April 13th, 2010 by Nick

It is sometimes a bit tricky to evaluate why a specific site is languishing in the search engine results pages. The SEO strategies of others may have something to do with it. However, it can be the case that several factors related to the site are detracting from its performance. As the field of search engine optimization is contested and undergoes constant change, some of the factors to which attention will be drawn may be considered to be of greater or lesser importance than indicated. The list of factors below is not intended to be exhaustive and is merely meant to be of some limited practical value:

•    Hosting. A site must be hosted effectively for it to perform well in the rankings. If web pages are not accessible on a regular basis, the major search engines may conclude that a site is not satisfactory. Users may well share this negative opinion, because a satisfactory level of service to them
•    Links. Although organic links can be a great advantage to a site, they can also have negative implications in certain circumstances. Outgoing links to poor quality sites may be judged harshly by the search engines. What was once a reputable link may stop being so, if a domain name changes hands, for instance. If links have been purchased, this may have been a counterproductive move with negative consequences
•    Content quantity. It is a commonplace that the search engines do appreciate copious supplies of regularly updated content. If a site is rather bare, the web crawlers may not be frequent visitors
•    Duplicate content. Sites which feature significant amounts of copied content are often poor performers
•    Flash. Search engines do not seem to appreciate a site with an excess of Flash

Assessing your own site can be highly problematic for at least two reasons. The first is obvious. It can be hard to be objective about your own work, especially if it is connected with your own business. If you have put in a large amount of effort into a small or medium-sized enterprise over a considerable time period, it can understandably be difficult to admit to any misjudgement. It is not probable that you will see your site as users perceive it. Some individuals may be able to achieve the objectivity required, but it is hard to appreciate whether or not you are capable of it.

The second reason is a possible deficit in technical expertise. If you are a business owner, it can be the case that your knowledge of your business is more impressive than your website savoir faire. It makes good sense to obtain the services of an SEO services specialist in these circumstances. They should be able to independently assess the situation and deploy their technical know how on your behalf. Their experience will be an asset in determining precisely what is not firing on all cylinders.

Realising which parts of a site are not working is a very positive step in SEO terms, because it puts you on the correct road to sorting out the relevant issues.

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