Clients often tell me that SEO (search engine optimisation) isn’t required on their website because they aren’t interested in search traffic.

And, because so many small businesses ignore SEO, they can’t be found through search engines at all, even if your type their company name into a search engine.

Not only does this not make sense (for the sake of some simple tagging), an unethical competitor could be optimising a web page specifically to take search traffic away from you by utilising your company name against you. I’ve seen it with keywords in the old days and I am seeing it now with pay per click advertising - keywords are easy to use and invisible to the general web user.

But, as search engines move away from the keywords meta tag in natural listings, how optimised is your website, even for your own company name, location or what you do?

When someone actually wants to find you in a search engine - will they even get close? I had it last week trying to find a company in a certain town. It took me about 20 minutes to find them finally through an obscure directory, which listed an contact e-mail that I had to copy and paste the domain name from.

Three Simple Rules For Being Found

1. Make sure your title tag is set up to include your company name, what you do and location (if important). Nothing too long - stick to the main facts:
   eg. Craig Killick - Website Marketing Consultant in Hampshire
2. Create a meta description tag as a paragraph that introduces your company:
   eg. A Web Site Marketing Consultant based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, Craig offers website strategy advice that delivers business results.
3. Make sure your page has a relevant title, wrapped up in an H1 title tag:
   craig killick [ website marketing consultant ]

Mistakes People Make

Many people go overboard, trying to get as many words in as possible. Keep it simple and relevant. Remember, when someone does a search (1) and (2) are what show up in the Google search results. So many results look messy because they are stuffed with so many words.

Search engine optimisation is one thing but it’s still a human being doing the search. Make your links informative and relevant, but also make them attractive (advertorial style) so if they do come up in the search results, someone will want to click on your link.