Website tips with Michelle Whitmore of Zeald.com

As website consultants, we are often asked about how Google works.

Firstly, let's look at the influence of Google. Surveys show 80-90 per cent of people discover websites through a search engine and 65 per cent of those people will be using Google.

Several other major search engines also use the Google search engine, so if you rate highly on Google, you will also rank highly on those search engines.

No wonder there is a whole industry dedicated to analysing how Google's complex formula works, so they can then manage their clients' websites and move them up the rankings on Google.

Research tells us the top ten listings receive nearly 80 per cent more traffic than those positioned on the subsequent page and we already know the number of visitors to your website is one of the two key determinants of website success; so you want that traffic coming your way.

Where do you start in your quest for Google success? Irrespective of which expert report I read, all of them reiterate that ‘content is king'. Which means you should make sure your content is topical, rich with keywords and updated regularly. Also think about the words that are 'hidden” that the search engines use to index the website. These are called meta tags and it's important you are informed on how they work. With quality content on your website, it's more likely other people will link to your website too and we know from observation that inbound links are gold in the world of Google.

Obviously there are other variables at work, but those mentioned here are a good starting point for the amateur or expert search engine optimiser.