Frequently asked questions about SEO

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Search engine optimisation is full of questions: Questions about this, about that, all sorts of things. The more you know the more you realise you don’t know. Here is an attempt to help you understand what is going on.

General SEO FAQs

How long does search engine optimisation take? – This one is a real gem. It takes around 4-12 weeks for a website to be indexed on search engines, but that is not everything where search engine optimisation is concerned. The amount of PR you need to make an impact on search engines varies depending on the competition. If you have chosen niche keywords as well as a popular ones, then you should be seeing some results after you have acquired a little PR.

PR – What is PR? PR stands for PageRank and is a reflection on how many links from other websites link to your site, and how much traffic your site sees. It works by a voting system, with similar sites to your own counting higher than an unrelated site.

Links – Links are short for hyperlinks, which are what you click on to take you from one site to another. These can be categorised into internal links, which link one part of the same website to another, or external links, which link one website to a different site. The more external links you have, the better your PR.

ROI – ROI is an acronym for Return on Investment. This records how much money you have made in regards to how much you have laid out. Obviously, if you have made more than you’ve paid out, then you are moving in the right direction.

SERPs – Search Engine Results Page – The results page is what you see after you conduct a search on a search engine. Obviously, the whole aim of search engine optimisation, is to push a website as far up these pages as possible.

Black hat SEO – Black hat SEO is where the methods used to get results are frowned upon by search engines, especially Google. Link exchanging or farms, hidden text, or site content that is unpalatable to the big three search engines, are just a few examples. It is worth noting, that often the penalties for Black hat practises, are severe.

White hat SEO - White hat SEO are methods that are favoured by search engines. As you have deduced, this is the opposite of Black hat SEO.

Anchor Text - Anchor text, is the text contained in a hyperlink that links to a website. So if a site has a link of “Click here”, these words are the anchor text. A better keyword description for links, can make very effective search engine optimisation.

Link-Optimise FAQs

Guaranties – Unlike many search engine optimisation companies, we do not make any guarantees that you will be sailing high on SERPS after we SEO your website. This is because we do not wish to lie to you. What we will do is give you your money back if 3 of the 15 keywords are not on page one of at least one major search engine by the time we have finished search engine optimising your site. Bear in mind that Google have stated that their search engine can not be ‘gamed’. The algorithm they have developed to position sites on SERPs is changed all the time. It is our belief that no SEO company can give you a promise where your site will be in six months time.

Are all packages available on instalments? – Yes, no matter how small the cost, and payments can be spread over months. We only require either a standing order or direct debit mandate to be complete for monthly payments.

photo credit: Finding Josephine