Build it and they will come! Or will they?
6th May 2009
In its latest report on the matter the UK National Statistics office states that based on non-seasonally adjusted data, the average weekly value of internet retail sales in March 2009, as a percentage of total retail sales, increased by 14 per cent compared with a year earlier.
That works out at an average of £171.9 million quid which is spent per week on the Internet in the UK. Phew!
Most people when looking on the web for a new product or service turn to one of the top four search-engines, namely; Google, Yahoo Search, MSN or Ask to help them find it. Google which accounts for approximately 87% of the Internet searches made in the UK can be said to be the ‘search-engine of choice’ for the majority of Internet users.
Google Dominates: Are You in It?
Given the dominance of Google in the search engine world, it makes sense if your business maintains its own website and uses it as a promotional or sales tool, to firstly get it listed within Google’s database and then to get it placed as high as possible within its search results.
This ‘placement’ process is called website ranking. Research has shown that Internet searchers rarely scroll onto page two of their given search results, so it’s important that your site is placed or ranked on the first page of Google’s results when a particular phrase is used as the search term. So for example if you are promoting “widgets for cars” on your website then to be successful your site should appear on page one of Google’s search results when the phrase “widgets for cars” is used as a search term.
The higher you get your site placed for search terms that are relevant to it, the more chance you’ll have of attracting a visitor to your site and in-turn, the more chance you will have of making a sale or generating an enquiry.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
The process of preparing a website for ranking in the search-engines is called “Search Engine Optimisation” (SEO) and generally goes hand in hand with the process of “Search Engine Promotion” (SEP) which involves getting an “optimised” website included and then ranked, within the results pages of a particular search engine.
A correctly optimised website together with an effective search engine promotional strategy can pay dividends for its owner but can be time consuming and fraught with pitfalls for the unwary. However, with patience and commitment there is a lot the small business owner can do for themselves to promote their website in the search engines for very little or no cost.
Grab Your Slice
If you plan to sell online or perhaps you already do. How big a chunk on that £172 million per week are you getting? Take a look at your SEO strategy if you’d like it to increase.
Building your website and getting it launched is simply not enough.
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Tags: E-Commerce, SEO
Amelia Vargo Says:
SEO is so important for a website’s success. I would recommend it to every website owner, because if your site isn’t on the first three pages of google (or search engine of your choice) then there really isn’t much point it being there at all.
7th May 2009
Laura Says:
Most companies forget that web hosting should also be a fundamental part of their SEM plan – fast hosting being the rewarding option. Google has published information and spoken about the need for speed hosting at the last Web 2.0 conference – you can watch this video and download the Google docs here:
http://www.ukfast.co.uk/cheetah.html
14th October 2009