Landau Design logo

I Want My Site to Be #1 on Google

As the saying goes, if I could have a nickle for every time someone made this request, I would be a rich woman. Being number one in the Google organic search involves a lot of variables. Nobody really knows for sure exactly how it works, but in a nutshell, here's the theory:

To get into Google you can submit your URL and ask them to spider you, but that does not get you in there right away. It can take 1 to 3 months before they index your site. In addition, getting top listings in Google is not something you can pay for. You can pay for the ads that appear in the right sidebar, but within the listings that are your search results it is based on a logarithm that nobody really knows. Conjecture has it that the search results are based on popularity, and popularity is based on 3 factors (in order of weight):

  • How relevant the links are to your site
  • How many links there are to your site
  • How many visits there are to your site
In addition, the age of your URL, i.e. how long it's been indexed, will play a part in your ranking, but the number of links that go TO your site that are relevant to the search criteria are really the deciding factors to get high up in the search ranking. So if you want to increase your Google ranking, here are some things you can do:

Optimize your site. Make sure your content is clear and not redundant. Make sure your title, description and keyword tags are filled out, accurate and not redundant. Make good use of your content by inter-linking within your site. Link to other people's sites, and ask them to link back to you.

If your URL is new, get it into the search engines. Even if it's not new, make sure it's in the search engines. There are free search engine submission services online, but they often ask for payment for the real services, or ask for a link back to their site. Here are some you can do for free, but use an email address that you don't mind getting their extra advertising.
Third, do some link investigation and begin to build your link library TO your site. To do this, I recommend you discover what your competitors are doing. So for example, if you searched for "personal trainer" “Los Angeles”, you will see who comes up at the top of the list. Then you want to look at that site and see who is linking to them. To do that take the URL of the site and past it into the Google search box like this: “+ www.lapersonaltraining.com” Then you’ll be able to see all the sites that link TO your competitors. It will also give you good ideas on where you can list your site. I would recommend watching this video tutorial on How to Get Awesome Links by the SEOmozBlog.

That in a nutshell is what is really a long and complex process. Getting high up in the Google rankings takes a concerted effort and is a process in patience. It takes about 12 months to establish a URL and have it fully indexed throughout the Internet. Companies spend thousands a month doing what I described above — searching keywords and finding new places to plant links. Hopefully this information will help to get you started.

0 comments: