7 Things You Can Do Today To Make Google Fall Head Over Heels In Love With Your Small Business Website

C reating your own small          because your website appears on    business website can be a       page 42 of the Google search       scary thing to do. It           results, and no one is visiting    requires some planning to get it      your website, here are 7 things    right and make Google sit up and      you can do to quickly improve      take notice of your site at first     your results.                      glance. Small business website                                           search engine optimization (SEO)      1. Create an Effective Website     is one of the keys, but all too       Title Tag, Description Meta Tag,   often, astute business people         and Keywords Meta Tag              leave the creation of their                                              websites up to a family member or     The most important part of any     a friend who happens to know          website page (in the eyes of the   something about it. This is           search engines) is the title tag.  strange, for they wouldn't dream      The title is enclosed between the  of letting the same people build      opening title tag: and the         their bricks and mortar store or      closing title tag: . It is         office.                               located in the head section of an                                        HTML document, or web page. You    Of course, getting an expert who      should use your page's main        fully understands small business      keyword in your title. Try to use  SEO to build your website is not      your main keyword near the         likely to come cheap, but it may      beginning of your title, and       be the best solution if you are       perhaps again near the end. But    starting out from scratch.            always strive to make your title   However, this article is aimed at     readable, and not obviously        those small businesses that           keyword stuffed.                   already have a website, but are                                          disappointed at how poorly it         Your description tag plays an      performs. If you're frustrated        important role in SEO for your     local small business. This tag is     different descriptions for your    used by most of the search            site based on those benefits.      engines in their listings, so you     Test your descriptions by reading  need to spend some time getting       them to your customers, employees  this right. The description tag       or others familiar with your       looks like this: and it is also       business. You'll find out which    found in the head section of your     description resonates most         web page.                             strongly with your potential                                             prospects - and that's good for    Something brief such as, "Acme        the search engines and for your    Incorporated, Makers of Blue          sales.                             Widgets," gets the message                                               across, but you could do much         The keywords tag, again found in   better. Try to list benefits          the head section of your web       rather than features, and use         pages, looks like this: . The      your main keyword in your             keywords you choose for your page  description as well. Keep your        are important, because they tell   description reasonably brief, but     the search engines what should be  not too short. Something like,        found on the page. Google and all  "Acme, Inc., Makers of the            the other search engines present   Strongest, Most Powerful and          search results based on relevancy  Affordable Widgets on the Planet"     – how relevant your web pages are  is better.                            to the keywords and phrases your                                         prospects are searching for.       Like a headline for an ad or                                             sales flyer, your description may     Keep your keyword phrases to less  take time to develop. Start with      than seven and don't repeat the    a list of all of the benefits         same words. For example, if you    your product or service offers        have two keyword phrases, which    and then try to write 20              are, "blue widgets" and "bright    blue widgets," you should only        tell them. Finally, wind up the    include unique words after            article by telling them what you   including the first "blue             just told them.                    widgets" keyword.                                                                                              This may seem overly simple, but   Curious to know what your Title,      it works. Speak to your website    Description, Meta and Keyword         audience as you would to a         tags currently look like? Here's      seven-year-old child. Don't        a simple tip – just go to any         patronize them, but lay it out     page of your website, then click      clearly in simple steps using      on "View Source" or "View Page        straightforward language that      Source" from the "View" menu.         anyone can understand.             There you'll be able to see                                              exactly what your tags are            When writing your copy for each    telling Google when they crawl        of your pages, make sure to focus  your site.                            on one or two keywords per page.                                         If you are selling widgets in all  2. Optimize Your Website Copy         colors and you also sell                                                 thingamajigs, then widgets should  Your website copy consists of the     be on one page and thingamajigs    words on every page of your site.     on another. Keep it simple for     Try to make it interesting and        your customers and the search      informative. One simple way to        engines by focusing on one idea    arrange your articles, or             per page and your customers will   informative pages, is to use a        thank you for it, and Google will  simple three-step format. Begin       thank you too.                     with an introductory paragraph                                           that tells your visitor what you      3. Establish an Acceptable         are going to tell them. Then in       Keyword Density for Your Website   the next two or three paragraphs,     Copy                                                                     Increasingly, the search engines   While optimizing your website         are giving added weight to the     copy you also need to establish a     number of quality back links your  keyword density that is               website has. It used to be that    acceptable to the search engines.     reciprocal linking was quite       Opinions differ, but somewhere        acceptable, and it still is, but   between 2% and 5% is probably         now Google and the other search    about right. This means that for      engines give higher credibility    effective small business SEO,         to one-way back links as far as    your main keyword phrase should       your search engine rankings are    appear around three times for         concerned.                         every 100 words.                                                                                               And it's not just any back links   Where your keyword appears is         either. You need to have quality   important too. Try to use your        back links, or back links from     main keyword or phrase twice in       sites that are similar to yours.   the first paragraph, once in the      It's not much good getting a back  second paragraph, once around the     link from a site about             middle of the article, and once       butterflies if your site focuses   again near the end of the             on racing cars. With Google, it's  article. Try to start and end the     all about relevance. You should    first paragraph with your main        also strive to get back links      keyword if possible, but don't        from so-called authority sites.    force it. Always aim for copy         These are sites that the search    that is readable before copy that     engines deem to be an authority    has perfect keyword density.          on their chosen subject. They                                            tend to be quite big and to have   4. Create Quality Back Links to       been around for some time.         Your Website                                                                                                   5. Use Local Directories           Effectively                           Google Site Map                                                                                             If you are marketing to a local       Every website should have a site   market, then make use of local        map. This is merely a directory    directories. How do you find          of all your site's pages with      them? If, for example, you are        links to every one. You should     located in New York, then go to       have a link from every page of     Google and search for,                your site back to your site map,   "directory" + "new york." This        and your site map must be updated  will return a list of all the         whenever a new page is added.      local directories in that city.                                          You could even try searching for,     A Google Site Map is also a site   "blue widgets directory" + "new       map, but one that is in a special  york," if you are marketing blue      format that Google can easily      widgets.                              spider. It has the great                                                 advantage of allowing Google to    Once you find a suitable              instantly "see" your site and      directory, submit your website to     evaluate it. It can be a very      it. People do search on local         useful tool in getting Google to   directories, so even if your          index your site more quickly than  product has worldwide appeal,         otherwise. For more information    there's a greater chance that you     on creating a Google Site Map, go  will get the sale if someone          to:                                finds you in a local directory        http://www.google.com/webmasters/  over someone else located in          sitemaps/.                         another continent who can deliver                                        just as cost effectively or as        7. Add Fresh Original Content to   quickly.                              Your Website at an Acceptably                                            Measured Pace                      6. Create a Proper Site Map and                                          Your website should never be          in one day, Google and the other   considered finished. It should        search engines will see this as    always be a work in progress that     unnatural and will count it        is constantly expanding with          against you in your page ranking.  fresh and original content. The                                          easiest way to do this is to add      SEO for your local small business  new articles on specific subjects     is easier than you might think.    on a regular basis. One article a     Getting Google to fall head over   week is the least you should aim      heels in love with your small      for, but don't add content too        business website is not rocket     quickly either. Dumping 100           science. You only need to          articles a day into your site         implement a few simple things on   will ultimately work against you,     a regular basis, and over time     because the search engines look       Google will notice and your page   for organic growth – in other         rank – and your placement with     words, growth that seems natural.     the search engines – will start    Since it's not likely that you        climbing.                          were able to write 100 articles                                       About the Author: Entrepreneur and outdoor photography adventurer Caroline Melberg is President and CEO of Small Business Mavericks, a division of Melberg Marketing. She has over 20 years of experience creating marketing communications materials and writing copy for some of the largest and most successful companies in the world. When you subscribe, you'll also get a FREE copy of her e-Book, "Local Small Business Internet Marketing Secrets" - learn insider secrets to marketing your local small business on the Web today! Get your FREE subscription at http://www.SmallBusinessMavericks.com. Read more articles by: Caroline Melberg Article Source: www.iSnare.com