Please note this article was first published in 05 Aug 2013. Its content may now be out of date. We recommend taking a look at more recent website building blog posts or check out our comprehensive support pages. If you are looking for information on our 14 day free website builder trial we have a large number of webpages that guide you throug the process.
There was a time when you could build a website and with minimal effort your pages would be found and business would be flooding in. With the Internet now containing an estimated 4 billion WebPages how do you ensure yours get found amongst the competition? This is where SEO comes in.
SEO, or search engine optimisation is the art of understanding how search engine such as Google Bing and Yahoo order their pages. If you can understand their current criteria you can ensure that your website matches what they are looking for as closely as possible. As a result you have a greater chance of your site beating the competition, driving more traffic, and therefore business to your website.
Sounds simple right? It would be if the search engines actually told you what they were looking for and stuck to it. Instead it’s kept a closely guarded secret. Why is this so? Google in particular want to give their users the best experience possible. They know that by doing so people will use their search tools instead of the competitions. If all website owners knew what to do to ‘beat’ the search engines then sites that don’t merit a good listing will get to the top and subsequently damage the user’s experience.
As a result they change what they like to see with a frightening frequency so keep us all on our toes. They are constantly ‘tweeking’ how they order websites to prevent website owners from ‘spamming’ or beating their ordering process to get an unfair advantage.
There are some mainstay rules which Google and other search engines are happy to let us all in on. Most is just common sense, and if when building your website you constantly keep your users experience in mind you’ll cover most of their criteria. It’s the refining of your page content and how your website interacts with others which provides the most value. Although it isn’t particularly difficult, it is time consuming and requires an in depth understanding of what the search engines are looking for. If you have the time to learn and keep yourself updated for a small local business you can take on the task yourself. But for those without the time or who are trying to become found in a particularly competitive market it is wise to seek professional help. There are numerous companies who offer a bespoke SEO service and can help target your site for your marketplace. It’s important however to find the right company to carry out the work for you. We would advise seeking recommendations from other website owners and looking at the sites in your marketplace who are currently performing well and try to establish who they are using.
When you build a website with DotGO we automatically carry out many of the mainstay areas of optimisation that we know Google like to see. When you are building your pages we can guide you on how to modify your content to ensure you are covering what will appeal to your users as well as targeting your site for the search engines. Once you have built your content we are happy to review it for you and provide you with feedback on where improvements can be made.
Please remember, this article was first published 05/08/2013. The content may be out of date and you cannot post comments any more. Please check out our new blog.
We have been in business since 2003. Back when the founders of Facebook were still in college, we were writing code and helping our users create great websites.
If you need help, why not check out our huge selection of videos, step-by-step guides and knowledge papers.
We have helped many thousands of our customers create great looking websites. Take a look at a few examples, created using our website builder.
These days, websites without background videos run the risk of appearing old-fashioned. Even dinosaurish,
There’s nothing wrong with dinosaurs, or with looking like one. Dinosaurs are cool. Unless they’re chasing you of course.
But our new background videos have landed, exploded and changed the game. They have wiped out the old standards for beautiful websites, and have replaced them with a new standard that will leave all other websites looking like fossils.
Luckily, both our existing clients and our new ones have access to this brilliant new feature we’ve introduced, and we’d like to share its benefits with you today.
A superhero is only super because he or she stands out amongst the crowd. If we were a planet of flying, teleporting, time-freezing super-strong aliens, then we wouldn’t think there was anything super about us. When it comes to using formatting methods such as bold, italics, capitals or centering, all of these little text-enhancing superheroes will only stand out if they are used sparingly, in the right place, and when absolutely necessary…
Reviews, testimonials, recommendations – we all seek reassurance in them. We might even skip past the good ones just to see if there are any bad ones.Other people are sources of information for us. They can tell us whether this product or service is actually any good or not. Reading their testimonials builds trust in your business.
If I have multiple domain names, will my website rank better on the search engines? Will I be more likely to draw in extra traffic? Will my website become a supercharged powerhouse bursting with domain names that will become a magnet for new business? The answer might not be quite as positive as you would expect, but hopefully we can answer your questions during this article…
Choosing a domain name for your new business may not be as simple as you think. Most people just use their company name, but unless your branding is well recognised, this may work against you…
Is it possible for your business website to look too good? Too polished? Too slick? Too posh?
Perhaps it depends on how slick and posh you already are.
“If a customer fills out a form and adds their email address, what can I do with it?” This is a terrible question, asked by non-GDPR compliant cavemen and cavewoman who still think it’s OK to treat other people’s info as if it’s their own…
You are building a GDPR-friendly email list, and now you want to start sending out newsletters, the professional way. Where do you start?
“Don’t sell your product. Solve their problems.” Mark Cuban’s wise words sum up the art of selling – it is about helping people, fixing problems and improving the lives of others…
iF we’re honest, not many people will accuse you of clownery for not having a proper business email address. But they might not call you professional either…
Building a professional website to grow your business should be easy and seamless from start to end. We offer to build your business website for you, in four easy steps…
When July 2018 hits, Google Chrome will make sure a strong warning will pop up on any website that has not yet updated from “http” to “https”. The warning will include something along the lines of “Website Not Secure”. Here’s how to avoid it.
We are the DotGO: where everything is included and everything is managed for you, all at no extra cost.
We design websites to grow your business and wow your customers.
We are a UK company filled with passionate website designers and clever writers.
Friendly, professional and fast customer service is at the heart of everything we do. Our designers and unique technology make your website quick, responsive and secure, giving you the best chance of ranking well on Google.
If you need a shop, our own powerful ecommerce platform integrates beautifully. We train you to use our simple tools to update your website yourself. Our UK support team are on hand to provide sensible support and advice whenever you need it. We even power your professional email service, so you stay in contact with your customers by phone, tablet or computer.
Oh, and the best bit? It's cheaper than you may think, and we can get started right now.