search engine asked:


Buying or leasing an existing website can be a very effective and relatively easy way to make your business or company’s online presence known. As you have probably already realised, having a website and being able to be found on the internet are important factors of your business success, so it makes sense to utilise an already successful and functional website for your own business.

There are actually many people out there who buy websites much like people buy investment properties – sites which are structurally sound, but have room for improvement and once they’re spruced up a little they have the ability to turn a profit once again. Online, this profit is found through adding ads to investment websites, upping the traffic to those sites and then reaping the rewards from the advertising.

However, if you are looking for a website for your own business or as an investment, the basic structure you need and the additions you will make are very similar and here’s how to go about it. First decide whether you are looking for a website which is simply informative, or one which also allows for visitors to shop online, this will also be determined by the sort of business you run as some products and most services cannot be purchased over the internet anyway.

An online store is one of the major structural aspects of a website you are looking to buy and much the same way you would lean towards an investment property with a new kitchen rather than a daggy lime green one, so too is it easier to build and adapt an existing online store, rather than establish the security, shopping carts and payment options from scratch.

The remaining work website investors will put into a newly purchased site is regarding its search engine optimisation. However, when you are looking to purchase a website for your business, it is important to remember that a lot of what can be detrimental to a website’s optimisation, can actually have to do with web design.

Search engine optimisation is not only about adding the right number of the right keywords to a website and expecting Google to see this as SEO. The website’s design, the programming, the layout and even the server systems can all affect that website’s optimisation and if you’re unsure how to check on any or all of these things before purchasing a website, have an SEO expert check out behind the scenes, because you don’t want to have to go knocking through walls later.

As with any investment there are pitfalls and surprises which can cost you a lot of time and money down the track and ‘buyer beware’ is just as relevant when purchasing an investment online as it is down the street. So in much the same way a property investor may bypass the self-serving real estate agents trying to move properties no one wants, and go straight to a builder or developer for something structurally sound form the beginning, there are also opportunities for your business to buy its website ‘off the plan’ too.

SEO companies in the UK would rather see the internet populated with properly optimised, useful and informative sites and while you can seek their advice on your website purchase, there are also SEOers in the UK who build websites solely with optimisation in mind, waiting for businesses just like yours to add your name to them.

Moe Tamani asked:


If you are a serious business website owner, chances are you are constantly on the lookout for ethical means to promote your website to your target market. Chances are also good that you probably read somewhere or heard from someone that your most practical promotion solution is to trust your business to a search engine optimization company. The processes of promoting your site and increase your online visibility is called Search Engine Optimization or SEO. If you are familiar with the term but do not have the expertise to properly implement SEO for your website, then you might want to consider hiring a Search Engine Optimization Company to do that work for you.

What is a Search Engine Optimization company? It is an organization whose objective is to provide the necessary tools and expertise to optimize your website towards the goal of securing for you a first or second page ranking in the search engine’s list of keyword-responsive sites. A Search Engine Optimization company’s role is that of an influencer, i.e., the strategies it employs for your website are geared towards influencing the search engine’s “spiderbot” to give it a high relevance rating which, in turn, influences its ranking. A Search Engine Optimization company’s indirect role is also to influence the surfer to visit your website but is not responsible for what happens to the visit.

There are many Search Engine Optimization companies that have hung their virtual shingle in cyberspace, with many more sprouting up each and every day. With so many choices available, it is important that you are guided in selecting the right Search Engine Optimization company that best suits your requirements and budget. Here are a few tips in selecting that Search Engine Optimization company:

• Always Go for Reputation and Experience

This is pretty much a common sense tip. When you are headed for the unknown, it always makes sense to go with a guide who knows what you don’t. A Search Engine Optimization company that has years of experience as an organization and has people working for it with years of individual experience is normally a good choice. Experience, however, is just one half of this selection criterion, the other half being REPUTATION. A Search Engine Optimization company may have the experience, but if it has a track record of unethical or even illegal SEO activity, then the experience counts for nothing.

• Avoid SEO companies that Spam

A Search Engine Optimization company that sends spam email to promote itself is not a good Search Engine Optimization company and will get your site banned costing you more that it will ever benefit from.

• A company that hides everything, has something to hide

Beware of the Search Engine Optimization company that has a “black box” solution for everything that ails your website, i.e., you don’t need to know how it works; you just pay. In all likelihood, what this type of Search Engine Optimization company is hiding from you is, at best, unethical, or at worst, illegal. It is very important for you to understand what is going to be done with your website (in lay man’s terms) because, at the end of the day, it IS your website and you will have to live with whatever the Search Engine Optimization company does to it.

• Go Window Shopping

Like with every important purchase decision you make, you must check out more than one Search Engine Optimization company before you make a decision. Ask for a list of the websites they claim to have worked on, and do your own research. Also, ask each Search Engine Optimization company you are considering about what they think of the other candidates in your list. Be wary if they launch into a negative marketing pitch about their competition. A really good Search Engine Optimization company will rarely badmouth a competitor. Even if the competitor is really bad, the worst that a good Search Engine Optimization company will do is objectively point out their strengths and weaknesses.

• Go with the Clear Deal

A good Search Engine Optimization company will always be very clear any work proposal it makes. It clearly spells out the terms of reference, timelines, commercial aspects, guarantees, penalties, any other items that it and you may find relevant towards meeting your expectations. That way, you know what you are getting into and what (and what not) to expect.

These are but a few tips on how to select the expert that will take care of optimizing your website for you. Approach a Search Engine Optimization company like you would any other company that you are considering to handle some work for you, and you are covered.