Why Have A Website and what is Google Caffeine?
<rant>
I get a lot of calls asking how much a website is, and many seem disappointed - or suspicious - when I cannot tell them to the cent over the phone. But the truth is we don't just click on a folder called "Websites", upload your logo to the header, click on "Upload" and then send an invoice.
A website is possibly - probably - the most important investment in your business after your people. It's not something you should just want for the sake of it. It's something you should think about. It's a big investment, after all.
You should explore, discuss, and try to understand the various options available to you, at least in the most basic sense, so you are empowered to create a website that is tailor-made to your needs. This way your investment can repay you in kind...
Which is why I always say come in (it's warm and we're pretty friendly guys), have a coffee (C4, freshly roasted, no charge), and have a chat (in plain English, no obligation, hopefully enjoyable, and did I mention no charge). Then we can get to know you, which is a good start on getting to know what you want, which is the only way to find out what you need.
The other question is always around becoming #1 on Google ("How Do I Get to number 1 on Google" - 39 million Google results as of right now!).
Most people know about keywords, and seem surprised when we note that that's possibly the least important issue for S(earch) E(ngine) O(ptimisation). There's plenty of "experts" out there that will happily take your money with dubious claims, but if you sit down and think about it, the best thing for your site is that it's authoritative - no matter what it is you do, if your site is comprehensive, full of useful content, and well designed with usability in mind, then your site will optimise.
In certain sectors you may have to work harder, granted. You may need to buy some P(ay) P(er) C(lick) ads, tweak your terms, look at your inbound/ outbound links, and consider some external drivers (like good old advertising).
But I like to flip the focus from "I just want my site to be #1 in search" to "I want my site to be #1". If it is, then you'll get traction on search engines, and then SEO can really begin - as something that augments your marketing, not as the entire reason to have a site.
After all, what's the point of driving tons of people to a site that does nothing but demonstrate that you're not as passionate or brilliant as you say you are?
Which is a long way of saying that Google introduced it's "caffeine" indexing system today, and I think it backs up our philosophy. It's a move to deliver the freshest, most relevant content for any given search term as the web and real-time become inseparable. Google Caffeine is a clear shot across the bow of ye olde world static web:
It's also a challenge to all websites - if you're not prepared to invest time in updating your website regularly with quality content then you'll not only be doing yourself a disservice, but you're going to be left behind not only by search engines, but also by your audience...
</ rant>
Time for a bit of Bob Dylan, come on people, altogether now!
