Tips for getting in the Search Engine Loop:
1) Contact others with sites that have the same kind of content and exchange links. The more similar links coming into your site, the better. Be picky! Those who you choose to associate with will certainly reflect upon you.
2) Keep your website active. Usually, the longer you are continually on the internet, the higher you will rank.
3) Continue having your site optimized to keep up with the changes in the search engine algorithms.
4) Make sure the content of your website is both visually appealing to your site visitor and loaded with rich content, and also make sure that it is search engine friendly. And remember, most of all, genuine optimization does not happen overnight. It takes time. It may take 3-6 months to get listed on a specific search engine. And even then, the search engine may check to see how long your site has been online and how many sites link to your own site to see where it will be placed in their ranking system.
Many search engines use length of time on the internet and incoming links as one of the numerous ways to see where a site should stand on their ranking system. Be patient. Market your site. In the long run, this will pay off! First of all, here's a little information about why web pages need to be optimized. .
Search engine optimization is, in its simplest form, nothing more than constructing your site so different search engines can review the content of the pages on your site and decide where to place it among millions of other sites on the internet to match other similar topics during a search. Each search engine uses different ways (called algorithms) to review your site and these algorithms are closely kept trade secrets of the search engine company. (Unfortunately, they have to do this. There are many companies who "spam" -who try to fool the search engines by using hidden coding and who design sites by repeating a word over and over only to get higher rankings) But aside from all the technical data the search engines are looking for with these algorithms, we all know it comes down to one goal-good quality content having to do with a single subject and proof that the site is really what the website designer said it would be.
So you've decided to optimize your site. Or maybe you are already optimizing the site. How do you tell if your SEO marketing company is legitimate? Here's a few ways to tell . . .
1) Most likely they aren't genuine if.. . the company that is optimizing your site guarantees that they can get you into the top 5 spot on Google, Yahoo or another major search engine. It is quite possible they can. But here's the catch. They optimize your site for the name of your business or for keywords that simply aren't the keywords potential customers would even look up to find you. Let's say you have a camera company by the name of Big Al's Colossal Camera Equipment. Odds are, there isn't anybody else with that name so you have no competition with any other companies called Big Al's. Odds are, too, that a whole lot of customers aren't going to find you because they knew you were there and typed the exact phrase "Big Al's Camera Equipment". But ask those same companies to get you in the top 5 rankings on Google under "cameras" or "photography" and suddenly it just isn't going to happen! Try this: Look up your site under your name. Then look up your site under specific things you sell along with the name of your state or the name of your town. Are you listed? You should be!
2) You find out the only customers you are receiving are from the company's own sites. Or your prices rise dramatically. When you tell your SEO company that you can't afford to optimize any longer and the company threatens they will change your coding, you'll lose all your business or they can already see your sites losing ranking while you are talking on the phone. Most likely, you were never in the rankings anyway. But here's a good way to tell. Make sure you have a good stat program for your site from the very start. Nearly all experienced site developers and hosts offer a stat program for free with their services. (These stats will tell you how many visitors are coming to your site and which sites are sending customers to your site, to name just a few) Make sure your hosting site has a stat program before you begin optimizing! See the stats now. Watch them grow over the next few months. And make sure they are willing to send you the stats when you need them or you can look them up yourself. This is one of the most important keys to owning a website and should never, never be overlooked! You will be able to tell what keyword phrases are working and if your optimization efforts are worth the cost. Don't just assume your site is being optimized! Ask to see the stats and make sure you are actually getting visitors to your site and not just showing up for a few specific words.