Improve Search Engine Ranking

There isn’t a business in existence that wouldn’t kill to be on the first page of Google search results when somebody searches for your product or service. However, we won’t lie to you: those coveted positions are extremely hard to achieve.

The way search engines basically work is by sending out “spiders” which crawl the Web to index websites. They look for repeated words and phrases and links to and from your site, among other things, to judge how well your site matches a particular search term. Each search engine uses a unique, complicated and constantly changing formula to calculate rank. (See also Web Design | Search Engine Optimization.)

That said, there are several things you can do to improve your ranking on major search engines, and one thing you can do that will guarantee your company will appear on the first results page – if you are willing to spend just a little money. (Hint: Think “sponsored” listings.) Don’t expect miracles, but with some hard work and whatever level of investment you can afford, chances are that your ranking will improve over time.

So how do you improve your ranking?

Do-it-yourself

• Identify the keywords that best describe what your company does or sells.
  Stay away from keywords that are too broad – your best bet is to focus on highly targeted keywords. For example, “websites” is an extremely broad keyword to describe what Beyondus does – “web design” would be better, and “web design salem MA” better yet. Also consider variations on keywords – for example “web design.” “website design” and “webpage design.” These keywords will be your bible for working on your search engine rankings.
  
  
• Make sure your website content contains prominent placement of your keywords.
  Use them throughout the text, in titles and any other way you can include them. Also provide a list of your keywords to your webmaster or Web design firm so they can embed them in the metatags which are in the backend code of your site. One thing you should NOT do? Don’t try to trick the search engines by repeating keywords haphazardly in your content. If they detect an abnormal repetitive pattern in their text it will work against you – and whatever you do don’t try to mask a repeated keyword by making it disappear with the same color text as your background. That’s grounds for automatic dismissal with some search engines!
  
  
• List your company in Web-based regional and industry directories.
  Many of these are free (like www.superpages.com) though some specialized sites may require a subscription fee, especially if they have tiered listings that highlight paying companies. One way to find the best Web directories to target for your industry is to search on the keywords you think your prospects would use. Often some of the top sites returned are directories listing multiple companies offering your product or service – make sure you are on that list! (For example, when I searched to see where Beyondus would come up in the rankings, I found a couple of directories - like MarketingTool.com - where I immediately listed us for free including a company description.)
  
  
• Exchange links with partners and other related sites.
  Since the way search engines find you is to “crawl” the Web, the more sites you have out there that link to you, the more entry points the spiders have to find and index your site. So ask your partners, vendors or other sites that directly relate to your business if they would post a link to your site. As a courtesy, you may want to offer to reciprocate by listing their site on yours. This is often referred to as “reciprocal links” or “link exchange.”
  
  A caution: don’t be fooled by offers like, “We’ll get links to your website placed on hundreds of sites across the Web, for only $19.95!” Unless the site linking to you is directly related to your business and keywords, it counts as nothing or can even work against you. Only you can make that judgment on a case by case basis.
  
  
• Submit your site to search engines.
  Submission to most search engines is free, you’re basically asking them to take a look at your site with regard to certain industry keywords so they know it’s there and can consider it for their search rankings. Don’t submit your site until you have made sure that as many keywords and links are included as possible. See the Additional Resources below for links to major search engine submission pages.

Professional

• Enlist help to identify the most effective directory placements.
  If you don’t have the time to do it yourself or don’t know where to start, we can help identify, write and place directory listings, see Services | Marketing.
  
  
• Initiate pay-per-click advertising, otherwise known as “sponsored listings.”
  Pay-per-click advertising gives you some of the biggest bang for the buck you can get, and if you’re willing to pay enough, you can guarantee that your name will be on the first results page for your major keywords. The beauty of it is that you only pay if somebody actually visits your site. Many keywords cost less than a dollar per click, ranging up to several dollars a click for extremely competitive keywords. You can see examples of Google AdWords, the best option for pay-per-click ads on the top and right hand sides of any search results page on Google. While technically you can set up pay-per-click ads yourself, we recommend getting the help of an expert since there is an art and science to writing and testing ads to be as effective as possible. See also Services | Marketing and links to the primary pay-per-click programs under Additional Resources below.

Expert

• Invest in professional search engine optimization (SEO) for your website.
  When you enlist the help of a reputable firm to optimize your website, they’ll analyze your site’s current rankings on your chosen keywords and use the constantly evolving rules of various search engines to specifically optimize the text and code of your site for select industry keywords. Beware of firms offering SEO services at cheap rates or guaranteeing high ranking – there is no way to guarantee top ranking. If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Have an idea or tip for improving search engine ranking that you don’t see here?
Email it to us and we’ll add it, crediting you with a link to your site (if you’d prefer, we can also post it anonymously).

Additional Resources

Google AdWords	Pay per click sponsored listings on the Google network of sites.
Yahoo! Search Marketing	Pay per click sponsored listings on their network of sites, which includes Yahoo!
Google	Submit your site for consideration in search engine rankings.
Yahoo	Submit your site for consideration in search engine rankings.