Australian Search Engine Optimization

Bruce Gow
filed under "SEO"

Australian Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a little different from the US. A Down Under website promotion expert, has refined research and investigation techniques garnered from his experience as a policeman and fire-fighter to drill down to what people are actually searching for in Australia on the internet. Bruce Gow is the director/owner of Search Engine Guy Pty Ltd. His core business is Australian Search Engine Optimization and consults with small to medium business owners to market their websites in order to rank well on the search engines such as Google, Yahoo, MSN etc. One of the main differences from US website promotion is the stepping away from directory type web sites to readable sites with more personal and informative content. Businesses may profit by converting their websites from just being "electronic brochures" or directories into powerful, lead generating mediums - by whopping their competition with interesting and useful content. Bruce has no technical Internet qualifications, but that didn't stop him from dominating a very competitive service industry, pest control. Sick of paying huge advertising bills for Yellow Pages for his pest control business, Bruce launched www.bestpest.com.au and started to read all the junk emails on Internet marketing that most of us just delete. Researching Internet forums on search engine optimisation, he bought all the recommended software and was able to find out what people were actually searching for on the search engines. Through trial and error he found out what works and what is considered spamming by major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Within a six month period, that website almost totally dominated Internet rankings for hundreds of valuable search terms such as "pest control Sydney," "termite control St Ives," "termite inspections Sydney," "termite inspections Australia," etc in Google and Yahoo! On the basis of this online success, Bruce sold his business for a very comfortable sum to a large corporate pest control firm. He then went on to launch www.searchengine-guy.com.au so he could help other small to medium businesses achieve online visibility and generate business leads via their websites. He discovered 85% to 90% of all web site traffic comes from the search engines and directories. Many Australian advertisers are now moving an increasing proportion of their marketing budget into Internet marketing, as it produces the best results, fast. This can be seen in the latest Australian Bureau of Verification Services (ABVS) figures, which show online as the fastest growing media sector and paid search the fastest growing of the online categories. According to its latest survey, the online market grew more than six times faster than the overall ad market to hit $388 million in 2004. Bruce says "whilst the paid search advertising category is performing well and expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 37.5% to 2008, some analysts suggest Australia is 18 months behind the US in development." A little know fact is that 80% of web surfers choose the free listings over the paid advertising because of the perception that the free listings have more credibility. Also people believe that a high ranking website must be a market leader, just like the biggest ad on the front page of the Yellow Pages. So it makes sense to build a website with plenty of relevant content, good copy and filled with the right density of search terms that people are actually searching for. Combining this with a strong linking strategy and side-stepping spamming techniques will deliver a website with plenty of potential clients knocking on your door. About the author: Bruce Gow (the "Search Engine Guy") is an Australian Search Engine Optimization expert. He explains in plain English how businesses may profit by converting their websites from just being "electronic brochures" into powerful, lead generating mediums -- by whopping their competition.