Interflora No Longer Smelling Of Roses
Friday, 22nd February 2013
We understand that search engine rankings can be crucial to a business, the difference between a first page listing on Google and a second page listing can be the difference between a profit and a loss, so I can see how tempting it would be to take short cuts or do something a little shady to get to the top.
The problem is that if you get caught by Google using any of these off-white techniques you can get penalised or even banned, as has happened to one high profile web site today.
If you search Google for "Interflora" you'll find there isn't a listing for the Interflora web site to be seen. Interflora have lost their top ranking position for their own brand name (as well as for lots of generic flowers-related terms) which indicates they've done something a bit naughty and Google has given them a slap.
Whatever they were doing (my guess is that they were buying links) this shows that if a high profile site like Interflora can be penalised, you should never consider buying links to your site or trying any of the SEO companies that email you, promising to get you to top position.
Search engine ranking depends on how the web site has been programmed, including the placement of your key words within the code. It is also dependant on how often your site is updated, how many people link to you and how many people connect with you via social media. So as well as optimising your web site for search engines we optimise web sites for people. We work hard to create useful, information-rich websites for our clients that people want to visit, link to and share. We follow Google's advice to "make pages for users, not for search engines".
Flowers grow by opening up and turning towards the light. We can help grow your business without turning your SEO towards the dark side...
