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 Your Website: Behind the Scenes
Volume:2 Issue5 - November 2007
A web page is essentially a piece of computer programming code that is rendered by your computer into what you see on the screen. If the website as you see on the screen can be called the front end, the programming code can be considered the website's "back end" and is the part of the site that is analyzed by search engines. The skill with which the website's back end is written is responsible for how well - or poorly - your website is ranked, and ultimately responsible for whether your website generates any new patients. When you contract someone to build a website for you there is no way to know how the back end is structured. This lack of transparency is inherent to the business of web design; except here what you don't know CAN hurt you. In other words, two websites can look very similar and still be diametrically opposite in their page ranking. This is why you may have looked at a competitor's website and asked yourself why are they ranked so high while I don't even come up. If your web design company is unaware of optimization standards or is already thinking about the next project, you can bet your job will not be done well.
How Search Engines Work
Search engines such as Google and Yahoo make their money by delivering relevant results to the browser. If these search engines can't establish a central theme for your website because of poor back end design or un-optimized content, they won't know when to deliver it in response to a search. The end result is that your site will be buried somewhere on the 15th page and generating no patients.
Search engines don't view websites in the same way as you and I do. They never see the rendered version of your website as appearing on a computer screen. Instead, they use a complex algorithm to analyze the back end. Poorly written back ends may be hidden from you and your website visitors, but they are under strict and frequent scrutiny by search engines. A web designer who doesn't have intimate knowledge of internet's inner workings will cost you time and money.
Components of Website Optimization
Search engines look in two places to establish relevance - and importance - of your
website. The first is the website itself as discussed above. This
component is known as "on-page optimization" and
is concerned with the content and structure of the site. In many instances
fine-tuning this component of the website can dramatically improve
the visibility of the site.
The second component is called "off-page optimization"
and refers to your website's "street credibility" on the internet. How well known is
your website among other sites? What is other people's opinion of
your website?
All search engines use a scoring system to establish the importance
of your website to their visitors. The more authoritative your website
is considered to be on a given subject, the higher it will come up. KCMC's
optimization team is helping clinics retain top rankings by essentially
launching an ongoing PR campaign which will over time communicate
with various search engines to increase your page rank. Click
here to email if you would like more information. |
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