by Matt McGee
One World Telecommunications
posted: April 6, 2004
Most business owners realize the need to be visible in search
engines such as Google, Yahoo, and others. But few know how to
do it. Every search engine is different -- Google ranks pages differently
from Yahoo, Yahoo ranks pages differently from Teoma, etc. But
despite these differences, there are few common methods to achieve
search engine success. It's not magic; it's hard work.
Before we talk about what it takes to get your site ranked well,
you must understand and accept that search engines are constantly
changing how
they rank web pages. "Constantly" doesn't mean once a year or
once a month. How about several times a weeK? A Google engineer
mentioned
in February that they test out about 5-6 new algorithms every
week. The stuff they like during testing eventually makes its way
into the real Google that we all use.
Despite the ever-changing nature of search algorithms, there are
a few basic items on our Search Engine Success Checklist that can
help your company web site achieve higher visibility in search
engines.
1. Choose the Right Keywords
You have to know what words and phrases your customers use when
they go to Google (or Yahoo, etc.) and search for sites like yours.
You can probably guess a couple of them, but what about all the
potentially related words and phrases that are similar? Is your
web site optimized to offer content for all these words and phrases?
Learn more about this in our article "Choosing
the Right Keywords".
2. Create a Search Engine-friendly
Site Design
If search engine visibility is really a priority for you, did
you take it into account when your web site was first designed?
Or did you only concern yourself with how cool the site looked?
There
are a number of common mistakes many businesses make when having
a
web
site
designed,
and these
mistakes
can eliminate
any
chance of having the site rank well in search engines. Simple,
user-friendly web sites with lots of text have a much better
chance of appearing at the top of the SERPs (search engine result
pages)
than sites that are heavy with graphics and/or Flash animations
and other "gee-whiz" design elements. Learn more in our article
"Building a Search Engine-friendly
Web Site".
3. Write Lots of Great Copy
The importance of great copy (the words on your pages) can't
be underestimated. Search engine spiders will "read" your
copy to determine what your pages are about, so the copy must
be written
with references to the keywords and phrases you've researched
(see #1 above).
At the same time, the copy on your pages will also help convert
visitors into customers, so make sure what you write is also
customer-focused with a clear call-to-action.
And here's a secret: Everything you've heard about no one wanting
to read the information on web pages is wrong. The Internet is
the greatest research tool ever. Millions of shoppers use web
sites to research products and services before
they buy,
and you can bet they're reading every word very carefully. So
don't fall victim to the mistaken belief that text isn't important
because no one reads web pages. People do, and search engine
spiders do. What other reasons do you need to write lots of great
copy? Learn more in our article "Writing
Great Copy for the Web".
4. Submit to Web Directories
Submitting to the crawler-based search engines is just about
pointless these days, although there are a couple exceptions.
When it comes to submitting your site somewhere, web directories
are where you should focus. (Here's help if you're not sure about
the difference
between a search engine and web directory.)
Before you submit your site to any directory, pay close attention
to the rules and guidelines for submitting a site. Failure to
play by their rules will probably mean your site won't be added.
If the directory asks you to describe your web site, don't write
a sales pitch. And don't submit your site until it's 100% finished.
"Coming soon" pages will hurt your chances of being accepted
into most directories.
Getting your site added to web directories can help search engine
crawlers find your web site for the first time, and depending
on the directory, a link can also help move your site up a little
higher in the SERPs. Learn more in our article "Submitting
a Site to Web Directories."
5. Add Fresh, Quality Content Regularly
This is where it gets even more difficult, and where most
business web sites fall short. Once your web site is launched,
you can't
just let it sit there and expect
to
achieve
and/or
keep
high
search
engine
rankings. You must commit to adding new, quality content
on a regular basis. It can be a weekly newsletter to your customers,
or maybe articles about the products or services you offer.
Just be sure it's relevant to your customers and your products
or
services. Search engine spiders will visit your site more often
as they discover that you add new material regularly, and your
site will likely move up the SERPs.
If you're not adding new content to your web site on a regular
basis, your chances of achieving high search engine rankings
go way down. Learn more in our article "Adding
Quality Content to Your Web Site Regularly."
6. Acquire Quality Incoming Links
One benefit of writing great copy and regularly adding new
content to your site is that you increase the chances that
other sites will link to your site. Those incoming links
alone can increase traffic to your site and add to your customer
base.
But incoming links can also help you rank higher in search
engines. Google and most every search engine uses "link popularity"
as one factor in ranking web sites. The more incoming links
you have from quality web sites, the higher your site will
appear in the SERPs.
So beyond writing all that great content, it's also a good
idea to solicit links from related sites in your industry
and/or geographic area. This can be a time-consuming process,
but if done right, it can be very beneficial. Read our article,
"The Importance
of Links," for more information.
7. Keep On Keeping On
If you're one of the smart companies that knows these secrets
and follows them, and you've managed to get a Top 10 ranking
for your important keywords, then you deserve a hearty congratulations.
You also deserve one more tip for helping
you stay at the top: don't stop what you're doing.
Your competition isn't sitting still, so you can't, either.
Keep writing lots of great copy and adding fresh content
to your site; keep seeking out new sources of links from
quality web sites. Keep yourself informed about changes and
new trends in the world of search engine optimization. Keep
on keeping on.
OWT offers services that correspond
to each of the items on this checklist. You can learn
more about the search engine marketing services we offer.
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