7 Steps to Successful Search Engine Rankings

So you have built a Web site for your business, and now you need to know how to get it noticed by the search engines in order to attract visitors. A lot of business owners have a misconception that "if you build it, they will come."

Just because you build a Web site and put it online it does not mean you will automatically attract visitors. The key to gaining high search engine rankings is search engine optimization (SEO). Building a Web site that is optimized is really about the words that are used on the site. Copy can affect whether your site will rank high or low in the search engines.

7 Steps For Successful Search Engine Rankings

No. 1. Choose The Right Keywords

SEO is not a one-time event, but a continuous and ongoing process. The first step to successful search engine optimization is choosing the right keywords. If you choose words that are extremely popular, then they are also highly competitive words, which can also keep a Web site from ranking high in the search engines. On the other hand choosing words that nobody is searching for can really be a detriment to a Web site's search engine rankings as well.

No. 2. Monitor Rankings

It is important for website owners to monitor where the site is ranking in the search engines. Site owners can use software or manually search the major search engines using their keywords to get an idea of where their site is ranking. A site's position can change on a daily basis as new sites are added to search engines and others drop down or move up in the search engine rankings, so it is important to monitor your site rankings on a continuous basis.

No. 3. Page Optimization

It is also important to create the pages of a Web site with optimization in mind. Plug in keywords to a couple of different search engines that would pertain to your business Web site and look at the top 10 pages that show up. It is important to study the layout of these sites as it pertains to the amount of times keywords are repeated on the page and the amount of words that are on each page. This will help Web site owners to setup their own Web pages in order to ensure optimal results for ranking their Web sites.

No. 4. Update

Search engines love Web sites that are kept up-to-date and that do not contain stale information. Web site owners should try to update their sites regularly to ensure that the search engines recognize that the site is a dynamic site, as these sites tend to drive more traffic than those containing stale information. Having a static site can cause Web sites to drastically drop in the search engine rankings.

No. 5. Search Engine Submissions

It is also important that Web site owners actually submit their site to the search engines! For a fee there are search engine submission companies that will submit the site on behalf of the site owner or for free Web site owners can manually submit their site to search engines.

No. 6. Site Statistics

It is important that Web site owners monitor and analyze their Web site statistics. Web site statistics help site owners to see how many visitors their site is attracting, what keywords are being searched for that are brining up their site, the origin of their visitors (which search engine or what other Web site referred the potential customer to their site), etc. This will help site owners to determine what is working to drive traffic to their site and also to further determine what is then turning site visitors into customers or clients.

No. 7. Link Popularity

Another way that Web site owners can help to better their search engine rankings is by exchanging links with targeted Web sites. By exchanging links with a targeted audience Web site owners are able to attract potential customers and clients that can benefit from their service or product. For example, a wedding planner would want to exchange links with wedding vendors such as photographers, caterers and party rental companies. Customers searching these types of sites will benefit and attract the type of customers that event planners want to attract.

Using a combination of the seven steps listed above will help to ensure a successful search engine ranking for any Web site.