In The Solution Space

Google is sometimes more an art than a science.  That is because Google keeps it’s science of how sites get ranked to themselves and leaves the rest of us to figure it out.  Ever try and copy a DaVinci?  Not easy because we mere mortals don’t have the requisite insight and tools that DaVinci has.  But we have the output and then we can make assumptions about how something was created.  This is determined by trial and error and listening to the advice of those who have already done the research.

So, based upon my experience, here are the ways that a company can easily improve their site rankings on Google, for free.  No money needed and these are things that any site administrator can do right now.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Your website has content, words and phrases that describe your business, your services, your products.  The real question, is that content contributing to getting found on the web.  You also have to know how customers perceive your business.  What is their language?  Does it match yours?  It’s these key questions that are the heart of SEO.  It is the identification of those key words and phrases that customers (and potential customers) might find you.

Once you identify those, incorporate them into your website content, into your webpage meta tagging and any pay-per-click advertising that you might use.   It does you absolutely no good to have a key phrase as “exceptional Chicago consulting” when customers are doing Google searches with the phrase “experienced Chicago foodservice consultant.”  The likelihood of getting found is slim to none.

Social Networking

Whether or not you think that Facebook and Twitter are fads, the fact is that there are millions of people in all demographics who are interacting on these sites.  And those that are using these services are your current or potential customers.  These relationships are important but do not replace the personal contact.  These are offshoots that help you keep relevant and also let your customers find each other in very meaningful ways.  Here is the best part – these services are FREE.  It costs nothing to start a page on Facebook or Twitter.  The needed element is your determination to keep in touch with your fans by providing periodic content or tweets to let them know what you are up to.

Blogging is another strategy in the social networking tool kit.  There are many free services available (wordpress.org, blogger.com) where for no cost you can get a blog page, you can personalize it to your needs and start writing.  People can comment on your posts and get the conversation going.  What is your ROI?  Insight, loyalty, customer funneling to your business all for a very low cost.

Update Content

In conjunction with your SEO strategy, be aware that Google values pages that are frequently updated.  Google keeps track when a page was last updated and actually will lower the relevance rankings of a page if it is considered “stale.”  Once a month, you should take an objective look at your site and update the pages, especially your home page!  This is the front door to your business and you should think of it like your actual front door.  If you keep your physical presence fresh, you need to keep your virtual presence fresh too.

Linking

Another key criteria of relevance that Google uses is linking.   It is good practice to have your website pages linked to each other but how many links are coming to your site?  You should try to have your partners and clients sites link to your site.  In Google’s eyes, if sites are linking to you, there must be something valuable about that.  You already have the relationship so you need to leverage it to help drive your business’ visibility to the search engines.  Additionally, if you have a blog, Facebook or Twitter page, make sure you have a link of your website on those pages to your site.

These tips are part of the free whitepaper “10 Technology Initiatives For 2010 To Grow Your Business and Increase Your Profits”.  Get your copy today, no obligation by visiting our website and going to FREE IDEAS.

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