What I am about to tell you is very important so read carefully. There is usually no reason for any website to have the words, "Coming Soon," "Please check back soon!" or "Under Construction," on their website. I can think of one exception. If you are adding an online store to your website then you could probably get away with it, but you better be able to back up your promise.

I'm a dork and I like to actually check back with websites that have, "Please check back soon," on their websites. A year or so later I still check back and there is nothing new there! It makes me upset. It's much like being a store that has a sign in the window telling customers to check back in a day, week, or month. You decide to stop back later only to find the same sign in the window with the same locked doors. Do you really think that visitors, your customers, are going to keep coming back day after day only to find that you're not being of any assistance?

Not only are those words rude when not backed up with their promise, they're worthless. By telling someone to come back later it isn't helping them at that exact moment in time. A website is supposed to be a 24/7 service to those who are visiting.

My advice to you, never let a website designer put those words on your website. You either have the content ready or your site isn't ready to launch. It's as simple as that. If you don't have photos for your photo gallery yet, then don't have a gallery page until you have some photos. If you don't have a price list for your products, hold out until you do.

If you really want visitors to "check back soon," make sure there's something worth coming back to.

   I'm always interested to hear what people's view on Search Engine Optimisation really is. Some people are a little sceptical due to the fact that appealing to search engines can be quite tricky. Other folks who may have had encounters with an SEO based company might find it useful, but the price tag is less than desirable. Then there are those who love the idea of SEO for the fact that it can greatly increase the likelihood of your website being seen by someone who is searching exactly.... well... for you.

   Here's where I'm going to be honest with you. It can be a very lengthily and trying process. The period of trial and error to find that ranking in a keyword you are looking for can be quite frustrating. You may start questioning, "When is my website going to be recognized by Google," or "I was promised a first page position.... but where am I?" and maybe even, "What's the point in SEO, anyway?" Before you grab that stress-ball, lets cover some common facts, stresses and misconceptions of what SEO is and as a website owner, how you can use it to your advantage.

   The acronym, "SEO", is pretty straight-forward. It stands for "Search Engine Optimisation", rather, You are preparing and packaging your your website to be picked to the bone by the likes of Yahoo, MSN, and the search engine I wish I invested money in back in 2004, Google. You are optimising your website to be easily read and understood by these search engine's spiders. Initially, you may think (and a lot of SEO companies would like you to believe) that this can only really be accomplished by your web site's designer through crazy experimental coding and other nerd talk. This sounds, quite frankly, like an expensive gamble.

   Here is where I let you in on a little secret, however. While optimising your web site's code is necessary, it is not what search engines are looking for! "Content is king", is what Google tells us. I am very excited to tell you that you, yes, even you can optimise your very own site, without even a glimpse of code! The fact is, search engines are very interested to know what your company does. Having a properly designed website will assist the search engines in understanding the content of your website, this is important, but not what they are after. The content is what they want. By having clear, concise messages about your business, what services you offer, where you are located and how someone interested in your service can contact you, this will make your website crawling with search engine spiders, which in turn, will help the audience find your site effectively.

   With that in mind, it can be a battle to get that number one rank in a search. There is always plenty more to learn about the likes of Google and SEO. However, with the knowledge that you can make a difference in rank simply by optimising your content, it will make a dramatic difference in your websites SEO performance. If you would like to know more, tune into my blog as I will keep you updated with other great practices to help you achieve a higher ranking. Also, please feel free to give me a call to discuss what Famous Davis can do for your website.