SEO Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Search Engine Optimization Questions and Answers

Getting information about search engine optimization can be quite confusing and frustrating. We have provided our website visitors with a lot of rich information throughout our website. This page was created to respond to questions that are commonly asked, especially by those in the early stages of understanding the field of optimization.

What's the difference between Search Engine Optimization and Pay-Per-Click methods?

Search Engine Optimization is a long, carefully planned and executed method for generating more visits to a website. It involves maximizing your website's structure, content, code, and links. When done properly, various pages within a website bubble up to the top of the search engine results pages (frequently called "SERPs"). Ideally a top 10 placement will be achieved. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (frequently called "PPC") is a form of marketing that involves paying for each visitor to your site. It typically begins at about 10 cents per visitor but can go up to several dollars. This gets visitors to a website instantly, not over time as in optimization. The two most popular PPC methods involve placing ads with Google's Adword program and Yahoo's Overture program. In the long run, when Search Engine Optimization is done properly it is much cheaper and can be more effective, although these two approaches can be used together as part of a larger marketing campaign.

What are Spiders, Crawlers and Robots?

Search engines work by sending out what are called spiders, crawlers, or robots. Essentially, they crawl through cyberspace looking for webpages. When they get to a page, they take a sort of picture of the page, indexing the information on it, and integrating it into their giant database of millions of websites. When you type a word into the search engines looking for websites with content on that topic, in a split second they go through billions of webpages that the spiders and robots have visited. Webpages are typically revisited every few weeks.

How many pages on my website should I optimize?

Each page on your site should contain different content. For example, what is written on your homepage is different in content from what you might write on your products or services pages. Logically, there will be some overlap but overall the content will differ. As such, each page should be optimized differently. Uniseo staff can perform an analysis on your website and update each page on your website one-by-one.

I made a website and uploaded it to the Internet, how come it's not in Google?

Just because you uploaded your website to the web, does not mean that search engines instantly pick it up. It could take weeks to several months to get noticed and even then you will likely be ranked low in the system. For example, Google has a ranking system called PageRank and it usually takes high quality search engine optimization and strategic linking to get ranked toward the top.

My web designer said he optimized my website but after several months, it is still not coming up in searches. Why is that?

Although there are many reasons your website is not appearing in searches, there are two very important issues to consider. Most web designers are web designers, not web marketers. They build sites with little or no thought put towards what you are going to do with the site. As such, you have a site but without appropriate optimization, which tremendously limits its value to search engines and ultimately you as a business owner. Old ideas of meta-tags and submitting to over 1,000 search engines still abound, however nonsensical they are in reality.

How long does it take to get into Google?

The exact amount of time varies for many reasons (such as the size of your site, how recently your site was indexed by spiders, among others). We have achieved top 10 rankings among millions of results for a given keyword term within 48 hours (possibly an Internet record!). Admittedly, this is not common for most websites but it can happen.

It's been several months and my website finally shows up in Google but it's ranked in the hundreds. Why is that?

It's not always easy to get better search engine rankings. In fact, search engine optimization is part science and part art. Search engines continually change their algorithms and tweak their rules for ranking. It is possible that Google does not fully read your page due to structural issues, your website (or at least individual webpages) could be lacking in meaningful content, no significant websites link to you, your website is too small to be of any value to people searching for your topic, or any other range of problems. Search engines may be flooded with websites on a given topic, making it more difficult to achieve higher rankings. As such, a good search engine optimizer will look for a niche to exploit. For example, consider whether your website has greater appeal to a local, national, or international region. Never forget that your competitors are also in the market for a professional SEO company such as Uniseo.

Is Search Engine Optimization as confusing as it sounds?

We see search engine optimization as being very complex rather confusing. Then again, we are the professionals! The truth is, companies such as Google never reveal exactly how they rank websites. If they did, everyone would do the same thing and mass chaos would ensue! In fact, during the 1990s, so many people figured out search engine "tricks" that many searches ended up being useless. One of the main reasons that Google is so successful is that their algorithms are extremely accurate and efficient (although they are occasionally fooled).

How can I get my site to be number one in Google rankings?

It is impossible to guarantee a number one position. Your competitors are changing their websites as you are, some pages might become more important given the state of the world. On the other hand, you should not be deterred from using Uniseo's services. Search Engine Optimization is extremely important in today's competitive online marketplace. We use our best efforts to get you among the top search results within a few weeks to months. If you absolutely have to be at the top within a few days, you can use Pay-Per-Click services. To find out more about about positioning, read our section on SEO guarantees and scams.