Google And Your Website- A Match (That Could Be) Made In Heaven

Copyright (c) 2010 Michael Volkin

It is not enough these days just to build a website. You have to build a website that people can find. Having a website that no one can find is like having a business card that just stays on your desk; it does little good. The vast majority of people who search for a given search term on Google never get to the second page of results. Therefore, if your website is not ranked in the top 10, it is invisible to the vast majority of people. To further break your spirits, there are billions of websites already competing to get into the top 10 on Google. No one knows the exact formula Google uses to rank websites; however, you do not need to know the exact formula. You just need to understand and implement the tips I will show you and your website can be ranked in the top 10 in a few months. Before we proceed, I will warn you that for every 100 people that try to accomplish the tips in this chapter only about 2% will actually complete the necessary steps. It is similar to going to the gym. You go to the gym to exercise your muscles. Your muscles develop over time; results are not instant. It is a slow process with small, incremental results. Use the table provided in this chapter. Not only will it chart your progress, but it will provide a motivational benchmark each week.

First, create a free Google AdWords account by going to https://adwords.Google.com. After you register your account, go to the main page and click the “tools” tab. Once you click the tools tab you will get a drop down box; select “keyword tool”. You will be presented with a box to type in a search term. In the box, enter the subject that your website covers. You can use a variety of keywords. For example, if your website is on Computer Programming, you can use any one of the following keywords:

Computer Programming Computer Programmers Computer Programming languages Computer Programming basics Programming for Computers

There are many combinations you can use for any subject matter. For simplicity, start with one keyword and click “get keyword ideas”. Google will then generate a table of similar keywords to the one you just entered. More importantly, next to those similar keywords are two important columns. One of columns displays the search volume for that month of that particular keyword. In other words, Google is telling you how many people in a given month went to Google.com and typed in that search term. Another important column is the Advertiser Competition column. This will tell you how many advertisers are paying, or competing for that particular keyword. This column gives you an overall idea of how competitive that keyword is.

Once you have a list of results, click the words “Local Search Volume”, which is one of the column headers. Once you click this column header, the results will sort from highest to lowest in terms of search volume. The keyword with the highest search volume will be at the top of the column.

Now that your keywords are sorted by search volume, your goal is to select 5 to 10 keywords that best represent your website. However, do not make the mistake of selecting the keywords with the highest search volume. Your goal is not to select the keywords with the highest search volume, but with the lowest ratio of competition. For example, if you see a keyword that has a search volume of 200,000, but the competition is high, then do not choose that keyword if there is a similar keyword with 180,000 searches with much less competition. You are trying to find the best ratio of high search volume versus lowest number of keywords. Once you select 5 to 10 keywords, write them in the blanks below.

Keyword 1: _________________________________

Keyword 2: _________________________________

Keyword 3: _________________________________

Keyword 4: _________________________________

Keyword 5: _________________________________

Keyword 6: _________________________________

Keyword 7: _________________________________

Keyword 8: _________________________________

Keyword 9: _________________________________

Keyword 10: _________________________________

Now that you have selected your keywords, you need to edit your website appropriately. You need update your meta-tags and description with the keywords you have chosen. The keywords should be used throughout the website, but not overused. This is an important step because if your website and online campaign do not coincide, it will be counter-productive.