This is a question I hear a lot of now days. There are quite a few variables that contribute to your website showing up in Google’s search results let alone the first page.
There are hundreds of millions of websites on the internet so obviously most websites are not going to just show up on Google’s front page in fact it can take a lot of work to get there! This is by no means to be taken as a definitive guide but simply to cover what I believe are the primary drivers of getting your website in a decent position in Google. So here we go….
On Page Search Engine Optimisation
Keywords
This is the process of optimising your websites code, copy (the text) & even the images for search engines.
Search Engines such as Google rely on looking through your websites text and meta data (tags in the back end of the websites code attached to pages, images etc) to determine what your website is about. Google considers words or topics that are consistently recurring in your website as indicators (we’ll call these keywords) to where it should display your website in search results. For example if you wanted your website to appear on Google when someone searched for Website Designers then it would be good practice to include the words “website designers” in your meta data & have it recurring in your website text.
To add another level of complexity where these “keywords” appear on your website also have weightings for example a page title or content heading with your keywords would be given more value than just including them in your paragraphs.
Content
As mentioned above Google relies on words to see what your website is about. A rule of thumb is to have at least 600 words on your website (this is not definitive but a personal point of view) with good keyword density. Going overboard on the keywords is frowned upon a fair indicator would be 1-2 keywords per 200 words.
Also updating and adding more content regularly is also viewed favourably, firstly because a Search Engine will view your site as an active source of information as opposed to a website that someone has setup and left to gather dust. And secondly because it gives you more opportunity to add keywords to your site!
Finally and most importantly MAKE YOUR CONTENT QUALITY crap content equals crap website & poor first impressions for your business. Provide valuable content to your users and traffic & good search engine results will come naturally!
One way to get users coming back again and again is to build a community of your website – this can be as simple as allowing users to comment on your website through to a forum or even a fully fledged community platform (like a mini facebook)
Off Page Search Engine Optimisation
This is the process of building YOUR websites reputation with search engines.
So just to be clear Google already knows your website exists, you show up in search results but just not in the position you would like….i.e. you’re showing up on page 5 of Google’s search results rather than page 1. It is surprising the amount of people who think that just because you have a website online that they’ll automatically be in Google’s top search results just because that’s what your website is about. Businesses spend a lot of time, effort & money getting to the top of search results of profitable search phrases, it very rarely just happens.
So how do you build your sites reputation? Arguably the most important aspect of this process is adding links to your website on other 3rd party websites. This can be partner websites that you have an existing relationship with, posting comments on blogs or forums, press releases, directory listings or article submission services.
The more relevant, high quality links you have pointing to your website the more popular, valuable and interesting Google assumes your website is and as a result will show your website in a more prevalent position in search results.
At the end of the day
Getting your website to rank highly in Search Engines is both a science and an art, what works today may not work in a months time as Google is constantly updating its search algorithyms to ensure they are showing the most appropriate results to users search queries.
One thing that will not change though is search engines goal of trying to provide the best match to what their users are searching for. By ensuring your website is helpful, well laid out and genuinely focuses on users needs rather than JUST Search Engine Optimisation you’ll place yourself in a favourable position in the world of online business.
