Pay Per Click (PPC) is an advertising tool used on the Internet. There are a number of companies offering this service but the best known at the moment are Google, Yahoo and MSN.

They all work in a similar way and allow the advertiser to create a small advertisement which is then displayed next to the search results when specific keywords are used or on partner sites related to the product or service you are selling.

The main advantage to the advertiser is that you only pay when someone clicks on your advertisement and visits your site. You are also able to impose strict budgets that enable you to control your advertising spend.

If you have ever considered using a Search Engine Optimisation company (SEO) to help promote your website in the organic search engine results there are some things you should be aware of to help stop you hiring a company that is not up to the job.

Companies that promise you the number 1 spot in Google for a term – no company can guarantee a top position, any one who says they can is being dishonest or does not know what they are talking about.

Not even Google guarantees to get your website indexed in the correct category, they obviously want to and do their best but they can not guarantee it.

Companies that offer you hundreds or thousands of links for $49 this will harm your site, not help it, search engine optimisation is not about tricking the search engines, it is about helping them index your site well.

Companies whose site is not in the top results for their own search terms, if you search for search engine optimisation UK you will find Be Found or Die, if companies can not get these positions for themselves how are they going to do it for you?

Companies who do not listen to you and insist on the keywords you should use, if they do this it is normally because these keywords are easier to rank for and will provide less traffic to your site – if the keywords generate more traffic than those you have chosen they should be able to prove this to you before they start work.

Following these simple tips should help you choose a SEO company that will help you in the search engine rankings, if you have not done so already call the SEO team at Be Found or Die for more information on why we think we can help.

Improving your traffic is the first step to increasing your return on investment from your website. The second is improving your conversion rate.

Both of these can be achieved by a well designed website, we recommend you look at web design Salisbury for web site design tips and information.

Ensuring that people land on the page that is most relevant to their search is a good way to boost conversions. This can be achieved through both Pay Per Click and Search Engine Optimisation.

When people land on the page that is most relevant to the search they have performed they will feel much more inclined to stay and read that page, if you are looking to buy Christmas cards that donate money to your favourite charity you would search for charity Christmas cards, you would want to land on a page that was relevant to charity related Christmas cards and that would offer a donation to relevant charities, if instead you landed on a page that talked about business telephone numbers you would not stay there.

Using clear, crisp photographs of your products will help to increase your conversion rates. The saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is true, but only if the picture shows the product in a good light.

Professionally taken photographs may cost more than doing it yourself but calling in a professional can more than pay for itself in the extra conversions you get when you use them on your website.

Having a site that is clearly laid out with an obvious route to the products and a simple check-out process will help you achieve the conversion rates you want, this is all part of the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) that is so important when you are considering your website design.