by Siimon
29. June 2011 10:57
There's an enormous amount of confusion amongst entrepreneurs about how to optimise their website to rank higher on Google.
So I thought it would be valuable if I wrote a quick primer on how to maximise your website's ranking.
The good news is it's easier than you think.
Here are some of the ways I use to rank higher on Google searches.
1. Add lots of content.
Basically Google assumes that if one site has 50 pages and another has only 10, then the bigger website is more useful and should be ranked higher. (As long as that content is relevant of course.)
2. Keep changing the content.
Goggle’s searchbots look at how often you refresh the content, not just how much you write. So be sure to add new articles or information at least every month. Weekly additions are even better.
If that sounds like a hassle, consider outsourcing the article writing to the Philippines or India, you'll be surprised at the quality of writers available. (Check out Elance or O Desk to find such writers).
3. Include video.
In the last year Google has been on the look out for sites that offer a rich video experience. Create an introduction video on the first page, or some useful instructional videos and your ranking will benefit.
4. Make the site fast loading.
This is a new criteria Google have started looking for. As websites get more complex, usually they become slower to load. This problem has only become worse with the rising ubiquity of video. All things being equal, the faster loading site will be ranked higher.
5. Link to .gov, .org or .edu sites.
There was a time when just linking your site to lots of others guaranteed a high Google ranking, but Google have smartened up. Yes it's still of value to have links, but most people aren't aware that all links are not valued equally by the Google team. What they really love are links to .gov, .org or .edu sites. So see what non profits, universities and government departments you can connect your site to.
6. Advertise on Google.
They won't necessarily admit this, but there is evidence that Google will rank you higher if you advertise on Google. (Hey, they're a business after all). Using Google ads also creates more links to your site of course.
There are lots of more complex ways to improve your ranking on Google, but if you do those six, you'll be doing better than 95% of the business websites out there.
And you'll be getting oodles of customers.