SearchMax

Introduction

Most web designers and web hosting companies will mention search engine work in their advertising, but usually this is little more than lip service. Since we launched in 2002, our commitment to delivering results for our clients means that top placement on search engines is fundamental to our service. That is why we developed SearchMax, a comprehensive and powerful solution that is comparable to the offerings of specialist consultants - just without the cost.

What's Under the Bonnet

Most people choose a car based on looks and performance, with very little interest for what is under the bonnet; how many valves or cylinders it has, and so on. Similarly with search engines, you'll most likely want to know just one thing. Does it work? To this we can emphatically say yes, very well indeed. Right now, searchMAX is supporting the search engine positions of well over 1,000 clients of WebHealer, and when we periodically survey their positions, we consistently find that 80% to 90% are on page one of Google for their most important search phrases - as well as plenty of others.

On the other hand, you may not be content with a superficial explanation, and would like a sense of what searchMAX is doing for you, and why it works so well. The diagram above represents the overall design or architecture of searchMAX. Please click the diagram to see a larger, more readable picture. At the end of this guide, you will also find a detailed explanation of each module, but here's a quick summary of the main parts.

Essentially there are four main elements to searchMAX.

• Sumission and Monitoring
• On-Page Optimisation
• Off-Page Optimisation
• Research, Development and Upgrades

Submission and monitoring is the process of getting you onto the search engines to start with and then monitoring your position, and provides updates and reports. On-Page optimisation is concerned with all the things that are displayed on your website pages (or stored in hidden areas) which tell the search engines what your website specialises in and therefore where it should be listed. On-Page optimisation is a crucial foundation for top placement, though for more competitive searches, it will be inadequate. This is where Off-Page optimisation comes in. Just like a new restaurant will only achieve success when it becomes the talk of the town and generates interest, websites progress up search engine listings by building a good reputation on the internet; being mentioned on other websites and getting linked to from valued places. Finally and perhaps most importantly, we all know that the internet is evolving, constantly and quickly. Rules and principles for search engine placment change. Some of these changes are published by the search engines themselves, but most are not. This is where Research & Development come in, to pick up on trends and changes and then modify our searchMAX system, train our consultants and so on. Crucially this new insight needs to be applied to your website, so it isn't built on outdated principles. This is why we apply automatic upgrades to keep things current.

Just like a car, there's a surprising amount going on under the bonnet, and it takes a small team of people at WebHealer just to keep it performing at its best. Still that's what we're here for. And please, if its working for you, tell your friends. If not, tell us so that we can help.

A few Things You Probably Didn't Know About searchMAX

1. We started building searchMAX in 2002, and since then our engineers have made over 500 adjustments and improvements
2. Unfortunately searchMAX only runs on our systems and so websites that move away from our system nearly always drop down the listings - if anyone tells you otherwise, please feel free to contact us for more details
3. Over 100,000 new website addresses are registered every single day, and all these new people would love to be top of Google too - that's why we work constantly to improve searchMAX

Appendix

If you're really keen to understand the workings of our searchMAX system, here's a brief explanation of each module.

 

Module	Explanation
searchMAX Phrase Analysis and Definition	This is the process which is carried out in consultation with our searchMAX consultants, and involves the discussion and selection of search phrases which the website will target. The aim is to target those phrases which will deliver most benefit to the client and so takes into account competitiveness, difficulty and search popularity.
Meta Tag Optimisation	This is the insertion of searchMAX phrases into the appropriate Meta Tag fields in your website, and the validation tools used by our support team to ensure phrases make optimum use of these fields.
HTML optimisation	Each design is carefully built to be friendly to search engines and avoid mistakes often made by designers who focus on the aesthetic and are unaware of how a search engine will read the content. For example designing without the use of frames and giving priority to computer readable text instead of graphics.
Content & Freshness Optimisation	These days a Google friendly website needs regular updating to ensure contents are considered "fresh" enough to merit high placement. Content must also have a certain amount of depth and authority, which at its simplest equates to wordcount. We constantly research these factors, and feed our analysis back into the searchMAX analysis tools we make available to clients in their Administration Area.
PageRank Optimisation	Once a website is launched, it needs to accumulate PageRank for it to be considered important enough by Google for a top placement. We carefully build this PageRank in two ways, firstly via careful design of website page and internal linking structure, and secondly by setting up links from other relevant high PageRank websites which will share their PageRank with you.
Link Popularity	Accumulating links from other relevant websites in a natural organic way is crucial to building your good standing on search engines. Over the years, PHD Interactive has builts its own alliance of trusted internet partners, from whom we can arrange these links to your website. Crucially we do not use link farms, automated high volume submission or other methods which can put your website at risk.
Social Networking	Simple plug-ins to facilitate FaceBook Like and Twitter Follow activity offer multiple benefits: maximising the word of mouth opportunity of a website visit; building direct social network links and increasing exposure and hence the possibility of 3rd party linking.
Anchor Text Optimisation	Not all links are constructed equally, even from the same web page. We monitor and research linking methods as well as overall linking strategies to ensure the links we arrange for you pass on the most value. In fact sometimes an inbound link can have no value at all, due to way it is created. The reason can be a deliberate tactic by the webmaster or just ignorance.
Search Popularity Analysis	We regularly research the phrases used by website users to find out those which are most useful, and will bring the most traffic. This information is used by our searchMAX consultants as part of their consultations.
Research and Statistical Testing	We check the search engines for the performance of our clients' websites, both to check all is well and to statistically test new techniques.
Automated Upgrades	As a result of our research we constantly fine tune the above On-Page and Off-Page settings and automatically apply improvements to all our clients' websites

The above table describes our main areas of activity at present, but we have many more in the pipeline, such as developing relationships with content providers, who's content would help build additional authority for client websites.