You've got a website. Now what?Posted on Thursday, Dec 11, 2008In the movie "Field of Dreams" Kevin Costner heard the voice say, "If you build it, they will come". In regards to your website this isn't exactly true.
Just because you've got a website doesn't mean that you'll be found in the search engines or get the traffic you're looking for. It takes time and know-how and can be accomplished by following these tips.
Write Good Content
Having a website full of beautiful photos is great to grab your users' attention once they are on your site… but what is going to get them there from the search engines is your content.
Search engines work by cataloging all the words and links on your website. When writing, it is important to use the keywords you would like to be found with and to also be as descriptive as possible on your pages. Look over your content. You may need to reword some of it. Doing so can help you tremendously.
Submit Your Website
Once your website is live make sure that you or your webmaster submits it to the major search engines. This is as easy as visiting the pages below and filling out their simple forms.
Create a Sitemap
The sitemap that I'm referring to is not your traditional sitemap that you would see on a website. It's a file that is unseen by your users and seen by the search engines. This file contains links to every single page on your website. The search engine checks this file from time to time to see if you have added, removed or updated any new pages.
You could write your own sitemap from scratch… OR you could spend a couple minutes having a website do the work for you. Use
this website and follow their four simple steps. Once you are done it will give you a link to your newly created sitemap. Save it to your computer and email it to your developer to take care of for you.
Use Google Business Center and Google Maps
Have you ever wondered why when you do a local search a bunch of business listings next to a map come up and yours isn't listed?
To get your site listed:
- Go to www.google.com/local/
- On the left side of the page click the link that says "Put your business on Google Maps"
- Follow the easy instructions on the page.
- In a short time you'll be included in those local listings.
Keep It Fresh
Don't let your website get stale. If you do you could see it slowly drop in the rankings. The search engines love to see new content. New content ideas could include new pages, articles, links, etc. It's a good idea to update as frequently as possible. Doing so gives you more words for the search engines to grab onto and also gives your visitors a reason to come back.
Get Other Sites to Link Back To Yours
To increase your Page Rank this step is ESSENTIAL. Okay, so by now you've optimized your site, created a sitemap and submitted your site to the search engines. Now you need to get some links back to your site.
Using your favorite search engine, look for sites that are related to your business. Directories and informational sites work great for this. If you're business is Skin Care, for example, you should be looking for skin care, dermatology, and health sites. Once you find a website look for links to contact the owner and ask them if they would like to exchange links.
Track Your Website
Google offers a FREE service called
Google Analytics that will track, in amazing detail, all the traffic coming to your website. Easily see how many people are coming to your site, where they are going, how long there are staying, what keywords they used to find you and more. Your developer can install this service in less than 10 minutes.
About the Author
Steam Interactive opened for business in 2006 only offering website design services. Today, they can now not only offer web design & hosting, programming and content management, but also graphic design and marketing consulting. With more than 30 years combined design experience and with 20 years in sales and marketing, Steam Interactive is the smart choice to increase your business.
For more information and to view their entire design portfolio please visit www.SteamInteractive.com.
STEAM INTERACTIVE
Taking Your Business Full Steam Ahead
www.steaminteractive.com
360.708.9818
