Every website owner wishes to make money online, whether from direct sales or indirectly through brand building. Likewise, we know that to increase website traffic improves the chances of getting more new business. This is why Internet marketers spend enormous amounts of time learning how to get to the top on Google. Google alone can serve as a sales lead generator beyond compare.
Why’s it so crucial to rank near the top of Google’s search engine pages? These recent statistics say it all:
- Seven out of 10 consumers searching the Internet immediately start with Google, bypassing Yahoo! and other search engines.
- Google officially crossed the 70 percent mark for a search engine market share in February 2008. It has grown on average 3 percent per month since February 2007.
- When it comes to market share gains in advertising dollars, Google outpaced every U.S. media company in 2007, regardless of whether they were a Web-based, television, radio, or print conglomerate.
Major advertisers clearly know where the masses’ eyeballs are trained. So, too, must the rest of us who want a slice of the Internet’s billion dollars in e-commerce sales transacted each and every month!
So those who understand the cost-efficiencies of search engine optimization (SEO) are increasingly earmarking resources to rank as high as possible on Google. That’s because obtaining a top position on Google’s search results pages is beyond compare. A strong SEO-friendly website or blog is one of your best sales lead generators, and the cost of making it happen is still relatively low.
In that context, consider that most consumers searching Google rarely look beyond the first page (maybe two) of results. If your site isn’t one of the first on the search results lists, your chances of attracting business through organic sales leads are enormously diminished.
Content is king
When it comes to being able to make money online, it’s all about website content and search engine optimization (SEO). This isn’t one of those tiny little areas where “less is more.” In the SEO world, it’s a more is more game.
The more pages your website contains, the better chance you have of Google and other search engines sending visitors to a particular page on your site. While the amount of content on your website is important, so is the quality of your content.
There are several reasons well-written content makes for better search results. The more generous, beneficial and well-written your content, the more likely you are to:
- Encourage the reader to spend more time on your site, increasing your page views,
- Boost search engine rankings,
- Drive more traffic to your website, and
- Increase the likelihood of other quality sites linking to yours.
So strive to offer quality, detailed information that more people are likely to search for when considering buying a product or service like yours.
Also, keep in mind that online shoppers tend to search using specific phrases. As an example, more people will search Yahoo! or Google for “black Ray-Ban sunglasses” than simply “sunglasses.” So each of your website pages should provide detailed information similar to this, relevant of course to your own niche.
You’ll also stand out from similar businesses by going beyond simply posting a standard photo, a short blurb and your prices. Make your web and blog pages helpful and truly informative. Make them meaty and visually appealing, too.
When creating your content, don’t forget about the “long tail”
Make a habit of periodically reviewing your website’s log files. You’ll be surprised by the number of hits that come from unpredictable search terms. Take advantage of the SEO long tail theory by including these less competitive phrases in your site’s content more frequently. Interestingly, most website traffic comes from long tail these searches.
No duplicate content
If a search engine detects duplicate content on your website, those pages will not appear in its search results. That’s because the search engines are programmed to deliver the most relevant, quality results possible. So listing the same pages in their search results don’t help Google or Yahoo! accomplish their goal.
Search engines also shun duplicate content because it’s a big waste of resources to index substantially similar web pages. Do everything you can to make your content unique from one page to the next. Typing the same pitch information over and over across all your pages can even get you penalized by the search engines.
Be strategic and link to your keywords
Whether linking to your own web pages or from an external site, it’s smart to use descriptive phrases. Never just hyperlink your company name. For example, creating a clickable link for “top PR firm in Chicago” is strategically better than one reading “Jones & Davis, Inc.”
Build a healthy number of links to your top keywords and key phrases across all your web pages. The keyword(s) contained in each link informs Google and other search engines of what your site focuses on.
Consider this example:
- Wrong way to link: “To book your Caribbean cruise with us, click here.”
- The right way to link: “To plan your trip, visit Caribbean cruise.”
Note that Google’s search bots give preference to the links that you make bold or italicize.
Always periodically devote some time to study ways to improve how search engine-friendly your website or blog is. You’ll discover that spending a few hours each month beefing up your content, adding more keyword links, and studying the unexpected phrases people used to find you are viable ways to increase site traffic.