Get Your Website Found on Google With These 6 Steps

By Christina

Mar 24, 2020

We all heavily rely on Google to diagnose our ailments, get advice, and to supply us with websites so we can enjoy hours of endless shopping for the things we need without leaving our homes. Most of us can't even imagine a life without Google now. As a small business owner you need to be thinking about how people are using Google, as well as other search engines, to find what you are selling and how you get your service or product in front of those potential customers.

There are a lot of tools available for you to use to get your website listed in the search results fairly quickly; although it will take time and effort to get to the very top of the search results. In this article we will let you know what is available and how to get the best from them. If you already have a website with us you'll already be enjoying the easy to use SEO and linking features within our content manager system. Hopefully you'll find this article useful and use it as a personal plan you can follow while you watch your website improve it's ranking position within the search engine results pages (SERPS).

There are some important factors involved in getting your website seen within the SERPs, here is what we think is important:

Submit your site to Google
Choose the perfect keywords
Manage your meta tags
Optimise for mobile
Optimise for local
Lay a link trail

1. Submit your site to Google

Your website will be found by Google eventually, but to speed things up you can submit your website's sitemap to Google in their Search Console. If you aren't sure what a sitemap is, don't worry all of the websites designed by us have a sitemap and we are more than happy to submit that to Google on your behalf.

It's simple to do, set up a Google Search Console account and follow the simple instructions. Or once you're in, click on the top left drop down box and you'll see add property - that's your websites address.

On the left hand side you will see Sitemap, click on this and you'll be taken to the page seen above which has 'Submit A Sitemap' box. Type into this box the name of your sitemap, usually sitemap.xml. Below this area you will see when a sitemap was submitted and when it was last visited by Google and if they managed to successfully make it through your website without any problems.

2. Choose the perfect keywords

So what are keywords... they are a string of three to five words that a person might use to search for your business. They are important because this is how Google matches your website to a persons search. Keywords need to be incorporated into the SEO feature of your content manager as well as throughout your content.

Keywords can include your company name and location, product and service descriptions.

If someone is searching for 'donut', then the results would list a map showing the local donut companies in that persons area plus recipes and other things to do with donuts. If the searcher adds 'buy donuts near me' or 'buy donuts (and a location)' then companies selling donuts will appear in the search results. The keywords can go further to include donuts with sprinkles, or donuts with chocolate icing etc. If you are selling donuts you would want to make sure your website is incorporating those keywords.

Have a think about how you use the internet when you are looking for something. Sometimes you want a very specific answer. 'What is the weather today?' 'What temperature should I bake a donut at?' 'How do I get my website to the top of Google search results?'

Rest assured your potential customers will be doing this also. You should brainstorm the type of questions your customers may need the answers to. Once you do a little keyword research you'll spot the best keywords that are most commonly searched, then all you have to do is sprinkle them throughout your websites content and SEO settings. When Google visits your website and spots the word 'buy fresh donuts' they will know what you do and which SERPs to place your website within.

3. Manage your meta tags

Meta tags are the elements you see in the Google Search Results:

Website Design & Development
www.dradept.com
We design and development websites as well as offering SEO services with a proven track record of success.

The first line above (usually blue within the SERPs, but can turn purple if you have previously visited that website) is the meta title, then you have your URL or website address followed by the meta description (usually in black). You won't see this text anywhere on your website, it is in the back end of the websites code. We have created an SEO feature within our content manager that allows you to quickly and easily update both of these SEO elements, so our customers don't have to learn website coding. Being clear and concise in these two elements is critical in convincing Google to list you, and for potential customers to choose you over the other listings.

4. Mobile First

Google have now moved over to displaying websites that put mobile display capabilities first. If you haven't already done so you need to have a website that does this but also caters for desktop usage. Sixty percent of our website visitors still use a desktop, but our website is mobile friendly. Any website we design for our customers is desktop and mobile friendly from the get go, we don't charge double either as you are only getting one website after all, but that can display on multiple devices and desktops.

You'll know if your website is mobile friendly if you can view it on a mobile device without having to pinch, stretch or move the page around with your fingers. The text should also be easy to read and not need to be magnified and all pictures should fit the screen size. Menus and links should be easy to click with something the size of a finger so they need to be spaced correctly. When people browse on their phones they are kind of more into the 'I want it now' mode then the 'casual look' mode. Most people using mobile to search the internet are having a - I want the answer to, go, do, or buy - moment. Let this guide you when choosing what to put on your home page.

Optimising for mobile means producing a site that loads fast and solves the customers problem quickly. Tick those boxes and you can't go wrong.

5 Optimise for local

People tend to search geographically for businesses near to themselves. Google refers to this as local SEO, where Google directs location specific searchers to solutions in their geographic area. Google created My Business so you can claim your spot on their business listings within their map and local pack section of their SERPs. This helps you because local businesses should be shown to local people before the national businesses are, but of course SEO's are working hard to make sure the nationals they work for get listed in local areas where they may not be based with a physical premises.

Claim your business and fill in your profile with all your important information, including but not limited to: name, address, phone number, website, opening times, business description etc.

We carry out Local SEO for many clients, who are too busy to do it themselves; with fantastic results. We can help you too, but if you do want to do it all yourself then why not check out our blog to keep up with what is happening in the SERPs.

6. It's all about links

Consider links like friends. The more friends you have the more popular you are and more people will want to know you.

Not all friends are created equal, some friends are better than others. If people see you rubbing shoulders with the Queen you would soon be attracting elite friends.

By creating helpful, informative and often funny content and catching the eye of the popular influencers in your industry can propel your website forward faster then anything else once they plant a link in their website to yours. Google still puts a lot of stock into links from quality websites. Not only will those links attract Google, people will follow these links to your website giving you more people to sell to.

Don't forget about internal links, they are nearly as important, mainly because they help visitors navigate to other areas of your website that they may be interested in.