Working for a company that offers SEO I get a lot of people asking me about it and wanting to know how they do it. Unfortunately with so many people claiming to offer the service many people will hear things that are not completely accurate. The aim of this article is to give you a basic understanding of what needs to be done and some things to look out for.

What is Search Engine Optimisation?

Well basically search engine optimisation is process of getting a website to the top of the search engines for certain keywords. It involves doing things to the website to make sure it is set up properly as well as things off the website.

The Basics of Search Engine Optimisation

There is 2 parts to effective search engine optimisation. That is the onsite factors and the offsite factors. Both need to be considered and you will not achieve very much without both of them. Below is a quick overview:

1. Onsite Factors - This is the process of changing your website to ensure it is optimised for the search engines. It involves changing the content, titles and urls among other things. It is important that you sort out the onsite factors first and that you continue to monitor them to make sure you do not get left behind.

2. Offsite Factors - Again this is very detailed however the number one thing you need to look at is link building. It is important to get as many high quality links to your website as you can to ensure you increase its importance. You also need to concentrate on your anchor text to make sure this includes you keywords to ensure the search engines know exactly what your website is about.

Common Search Engine Optimisation Misconceptions

One of the problems we come up against is people coming to us with incorrect information and more often than not it has been given to them by companies trying to hard sell their SEO services. Below is a list of points that you should consider before beginning and SEO campaign:

1. No one can guarantee a position in Google. Many companies will try and tell you that their services will guarantee you page 1 on Google. The problem is Google do not have a special relationship with anyone. This means we do not know what they will do to their algorithm and how things will change. We also do not know what other companies will do to their websites.

2. Results will take time - Be aware that SEO is not a quick fix to your marketing efforts. If you are starting a new website it will take longer than an established website but we would recommend waiting at least 3 months for any website before you see an effect. If someone is promising you quick results be careful, there is a good chance they are using spam techniques. This means you will see a quick result but you will be damaged later on. Most search engines ban websites for spamming and so you will find you disappear forever.

Before you begin a search engine optimisation campaign you should make sure you do as much research as possible. There is a lot of information that you can find on the internet and you should make sure you read this before engaging a company to work for you.