Search Engines or Clients?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) often focuses too much on aspects of designing a website purely based on what a search engine wants. As I read through hoards of information pertaining to placement of keywords and html design and whatnot, I am led to believe that we are designing a website for the search engines.

We must remember however, what search engines are looking for. They are focusing their efforts on finding user friendly websites with content that is important to a visitor depending on the keyword phrases they have typed into it. But there it is again, we are being pulled away from the main reason of a website - to advertise or sell a service or product to a client.

Of course websites are not placed online purely for existing clients. They are there to also attract new clients - well in most cases anyway. I believe that if a website has what it takes to be a good case for search engine optimisation, well then of course everything should be done to maximise that visibility.

However, if the site has limited content, is more visual than contextual, splashes flash around or uses a complex Content Management System (CMS), well then maybe it is not viable to carry out a SEO campaign and would be better off suited towards Pay Per Click (PPC) or the like. Of course a Flash website can be redesigned into HTML, and can often be more user-friendly in such a format, and can then therefore make for a great SEO campaign.

At the end of the day all pros and cons must be considered and we must compromise with web designers, graphic designers, clients and whoever else comes in our way of making the perfect search engine friendly site. We must remember that search engines are already looking for and perhaps favouring those sites that already have great potential for a strong SEO campaign. Those websites that do not, well they have to look elsewhere or wait for better search engines to come around.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under SEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.