Search Engine Submission - What to look for when selecting an Australian SEO com

By Steve Szasz
Posted Monday, September 20, 2004

Every business owner I've met has been encouraged one way or the other that they should invest in a web site. Hype going around at the moment states that if you don't have a web site then you might as well pack you bags and retire to the social security que.

This statement is basically true, but not all business types are suited to market successfully online. But those that are will miss out on a flood of new business unless they incorporate a thorough online marketing strategy.

Its fine to have a new web site developed with all the bang and whistles. But unless visitors can find you amongst the millions of web pages now shown on the Internet, it's a complete waste of time and resources.

That's were a Search Engine Optimiser can help you dramatically improve your chances of online success. In this article I will highlight the does and don'ts of selected a credible SEO company. There are a number of points you have to consider when selected a reputable one that you can trust. Below is a list and description of what you should look for.

Q. How can I judge if the SEO Company will produce what they say?

A. Well to answer this question better, you will have to consider this points when either talking to them or reading there sales pitches.

No reputable SEO company will submit your website to more than 30 odd major search engines and indexes. The reason for this is they know that these 30 odd major search engines and directories feed the search results to the million or so other so called search engines so why would an SEO who knows there stuff submit to all the others. Another point not often told by some of the scammers is that yes they may submit your website details to a million search engines, but these submissions are usually made to what we call FFA websites and the only thing you will gain from this submission is a million emails which could easily flood your email server. So if they say they submit to thousand of search engines, stay well away.

Another point worth considering is to ask what successes they have had with their previous clients submissions. If they can show their successes, then your confidence level in them should increase.

Q. How can I know if they really are submitting my website were they say they are?

A. Well in reality you cant but you can ask them for a list of search engines and directories that they will submit your website to. Also a reputable SEO company will supply you with a written monthly report highlighting the search engines, the date your website was submitted and the ranking you had at the time they ranked your website. If after 3 months your website hasn't gone up in the search engine ranking then you can be sure they haven't optimised your website and probably havn't submitted it either.

Q. How long before I can reasonably expect my search engine ranking to improve?

A. Well it will depend, but a rule of thumb is that most of the major search engines will take up to 3 - 4 months before they well index your website. This can change however as lately I submitted my website to the Google Directory and got indexed the same day. So it's hard to tell when they will visit, but allow 3-4 months

Q. Will my SEO Company notify me when a search engine has added me to their index?

A. Yes. They should notify you within days of your website being indexed and at the very least at the end of each month.

Q. How will my SEO company optimise my website for submission to the search engines and Directories?

A. Well
basically a good SEO will make your website as search engine friendly as possible. What I mean is they will change the text and html code behind your website so that when the search engine robot does come to your website it finds it very easy to work out what your website is about. They will have the correct keywords and met tags, which the robot will want to know. If the search engine robot is happy with the information is has collected it will pass that information off quicker and far more accurately, so you will be ranked much higher than you would have if your website was not optimised.

Your SEO will also optimise each page differently so that the robot will include more than one page in the search engine. For example, if the robot comes to your homepage and it has been optimised and your primary message and keywords on that page were for new tyres then you would hope that when someone uses a keyword search for new tyres, your website would be within the first 30 results. But on the other hand another page on your website is about wheel alignments you would hope that another searcher using a search phrase "wheel aligners" will get results pointing to your wheel alignment page.

SEO in it's simplest form is the practise of fine tuning your website so that you can get the highest possible position in the search results of a person search for information on a search engine. There is no point building a website and not considering how your prospective clients will find you. It would be like burning $50 notes.

I hope you have found this short article useful and that I have helped you decide on a great SEO company. Of course there are many more thing to watch out for, but basically these are the main ones and if you stick to them you will get the results you are after.

About the Author
Steve Szasz is the webmaster of "Picassoe Webpage Design & Marketing." and the publisher of Search Engine Nova. He has helped hundreds of individuals succeed online. To visit his web site go to: (http://www.searchengine-nova.com.au) or mailto:steve@searchengine-nova.com.au