these are relevant – yet you may have no control over them. Therefore, any claim to fame is false.

As I mentioned in several spots on this website, search engine optimization is much like a recipe. Either it works or it doesn’t. The chef (in this case the designer) may feel it tastes perfect, the diner (the search engines) may find it unappealing. A great optimizer will constantly adjust his recipe so that it improves with time and change.

So far my “recipe” for search engine success has held its own. I give examples of successful optimization on this site’s webpage dedicated to web design clients. Please take a few moments to use my clients’ search terms and plug them into Google, Bing or Yahoo for yourself. You’ll see the results we’ve achieved. But again, keep in mind that there are never any guarantees.