How do I get to the top of Google?
So what’s the secret to getting to the top of Google’s search engine? Nothing. There is no secret and there’s no reason to pay an SEO firm or consultant to get you there, honestly … you can do it yourself if you have the time to learn and implement the basic advice of people who know what they’re talking about.
First, let’s establish that one simple fact … there are no secrets. In fact, everything you need to know is online at the Webmaster Guidelines at Google and for those of you need even more help, there is plenty of places here on my site to read about what Google wants.
Now, I should point out that I’m not a Google expert or even an SEO specialist (although I do offer similar services). I’m an organic marketing specialist if that title even exists … in order to do that I believe a website must meet three basic guidelines:
Technical
A web page is a computer document, much the same as a document produced by Microsoft Word and just like word processing documents it has to be opened and read by other computers. Now, we’ve all tried opening a WordPerfect document in Word or an OpenOffice resume in Pages and it always ends the same right? …. it doesn’t work. Why not?
The reason it doesn’t work is simple, the basic structure of how the documents are written are not compatible with the software trying to open them. The web works the exact same way. Web browsers from Lynx to Internet Explorer open your web page documents and read the content. If they can’t read the content, they can’t display the document … makes sense right? OK so here’s the kicker … Google uses a tool called a web spider to crawl your website in order to read the content and add it to their index. If your web page is poorly written, Google can’t open it and has to move onto another website.
So rule number one to getting to the top of Google? Make sure that Google can read your website.
Design
There’s a catch-22 when it comes to Google, Google doesn’t care about design but Google cares how your web content is designed. Technically, it couldn’t care less about your websites looks but it does care about how your website is structured, how the content is organized and how the overall site appears to both spiders and people visiting your web page.
In order to make sure that your website ranks well with Google, you’ll have to ensure that your documents are properly structures, the content is readable and that it appears the same to search engines as it does to people. Often times, I have clients ask if they can upload Flash version of their website but hide Google friendly text in a hidden layer somewhere on the page … sure you can but that’s not being very honest is it?
Rule number two to getting your website at the top of Google? Design content for people, not robots.
Content
Rule number three, have great content.
Honestly, I can’t make it more clear than what I’ve written here. Take a moment to stop thinking about Google as a company or a website to beat and start thinking about it as a group of people who are working towards a common goal, as I’ve written before … they’re very smart people and they spend a lot of time trying to make the Internet a better place, so when they catch people trying to scam them by breaking these simple rules … don’t be surprised to find your website banned.
Mar
2009
25 Things to Do to Increase Your Website Traffic Right Now
Everybody wants to be successful on the Internet right? Of course we do, nobody want’s to be sitting at home on prom night especially when there’s money involved so how do we do it? Well, here’s a list of 25 things you can do right now to increase your website traffic …
Make Your Content Accessible
Use the SEO Checker I built to see what Google can see. This tool will also help you understand what visually impaired people in your community can see … they make up almost 10% of the population, so can you really afford to only appeal to 90% of the market?
Use Valid xHTML Markup
xHTML is the language web pages should be built in. If you write your page in sloppy code, it’ll be harder for web browsers to display it properly so just like a Word document, you have to save it in the right format for your audience to read it.
Translate Your Content
thisismyurl.com is available in 20 languages, 40% of my traffic comes from outside the US and Canada and is viewed in a language other than English using a free online translation service, I know it’s flawed but it’s the best I can offer and people learn from my postings.
Understand Keywords
Keywords are the heart and soul of the Internet, they’re like fresh pasta in Italian cooking or eye shadow to drag queens … if you don’t understand the value and application of keywords, get off the Internet.
Build Relationships with Other Websites
Almost half my traffic comes from Google, the other half? Came from other websites and referrals from great people that I taught something to and in turn taught me a lot.
Add a Google Sitemap
Google want’s nothing more than to know about you, it’s the companies only goal in the universe, so help them to help you.
Help People
Speaking of helping, help people. When you see a website with an error or run into a problem on a site, let them know. If you can fix a glitch, tell them how … I’ve picked up countless readers and sources of inspiration by simply being supportive.
Use Analytics
Back to Google for a second, they have a tool called Google Analytics. It’s free, it’s powerful and it’ll help you understand your audience.
Join Social Networking Sites
Websites like LinkedIn and Facebook are powerful tools to help people. Helping people leads to trust, trust leads to prospects and prospects lead to clients.
Add Fresh Content
Ask yourself, why do people come back to your boring old stale content? They don’t. If you ran a restaurant you’d have daily specials right? Well I think running a restaurant is easier than running a website, so make sure you have fresh content served daily.
Know Who’s Better Than You
There are a lot of web sites out there that are better than me:
Know who’s better than you and read them every day. The best way to learn is to know you need to learn. (btw, if you didn’t make the list don’t be sad I have hundreds of sites I read every week, these are just the first ones I though of)
Respond to Criticism
There’s a lot of things that I write on my blog that are not as well researched as they could be, and when I’m corrected I love it. You’ll notice if you pan through my comments that I don’t remove the negative … in fact I relish them. If people take the time to point out your flaws, thank them and you’ll grow.
Write Good Content
The best way to build traffic to your website? Make people want to come back. It’s harder to get new visitors than to keep your old ones.
Be Timely
Write about things that you know will be timely but don’t chase trends, it’s not relevant what others are writing about … only what your readers are reading about.
Get to Know Yourself
The past five months of blogging have taught me a lot about myself, I look back at some of the early pieces I wrote and know that I’ve changed. That’s part of what blogging is, it’s about growing not only as a business but also as a person and learning new things.
Make your Title Tag Valuable
Your title tag is a critical piece of the organic marketing puzzle, if you don’t understand how or why to use it properly … excuse my french but vous êtes vissé.
Add an RSS Feed
I don’t care what type of business you are … if you can add an RSS feed to your web site do it! Let people know what you’re up to if they want to know. Same goes for Twitter, use it to exploit your interests.
Give Stuff Away For Free
I love giving things away for free. I have website templates, plugins and artwork people can download for free as well as over 600 pages of advice here on my website. Guess what? It cost me nothing and it put me on Alexa’s radar without having to do anything complicated.
Respect Your Audience
There’s only one thing more important then you on your website, your audience. Take time to get to know them and help them.
Know Your Goals
Why do you own a website? You’d be surprised how many people have no idea why they want to run a website … it’s a little sad really.
Use a Content Manager
Websites that are build on a content management system (I use WordPress) make it easier for people to update their websites. Websites that are updated more often get more traffic.
Read Matt’s Articles
Matt Cutts is Google. Actually he’s not but he’s the face of Google, the man who talks to all of us and tells us what Google is thinking, explains what they’re up to and helps lowly web masters to interact better. His job … to help the public make the most of Google, so why don’t you read his blog?
Join Forums
Forums are a great place to generate free traffic to your blog. They help you build relationships with other bloggers, build respect in the community and get into endless conversations about topics that interest you.
Comment on Other Websites
One of the most overlooked methods for building traffic to your website is to simply comment on other peoples websites. Remember my point about helping others? Point out flaws or add to the conversation and you’ll be generating great traffic back to your website.
Analyze and Adapt
Finally … the most important point … look at your analytics often and improve your website to help your audience make the most of your content.
Tags: advice, analytics, blog, building, comment, content management system, content manager, Facebook, forums, google analytics, html, Learning, lorelle, matt cutts, organic marketing, Plugins, search, templates, translate, web browsers, web master, web masters, WordPress
Posted in Marketing Advice