We’re often asked by potential clients –
“Will my new website appear at the top of the search results?”
It’s impossible (and would be dishonest) for us to give a definite answer to this. In truth the only thing to do is build the best possible website and trust that your content and our expertise do the job.
We’ve discussed how Google ranks websites before – and there are a ton of different factors each with varying levels of importance. Over time the way sites are valued changes – in recent years a trend has appeared suggesting that well-designed, newly updated websites tend to do better in results than their older, amateur counterparts.
Of course this should be taken with a pinch of salt – correlation does not equal causation – but it stands to reason that search engines prefer websites that are well-made, well-structured and easy to digest.
“It stands to reason that search engines prefer websites that are well-made, well-structured and easy to digest.”
One of our most frequent pieces of advice to clients is to beware of paying for expensive Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services – sometimes a great website with appropriate content is all you need.
To prove this point we decided to run an experiment on Google search to discover how well a range of Cybermill-developed websites performed in the results after launching.
Conditions
There were a few conditions/restrictions to our challenge:
- Sites would need to be new-ish, but not brand new. This is simply to allow Google to visit and rank them in the index. We’ve allowed a minimum of a couple of months to pass after a new site or redesign goes live to account for variances in the site’s position.
- The sites must be our own work – designed and developed in-house, but populated with content produced by our customers.
- The search phrases we use could not be ‘too easy’. Any business is likely to come up first or second if you search for its name. The purpose of our experiment was to discover those websites performing for typical and realistic phrases – so we’re not interested in setting up ‘straw man’ searches.The searches would need to be things that real people are likely to type in- things that the website owners would like their businesses to do well for.In addition we have supplied figures for the ‘search volume’ of these phrases to prove they’re not too obscure. These figures are taken from Google Adwords’ Keyword Suggestion Tool.
- The websites would not have had any specific paid-SEO work (that we are aware of).[Side note: When we launch a new website we do always perform a basic optimisation ‘overview’ to check that we (the developers) have done things correctly. This involves checking that pages have proper titles and descriptions, that the structure is correct with headings and paragraphs in the right order, and so on. We don’t charge extra for this ‘basic SEO’. We think it’s a key part of the build process – and the right thing to do.]
The experiment
The websites we’ve picked are somewhat randomly chosen from our portfolio – they’re generally local Yorkshire-based businesses coming from Selby, York, Leeds, Harrogate and Doncaster. We’ve deliberately chosen websites representing a broad range of sectors to give a more rounded view of search engine performance.
Mollan & Co
York accountancy firm, launched in December 2012
Search Phrase: “Accountants York”
Monthly searches: 14,800
Local searches: 1,000
Results: 24,100,000
Site position: 4th (Not counting map results)
Notes: Coming in the top half of page 1 for a two-word simple search phrase like ‘accountants York’ is the holy grail of SEO and should guarantee plenty of regular traffic for Mollan & Co.
Glen Plumbing & Electrics
York-based plumber & electrician, launched in January 2013
Search Phrase: “Plumber York”
Monthly searches: 33,100
Local searches: 1,600
Results: 11,200,000
Site position: 4th
Notes: It’s clear that this is a super-competitive and extremely difficult search phrase to rank for so we are extremely pleased to see Glen plumbing firmly on page 1.
Yorkshire Ales
Online beer & ale shop, launched in October 2012
Search Phrase: “Yorkshire beer”
Monthly searches: 1,900
Local searches: 1,600
Results: 13,000,000
Site Position: 1st
Notes: Using ‘Yorkshire Ale’ would have been too easy – but ‘Yorkshire beer’ is a phrase that carries a lot of value and a fair few monthly searches.
Centeng
Manufacturer of gas cutting equipment, launched April 2013
Search Phrase: “gas cutting nozzles”
Monthly searches: 480
Local searches: 28
Results: 4,280, 000
Site Position: 3rd
Notes: This is Centeng’s chief product, so although it doesn’t have a high search volume it’s still their most desired search phrase. Centeng also appeared in the first three pages for worldwide searches related to this phrase.
Entity
UK Independent paranormal thriller/horror film, launched July 2012
Search Phrase: “paranormal thriller movies”
Monthly searches: 91
Local searches: 12
Results: 5,650, 000
Site Position: 6th
Notes: Whilst perhaps not as specific a phrase as we’d have liked, the search results for anything film related tend to be ‘polluted’ or skewed by big review websites and ‘top 10’ lists. Entity also performed well for a number of searches containing the main keywords ‘paranormal’ and ‘thriller’, so we consider this a success.
The Olive Branch
Free-standing kitchen units, launched April 2013
Search Phrase: “belfast sink and unit”
Monthly searches: 1,600
Local searches: 1,600
Results: 14,700, 000
Site Position: 14th (number 4 on page 2)
Notes: Other phrases saw Olive Branch on page one for these extremely competitive searches – including ‘kitchen Belfast sink unit’, which is one of their most popular products. This is particularly pleasing considering the big name brands that appear for these searches (eBay, Amazon, Wickes).
Conclusion
Whilst for many of these websites there’s clearly work still to be done, it’s heartening to know that good design and decent content can be all you need to find your way onto the dizzy heights of page 1 and 2.
We do of course have a healthy respect for Search Engine Optimisation/Marketing – when it’s done correctly – because it is a vital element of the marketing of a successful website. We dedicate a great deal of time to researching and performing SEO campaigns – and there are a fair few blog posts here on the Cybermill blog to attest to that.
Nevertheless we’re always delighted when the companies we work with end up achieving excellent results without needing to expend a huge amount of time and resources.
Is it worth having a professional redesign of your old website?
We cannot guarantee a new or redesigned website will make it to page 1 – this depends a huge amount on the search phrases used and the content the customer supplies for their website.
What we can say with certainty is that freshly designed, professional websites can and often do make it to the top of Google listings, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in their respective industries and generating plenty of valuable traffic in the process.
End Note
The searches we conducted were made on google.co.uk – and whilst we were logged out of any Google accounts.
We made these searches on 2nd August 2013. The web is an ever-changing archive of information that evolves and develops on a minute-by-minute basis. Google has a few trillion pages in its index and thousands more are added each day – so it is guaranteed that the websites we’ve listed will change their position over time – whether for better or worse.
