FAQs
Should I use a Web Services company from another city?
Most Internet services do not require face-to-face contact with clients, so using a local service is not absolutely necessary. That said, it is nice to meet with your Web designer or Internet marketing consultant in person occasionally, which is why we fly around Australia to clients who request one-on-one meetings with us.
If you choose a design company with which you cannot meet, just be sure they are reputable.
How much should I spend on a Website?
If you pay peanuts you will get monkeys, but you also don't want to be overcharged. As a general rule, if a company offers you a Website for less than $2k ask them to show you an example, because it's probably sub-standard. Whatever the Website price, ask for justification of the cost. Just be sure you're getting good value for money. Also find out if that site will be Search Engine Optimised, because that's important.
Talk to your consultant, ask them for a quotation and get them to explain it to you. Even though you can't physically hold a Website it does take time to make, so it will cost money, but your Web design firm should be able to justify every cent.
How much should I spend on Search Engine Optimisation?
This will depend on how much competition there is for your keyphrases and how many pages there are on your site. The SEO industry varies significantly in its pricing because it's very new. I have seen ridiculously high prices (up to $80k for a single analysis) but they're in the minority. In general if you want SEO for a site under ten pages and want it to compete with low-to-medium demand keyphrases you should expect to spend $600 - $1500 for an analysis or $2k - $8k per year for ongoing SEO. Prices increase if your site has more pages, if you want to optimise for more keyphrases or if you are trying to tackle high-demand keyphrases.
If you want to incorporate link-building, that's an entirely different task again.
Can you guarantee Search Engine Ranking Positions?
No. The main reason is that search engines like Bing and Google decide what they find relevant. Bing will show at #1 what Google will rank on page 3 and vice-versa. The algorithms that decide these rankings are changed regularly, so what ranks on page 1 today might be page 3 tomorrow. We work hard to adapt to these changes quickly to give our clients the best SERPs possible, but nobody can really guarantee results.
How much should I spend on my Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign?
Start with $10 per day and do it for a couple of weeks. See what happens. That is, of course, unless you have a massive budget in which case spend more. My point is that it is going to be trial and error. Most keywords on Google Adwords go for $1-$3 per click, so less than $10 per day and you won't be able to measure your results very accurately. My advice: Set a budget, measure your results, modify to improve, repeat. Do this until you are happy with the cost/benefit ratio. If you never get to a point where you're happy with it, hand over the campaign to a professional. If that doesn't work, perhaps PPC just isn't the type of promotion that suits your business. Like all forms of advertising – it doesn't work for everyone.
Is link building recommended? Will I incur penalties from Google?
Yes it's recommended. Yes you can be penalised by Google. Let me explain.
Link building is the difference between good and great search results. The more inbound links to your site the more importance most search engines place on your site's content. There are right and wrong ways to go about link building. Spam, as a general rule, is the wrong way. Keep your links off link farms and away from any site that looks like it might be trying to cheat the system. Don't spam with blog comments. Don't create links on pages that have nothing to do with yours.
If you do violate Google's terms of service they may remove your Website from search results altogether.
We have relationships with reputable link building companies who can create links that will actually drive traffic to your site whilst boosting your search results.
What is Website Accessibility? What is Website Usability? Do they apply to my site?
Accessibility and Usability are often thought to be the same thing, but there are differences.
Accessibility is defined as making a Website accessible by people of all abilities and disabilities. People with sight disabilities may use a browser reader. Sites developed with Flash or using text on images would pose a problem for a browser reader. Incorrect or non-use of image alt tags and link titles can also cause problems.
Usability is a term pushed very hard by researcher Jakob Nielsen who defines usability as “a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use”. To satisfy Jakob's usability test a site must be easy to learn, efficient to use and navigate, easy to remember, cause few errors and be overall pleasant to use.
These principles should apply to every Website including yours.
Can I have my Website designed and hosted by different companies?
Of course. All your designer needs is the server login details for your site. If you don't have them ask your hosting company. If you're at all unsure just let your Web design company know who hosts your site and let them take care of it. If one of the companies refuses to cooperate, use another company.
When do I need a Website?
Fifteen years ago.
The Internet is here. A Website is as important to your business as the bricks and mortar you operate from. People are more likely to visit you on the Web than they are in person. If you are running a business and have even started to wonder if you need a Web presence – then you do.
What is Internet Marketing? Why do I need it?
Internet Marketing takes many forms including Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, banner advertising, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), blogging, social networking...
Internet Marketing is extremely targeted promotion which can put your product or service in front of a precise demographic on the Web.
The Internet is no longer a separate World, the World is now ON THE INTERNET. If your business is considering advertising or promotion of any kind, you NEED to incorporate Internet Marketing into that strategy.
Speak to us and we'll help you do it right.
How does Melbourne Online rank in Search Engines?
We rank better for some keyphrases than others and better in some search engines than others. We are constantly working to improve our rankings, but here are some links to some search engines to give you an idea of how we are travelling. The keyphrase I'll use as an example is Melbourne Web Design.