Internet search engines missing the target

Internet search engines are failing to find nearly half of the UK's best known companies because web developers do not register new sites or use meta-tags.

Internet marketing consultancy Receptional.com surveyed 300 London Stock Exchange listed companies and found more than 40 per cent of companies' websites do not use meta-tags - the basic information most often checked by search engines.

Many other business websites fail to register with search engines so the 75 per cent of customers who use search engines to find companies won't find their sites.

Speaking to silicon.com, Dixon Jones, director at Receptional.com, said: "In order to improve the visibility of a company's site, web designers should understand how a search tool works from a technical point of view. Designers often focus on the aesthetics of the site itself, but fail to see the importance of search engine registration."