Google: How to get started with website optimisation

14th July 2008

Google has offered advice to paid search marketers looking to boost their natural search rankings.

Ambroise Fensterbank, search quality evaluator at Google, said in a post on the Inside AdSense blog that marketers should refrain from using tactics that are claimed to bring results in a very short period of time.

He warned that these could in fact violate Google policies and instead advised webmasters to look at factors such as website navigation, alt and title tags, outgoing links and backlinks.

"Design your site with your users in mind and be patient and consistent in your efforts," Mr Fensterbank stated.

"To attract quality backlinks and develop your optimisation strategy, it's important to keep a clear structure for your pages and regularly add organic content."

Alt tags can be a useful tool for those hoping to improve their search engine optimisation - according to the World Wide Web Consortium, such tags are picked up on by search engine bots and therefore failing to fill them in could mean that vital parts of the site are ignored.