Things You Should Know about SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

a.k.a. "I want to come up first on Google"
by Daelin Lunaeri of Gryphon Solutions, Inc.

What is SEO?

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is the process of analyzing and modifying a website's content to appear higher in search results.

Does Search Engine Optimization work?

It helps. Keep in mind there are hundreds of millions of websites on the internet, and they all want to be number one in the search rankings. The more websites that are indexed for the keywords you are using, the less likely it is that you will be able to rank well using those keywords.

Also, it is good to know that the internet is constantly changing. So site ranks are constantly changing as well. Many large companies have a person dedicated to SEO of their website. SEO can be a full-time job.

How Can I Make My Website Rank Higher?

Google uses a complex formula to calculate the ranking of websites. Many articles have been written theorizing on how this formula works, but the truth is: Only Google knows for sure. However, there are certain things that the experts agree on that will improve your search ranking.

1. Good Content. The more unique and useful content (text and images) your website has, the better it will index. There is no replacement for having lots of useful information about your product, service, or interest. The better content pages you have for your website, the more likely it will be that your website will index well.
   
   
2. Inbound Links. When a website links to you, they share some of their search ranking with you. The better ranked that website is, the bigger the ranking bonus you get. Reciprocal links (two websites linking to each other) are still helpful for getting more traffic, but they don't help your search ranking much. The more GOOD links you have to your website, the better it will be ranked.
   
   
3. Good HTML Code. Having good header titles, alternate text for images, and metadata (special information about a web page's content) will help the search engines more accurately index your website.

Are There Things That Can Hurt My Ranking?

Yes. Google is always looking for new ways to catch cheaters. Avoid too many outbound links, duplicate content, and spamming keywords in your web pages. Don't link out to bad websites such as link farms or web rings.

How Long Does It Take?

From my experience, it usually takes 3-4 weeks for Google's search to reflect any changes made to a website. The time can be more or less depending on when the changes are made and how often you update your website. Search engines use special programs called 'webcrawlers' or 'spiders' to search the internet for content. When a search engines 'crawls' your website, it means that it has found and analyzed your web pages. The reason it takes so long is that not only does Google need to crawl your website again, but it needs to crawl everyone else's so it knows how everybody ranks in relationship to each other.

Do You Guarantee Results?

We guarantee that we will improve your search indexing for several keywords. We do NOT guarantee that you will make it to the first page on Google. For more information on the services we provide, see the Our SEO Services page under articles.