Search Engine Optimisation FAQs

Some frequently asked questions about Cornish WebServices SEO service:

Why is search engine optimisation important?

Research shows that (in 2006) over 85% of Internet consumers use search engines to locate the information, products or services they require. Internet usage within the UK population is also growing, so that now for many businesses the Internet is THE most important market.

Search engine optimisation is about getting your website visible high up in the search engines.

Is keyword selection important for SEO?

We used to say YES. But maybe the answer should be NO! Now that's controversial!

Why could keyword selection be NOT important for SEO?

Cornish WebServices are beginning to believe that incorrect keyword selection may be detrimental to SEO. This is especially true when no proper keyword analysis is done. The website then becomes full of the 'wrong' keywords, giving no room for the better performing keywords.

How NOT to do keyword selection

It is probably easier to explain what NOT to do, than describe the detailed market and keyword analysis that should underpin keyword analysis. So here are some good ways of getting poor results, which are sadly employed by a few 'keyword analysis companies' offering a quick report.

Use Wordtracker for the US market and then apply the results to UK markets.

Assume that the best keywords are those that have a high KEI (ratio of searches to ratio of websites targeting these keywords)

Assume the value of visitors from different keywords is the same.

When looking into target keywords, Cornish WebServices use the following principles:

What is the point of being ranked number 1 for keywords that produce no visitors?

What is the point of being ranked number 1 for keywords that produce rubbish visitors?

What is the point of optimising for the US market if your market is the UK?

We frequently see keyword optimised websites that fail to produce results, Optimising on the wrong keywords is a useless task with no business benefit.

Contact Cornish WebServices for help with keyword research or keyword analysis and optimise your website for increased visibility in the search engines.

What are realistic timescales for SEO?

Be No 1 on Google in 1 week. Guaranteed Results!

Or so says the email you have just received. There may even be examples to prove it. Usually really non competitive niche keywords.

Is this possible?

No. Not now. But it did used to be. Back in 2003/4 some SEO cowboys were offering this. After one week website was on first page and the fee got paid. Within 2-3 weeks website was blacklisted and banned from Google. 6-9 months later website might recover.

So, if it sounds too good to be true, it is. And the same applies to SEO.

For the record, Cornish WebServices have never employed such techniques, always aiming for long term consistent search engine rankings, and we have long standing clients for whom we have achieved this.

The major UK search engine is Google and it can take several weeks for the search engine spiders to index your website pages. A good SEO company should be able to shorten this to a few days. We consider 3 days to be slow.

Once the search engine robots have indexed your pages it can take a month or so before Google assesses how important it considers your website to be (or at least until it uses these results). This delay or dampening mechanism was introduced partly to prevent dubious short term websites from appearing and disappearing overnight. This is the main factor in determining how long your website takes to reach the top few places.

This means that search engine Optimisation always takes time.

Realistically, for Google this means months, and in competitive markets 6-9 months for top positions. Of course we have some clients for whom we've achieved top 3 places within one month on good keywords, but not in very competitive markets!

Timescales on the other major search engines are very variable. In 2006/7 we usually see good rankings on either Yahoo or MSN within 1 month, but sometimes these take longer.

When comparing SEO companies it is important to consider the dates quoted. Cornish WebServices have had to revise their estimated timescales. On the old MSN algorithm, pre 2006 we usually got very good MSN results within a week or two, and would be surprised if all target keywords were not top 10 within a month. Since 2006 this is less often possible for MSN.

The same applies to Yahoo, where we used to achieve top 10 in 2-3 months maximum, more usually 2-4 weeks. Timescales to get top 10 search engine rankings have lengthened and become more variable for Yahoo.

With Search engine optimisation are there any disadvantages?

Yes - read our article on disadvantages of search engine optimisation.

Why Choose Us for Search Engine optimisation?

We are an Internet Marketing & website design company.

Before the phrase "search engine optimisation" was coined, we were creating websites that naturally obtained the top positions in the search engines. This gave us a head start on the competition.

Since 2003, search engine optimisation has been one of our core services along with PPC management and accessible website design. It is not an added extra that we outsource, but a central part of our work. Our website design clients gain an unfair advantage in that we only create accessible search engine friendly websites, but we also undertake search engine optimisation and marketing on existing websites.

Our Search Engine Optimisation Services

Cornish WebServices only use ethical, long lasting techniques. We do not advertise our search engine optimisation services through paid advertising, but successfully rely on visitors from the major search engines and from recommendations for all our search engine optimisation work.

What does effective SEO cost?

We are frequently asked for some information on search engine Optimisation costs. These vary enormously on the website itself, the competitiveness of the market and your expectations. More information is on our SEO - Prices article. Contact us for an immediate assessment of your website and an indication of likely search engine optimisation costs.

Search Engine Optimisation Costs at the design phase

If search engine Optimisation is considered when the website is designed, then the additional design costs are very low. Cornish WebServices estimate that it costs an extra 5-10% at the design phase to create a naturally search engine optimised website. This cost is already included within any website design quotations given by Cornish WebServices.

Such a website will do well in all but the most competitive markets, without a huge amount of additional work.

Search Engine Optimisation Costs for existing websites

The costs involved very much depend on the size and complexity of the website and the way in which the website has been written. Any website that is accessible will be cheaper and quicker to optimise for particular keywords. Non accessible websites, and websites full of Flash and JavaScript take longer to optimise, and we usually end up completely rewriting all the web code, keeping just the visual design.

Ongoing search engine Optimisation costs

As many other companies are now realising the importance of search engine Optimisation, there is growing competition in most markets for the top page of Google.

Cornish WebServices provide a continued monthly search engine Optimisation service which includes monitoring website rankings and making continuous enhancements to increase and maintain search engine rankings.

This is recommended for small / medium sized businesses for whom the Internet is an important marketing medium.

Cornish SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Services

Cornish WebServices have been successfully marketing websites on the Internet since 2002 (before search engine Optimisationbecame popular). Contact us for a realistic quotation to naturally optimise your website for increased visibility in the search engines.