Search Engine Optimization - Make Me First

01.09.2009

By: Chris Townsend

A question I am asked quite frequently is, "Can you make us show up first in the search engines?" My answer is, "sure, how much are you willing to spend?" The truth is anyone can achieve top placement with a pay-per-click campaign and a hefty budget (depending on your industry and the desired keywords). In all reality that's not really what they are asking. They are wanting to know if this can be done organically and then the answer really depends on a lot of variables.

Here are a few tips to consider when beginning your quest for search engine ranking.

• - When purchasing a domain name try to find an exsisting domain name. When possible try to avoid registering a domain that is new. Due to Google's aging delay for all new domains, it is best to find an existing domain if possible. If your purchasing a brand-new domain you should expect to wait 3 months, up to 12 months before your site shows up in Google for any keywords.
• - Write for your audience, not the search engine. Search engines are smarter than you think. They are looking for relevant content based on the keyword phrases their users input. The best way to insure you are entering relevant content is to write for your audience..
• - Make sure your site is crawler friendly. In other words you need to seperate content from code. Limit the amount of javascript used and where it's placed. Make sure your site meets web standards. Make sure to use text links for navigation and limit images where text can be used.
• - The title tag is key.Make sure to incorporate keywords in to the title tag of each page. Title tags are very important because they are given more weight than other elements of the site. However, remember that the information that you place in your title tag is what shows up as a clickable link in the search engine results.

Want more? We would be happy to discuss search engine optimization in more detail with you. Contact us today for a free consultation.