SMALL businesses in Dunstable were told methods of getting company websites to the top of internet search result lists are nothing but a “con”, an IT consultant claimed.
Dave Givens runs his own website design company in Milton Keynes and spoke out at a networking meeting at The Four Kings Bar and Cafe, in High Street South, last Tuesday.
“Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a con,” said Dave, who set up Web Design Shop last year after 30 years in the software industry. “Google has some very simple SEO rules. If you follow them they will get you to the top of the list.
“The name of your website is the biggest determinant, followed by links and pages. If you put them in at the design side it will work for you.”
Mr Givens also hit out at some web hosting services that rely on users, who are not experts, being left to update crucial software themselves. He claimed some in the IT industry are “shysters” who take variable amounts of money but don’t provide a good back-up service.
l The Four Kings networking group also heard from former BBC broadcaster Stephen Rhodes, of Eaton Bray-based Bullet Point Media. He runs a company making corporate videos.
His advice was: “These days people will click a button before they go onto a page but bad videos are bad for business. Do not do a shoddy job.”
