Google Yourself
 By Terry M. Blair

The Internet is becoming a primary resource consumers use to connect with products and services. And when consumers are looking for something, search engines are usually their first stop.

But not just any search engine. Research by Hitwise, a leading online competitive intelligence service, found that Google accounted for 64 percent of all U.S. searches in March 2007.

Google’s growth shows no sign of slowing either. That’s not to say you want to ignore the other popular search engines. A bigger online presence can only help your small business grow.

Getting your Web site ranked high among search engines, like Google, is imperative if you want to take advantage of the Internet marketing goldmine. Most users don’t even bother to sift through more than two pages of search results.

If your prospects can’t find you easily among the millions of sites on the Web, you might as well not be online at all. However, by employing a few of these simple tactics you can make you Web site rank higher in searches.

Search for your business
Before you do anything, conduct a search for your own Web site. Search on Google and all the other major search engines such as Yahoo! and MSN. Analyze where you fall in the rankings.

Do rankings differ between the search engines? Do your competitors rank higher? What are they doing that you should be to maximize the potential of search engine marketing?

Choose good keywords
Explore what keywords your prospects may be searching when looking for products or services like yours. Consider what a customer may want from your site and what your competitors may be using as their keywords.

Work to find keywords that are neither too broad nor too specific to enhance your search engine results. Your keywords should appear in the page text, the title, the meta-tags and even the URL, if possible.

In addition, when writing the copy for your Web site, be sure to repeat your keywords in your body copy and in headlines. Try to use them at least three times per page.

Submit your site to the search engines
Even the best keywords won’t increase your hits if the search engines don’t know you exist. Take advantage of the submission pages on search engine sites that allow you to enter your Web address into their directories. To save time, you can even take advantage of sites like Submit Express which will submit your URL to multiple search engines for free.

Build a network
Networking on the Web can be just as beneficial in building business as it is in real life. Partner with other Web sites to exchange links. The more frequently your site name appears on the Web, the more likely it is to come up in the search process.

Try pay-per-click advertising
Pay-per-click advertising can be useful in drawing prospects to your Web site.

Through programs like Google AdWords, your ads appear next to search engine results relating to your keywords. You’re only charged a fee when a user clicks your ad. You can even set your ads to show up only for people searching within a specific geographic range like within 25 miles of your business location.

Get listed locally
Target the people right in your own backyard who are looking to buy from you. Most search engines—including Google—have sections dedicated to local businesses and services. These listings are free and many don’t even require you to have a Web site. Think of them as the Yellow Pages online.

Get on the map
Similar to local listings, maps are another great way to reach local customers who are already searching for a business like yours. For instance, when potential customers search a tool like Google Maps for local information, they’ll find your address, hours of operation, even coupons they can print out and bring to your business

(Posted June 2007)

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