Carter Tech Blog

The NSW Office of Fair Trading has issued a warning to businesses about signing up for Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services without looking into the SEO provider first. Many of these services promise to get you on the first page of Google but often don't deliver - charging hundreds or even thousands of dollars for the service.

Many SEO providers still use archaic methods which worked a few years ago but have little effect today. The algorithms behind search engines have gotten smarter and the old methods simply don't achieve results now - metatags, automated random backlinks and rehashing content. Unfortunately many SEO providers still use these methods that haven't worked since Google's update in 2012.

Today, improving your search rank involves improving your content, ensuring keywords you want to be found under are in text not hidden in images, regularly updating your site and making use of blogs and social media to get your website out there. These are all activities which can be done for just a few hours a week without spending thousands on something which can't realistically guarantee results.

Every business wants their website to be towards the top of the search listings for the keywords relevant to their business. Being towards the top increases visibility and the chances that a potential customer will visit your website. There are a number of ways in which you can improve your search ranking, but the most effective is to make sure the content on your website is of good-quality and is unique.

Content which is copied from another website will just lower your search ranking as the search engines crawl your site and the site you copied it from will end up with a higher ranking (because someone else is using their content). Why give your competitors an advantage? While it is perfectly fine to look at someone else's website for ideas you should never copy content. You might get ideas on what topics to explore on your site, even rough ideas of layout but these should guide the creation of your own content.

Good quality, original content will not only improve your search ranking but also shows your potential customers that you know your business and know the market. Your website should reflect what your business does, how it does it and why a customer should use your business over someone else's. You want your visitors to come to your site and think "Gee, these guys really know their stuff." Doing so leaves a lasting impression which only helps to cement your business position.

The final advantage of original content is that it avoids legal problems. Material on the Internet is copyrighted and the copying of other's work infringes their copyright in that work. You could potentially end up paying thousands for copying someone else's material in both legal fees and damages. It's just not worth the risk!

Every business wants their website towards the top of the search results in Google and other search engines. Being towards the top of the search results allows for your business to be easy to find by potential clients. You may have heard of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), a process which makes web content more accessible for search engines and searchers.

Many SEO companies will tell you they can get you the #1 position on Google by going with them. These companies are selling false hope as there are no guarantees about where your site will appear in the search rankings. SEO is a science and an art and all you can do is improve your search ranking for your chosen keywords by having a site which is easily indexed by the three major search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo).

You can improve your search ranking by using keywords that people would search for when looking for a business like yours in your content. Your content should be relevant, unique and concise. Just as your potential customers don't want to see pages of keywords when they click a search result, neither do the search engines - they are looking for content to show searchers.