It takes a while to get it up!

No, this isn’t a midlife crisis for men, but the harsh reality of trying to get your website listing on the first page, without lining the pockets of Google.

The days when a website was one of those, "I suppose we had better have one because everyone else has" type-situations, are gone and they are now a top priority for every company.

Broadband, bigger screens, sound and video have all pushed the medium to the forefront of marketing considerations. The quality of web design is far higher than that of two years ago and it is still evolving as marketing companies begin to really understand how best to use it to interact with their customers, or prospective customers.

However, even the best designed and most well maintained website is worthless if it can’t be found. Pay per click advertising was the hot topic a year ago (and still is in many circles) but, as Google and Yahoo rake in the cash and bidding wars break out for the top search terms in any given industry, immediacy and instant gratification are giving way to a trend towards the good old virtues of patience and hard work.

This is largely due to the fact that many companies are realising that pay per click is a double-edged sword. It is great for delivering visits to your site, but with a fickle public, there remains a high tendency to click in and out of sites faster than the cost of the enquiry or sale. A friend of mine called pay per click the "crack cocaine" of the marketing world; it feels great when you get your first ‘hit’, but after a while you notice the price goes up, it eats through your whole budget, and you find you just can’t bring yourself to stop. Now, if you could get your website onto the first page without paying every time someone clicks on it, wouldn’t that be great?!

Search Engine Optimisation is fast becoming trendy. It is moving from the dark backroom into the glare of daylight. It’s not instant, and it often involves a long slow process of adapting your website and tweaking your copy and wording to slowly push you up the listings. However, in the long run, for most companies anyway, it’s cheaper. After all, good things come to those who wa it... apparently.

If you would like to find out more about our web design and optimisation services, please call Pete Hammond on 01372 370857.