Search engine ranking

[James]

I was on the internet last night looking for online estate agents to view some property.

I knew that most estate agents posted their properties on a site called Right Move but wasn't sure of the URL, so I tried Google (UK). I searched under "Estate Agents", "Right Move", "Houses for Sale", "Property for Sale" - no sign of Right Move in the Google results (or at least the top results). There is an estate agent in Hampshire called The Right Move which is found but that's not what I was looking for.

Eventually I tried "Rightmove" (all one word) and hey presto, there it is, top result. http://www.rightmove.co.uk

Surely an industry-leading eCommerce site like this should be found under generic search terms and not just its proper name.

Search engine ranking is an important part of the web design / hosting process and it's failed for this company. How many potential clients know the URL or to search on "Rightmove"?

[Tom]

I believe the wise boys at Google plan to deal with your point by allowing all sorts of geographically restricted searches. I have a lot of difficulty finding websites associated with gardens because so many hotels come up.

[Tom]

I tried looking for the web address of a B&B I know in a small village I know - and could not find it. The search returns were dominaged by what one might call B&B aggregators which charge owners for holding their details.

It makes me wonder if its worth a B&B owner, or any small business owner, having a website - until restricted geographical searching becomes available. Or maybe business owners could get round the problem by forming a co-operative with participants inter-linking their sites. Or maybe they need to commission search engine marketeers to improve their rankings.