Searching for Gravity in Space

For the first time since 1986 a space probe designed and made in the UK is soon due to be heading into space. Since 1986 the British space programme has been rather low-key, with nothing of note to report. Back then, a British satellite was sent out to investigate the comet Halley. This time the probe, named the Lisa Pathfinder, is to investigate something very different.

Discovering the Undiscoverable

When he came up with the theory of relativity, one of Einstein’s predictions was that there would be gravitational ripples in space-time which would be created when black holes merged. According to the BBC , this probe is going to test the technology that will be needed if we are to find the gravitational waves. If this works, we will be able to learn all about black holes. So this is just the beginning of the process.

Is Your Website Disappearing into a Black Hole?

So it seems that the one phenomenon in astrophysics that we are fascinated by and yet know little or nothing about may soon become more accessible. This is what good optimisation could do for a great website that is hitherto undiscovered. You could draw a comparison between the Lisa Pathfinder and an SEO competitor analysis.

Companies such as www.elevateuk.com will analyse the search engine terms that are working for your competitors. This is like sending a probe out into the big wide world of the internet to see what’s out there that could help your site to be discovered. After this initial step, you do need to bear in mind that, like the scientists working on the Lisa Pathfinder, that there is more work to be done before the black hole will release its secrets.

As Forbes points out, with a lot of work in the correct areas, both on your website and externally, you should start seeing results from around six months into your optimisation work. However, there will still be a long way to go and your exposure should just increase from that point. Forbes is very clear in pointing out that search engine optimisation is not what it used to be. The measure of success is no longer being top of the search engine rankings, but rather driving traffic to your website.

Additionally, it must be noted that it’s no good just driving traffic to your website if it is not useful traffic. If you have a retail website, you need people who will buy from you or who will at least return in the future to buy from you. With a website promoting a high street store that does not sell online, you need to be attracting local people who will visit your store.

To drive people to your website more quickly than you can with organic search results, you could look at different measures. For example, pay-per-click advertising is a way of using search engines to drive traffic to your website whilst bypassing the organic optimisation battle.