Let’s get something straight about web sites.
Nice - but where is it?
First and foremost, it is very important that you accept that a website by itself is not going to serve much purpose unless you actively operate it. The very first form of operation is to let people know where it is. As you tell people where it is and, hopefully, the people start to visit your web site, the search engines will start to take notice of it. The more visits it receives, the more perceived value it will have.
The second form of operation is to make sure that your web site contains information that is of value to someone who visits it. Once you start putting valuable information on your web site, you are also performing the third form of operation – SEO.
SEO is search engine optimisation and is a subject that is very widely discussed in many marketing forums. Many companies who specialise in SEO make great claims for the benefits of having your web site occupy the Nº1 spot in Google search results.
These claims can sometimes be justified but, unless you have an endless amount of time and money to throw at the SEO exercise, your site is never going to be Nº1 for all the possible search terms that might be related to your site.
For most people there has to be a compromise on the amount of SEO they are prepared to pay for and the time they are able to commit to it.
One aspect of SEO that most web sites can benefit from is links in from popular or higher ranked sites. Many local businesses fail to capitalise on their address book of people for whom they have worked. If, for example, Bill the Plumber has done some good work for the local council he can ask the local council to put a link on their web site to his web site. This inbound link will impress the search engines and they will move him up the hierarchy. The more such links he can get, the higher his site will be valued and the greater the possibility that it will appear on the first page of search results.
A web site, by itself, will simply sit and be a web site. You must find ways and means for people to visit your site and constantly strive to make your web site more valuable.
(For those actively involved in web sites, I accept that this is a very simplified way of looking at this subject but for the average web site owner who does not want to be confused by strings of acronyms and confusing claims I think it gives a basic, necessary level of information.)
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