I wish I had a nickel (actually, a nickel won’t get you far these days – make it a $5 bill) for every time a client said to me, “OK, now that you’ve designed our website, I want to be #1 on Google.” And I think to myself, “Really? No kidding. Who doesn’t??!!” So here are a few good tips to increasing your ranking on the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and MSN):
1. Content is King! Good content drives traffic – and the search engines pick up key words on content-rich web pages.
2. Add meta tags to your web pages. A meta tag is simply a snippet of code that tells the search engines about your website. This code is inserted onto the site and isn’t seen by viewers. Have a web designer add it for you – it’s very simple. (The trick is knowing what to put in the meta tags – that part is more art than science.)
3. Increase the number of external links to your site. Basically, the more links on other sites are pointing to yours, the more it looks like you’re a major player. This can be accomplished by submitting your site to web directories (the ones in your industry are best), joining online forums, or my favorite method – by writing articles. In exchange for your article – which will be used for content on their site – most site owners will include a link to your site at the bottom of your article.
There are more ways, but those are the basic and most effective. Above all, remember that this takes time – you won’t get to the top overnight. Do these consistently over time, and you will be amazed at the results!