Search Engines

Use search engines to drive traffic to your website

If you sell products or services on your website, or you just want greater brand recognition, you need to think about increasing your search engine ranking. Essentially, this means getting your site to show up on the first page of listings on major search engines.

The top search engines, are Google, MSN -- now called Live Search -- and Yahoo, with Google getting far more traffic than the other two. This makes Google the search engine to focus on first. Here is what you need to do:

1. Decide on the keywords you'd like to rank on in major search engines. For example, if your business is a pie shop, you'll want users searching for the word "pie" to be able to find you.

2. Get more specific with search engine placement. Expand into key word phrases and inbound links.

3. Consider niche search engines, like pay-per-click, also known as PPC search engines, and career search engines for more specific needs.

 

Use keywords to boost your search engine rank

When you first start trying to drive search engine traffic using keywords, otherwise known as search engine optimization, think about who you want to attract to your site. Then come up with a list of keywords that you think those people commonly use in their searches.
Try: Visit Trellian's site for its article on coming up with and implementing keywords. Then check out Google's own page on boosting your ranking on the search engine. Once you have a couple of keywords in mind, use the keyword suggestion tool on Wordtracker to come up with more.

Go more in-depth with your search engine optimization

Once you've got the hang of search engine basics, take your optimization to the next level. Instead of just using single keywords, incorporate phrases into your page's content. For example, if your customer favorite is open-faced cherry pies, add those three words in addition to pie by itself. Then, try to get inbound links, as they can also boost your ranking. Have sites linking to yours include your keywords in their anchor text.
Try: Try to think of phrases that are slightly different than your competitor's so you can capitalize on exact searches. Search Innovation has an article that can help. Submit your site to online directories (Yahoo's is very popular) and try to get bloggers in your industry to link to your site.

Use a niche search engine for special purposes

If you want to attract a very specific customer, consider submitting your site, or a page of your site, to a niche search engine. This can help you recruit new employees or attract individuals in a specific profession or community.
Try: Go to SearchEngineWatch for a list of search engines. This list includes a good number of lesser-known generic search engines plus community search engines. It also contains information about how to submit your site so it has a better chance of coming up in results. Then visit Indeed's page on how to submit links to your site to job search engines to garner good results.

 

• Search engine optimization was not built in a day. Give yourself three to six months to see your rankings rise before deciding if you need a new strategy.

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