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ISBN: 978-972-8939-25-0 © 2010 IADISDEVELOPING A MODEL TO FACILITATE SEARCHENGINE OPTIMIZATION OF WEBSITES BYNON-IT PROFESSIONALSDaniel Kappler* and Paul Darbyshire***University of Liverpool, Laureate Online Education*Laureate Online Education, B.V., De Entree 59-67 1101 BH Amsterdam Z.O, The Netherlands**School of Management and Information Systems, Victoria University**PO. Box 14428 Melbourne City MC, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8001ABSTRACTSearch Engine optimization attempts to optimize website content in order to get to the top position of the Search EngineResults Page (SERP). Over the years search engine algorithms have had to be changed as spamming attempts such askeyword stuffing, or the use of link farms eroded the importance of relevant content to favor the content offered byindividuals using these procedures. For enterprises which are operating websites, the promotion of their presence is avital part of successful marketing. For the average website owner or manager it seems very difficult to decide whatprocedures have to be applied to make a website’s presence more successful. Out-dated procedures are still widely used,so enterprises have a very low chance to reach the Internet users through standard searches who are looking for theproducts or services they offer. This paper discusses the development of a model to facilitate non-IT professionals (inparticular SME's), in gaining an understanding of the details of Search Engine Optimization and equip them with theskills for performing these tasks. The model is constructed with feedback loops to allow for the ongoing optimizationrequired in a continual changing environment. We evaluate the model with three company websites which will beanalyzed and recommendations will be given to improve the content and source code of selected pages. The websiteowners or managers will be given instructions to implement the recommended optimization over a specific period. Thefeedback loops will help show if the suggested procedures have been implemented, and how these were handled.KEYWORDSSearch Engine Optimization, Model, SME's. Keyword Search1. INTRODUCTIONWithin the last decade the way that consumers have been searching for products and services has changedprofoundly. For a typical online shop, operating a website has been always essential, but not for enterpriseswhich have been used to acquiring new customers in the traditional way (Georgiou.and Stefaneas 2002). Inhighly developed technology areas of the world the PC is the main instrument for finding information. Thebig players have learned to cope with the changing search engine algorithms and made their websites visible,but smaller enterprises are often left behind. Yet, he average website owner believe that having an onlinepresence is enough to attract new customers. There is still a common misconception that it is sufficient tohave a few Meta tags in the source code which describe the company’s products and services., however, thatthere are still an alarming number of web pages which do not even have a title.For companies who want to improve their websites it is often difficult to know where to start. Oftendubious Search Engine Optimization(SEO) providers take advantage of the website owner’s lack of basicknowledge. There have been cases where enterprises bought an SEO package, hoping to get a top ranking onthe Search Engine Results Page (SERP) of the major search engines. This might only work for a short period,until search engine algorithms recognize the spamming attempts, and then punish the site by downgrading itsrank, or in worst case banning the site from the indexes at all (Ross 2008). Generally, the website owners ormanagers who are non-IT professional need to be provided with clear step by step instructions how tooptimize their web presence. An enterprise which has neglected the optimization of its website first needs to192