POSITIONING - ARE YOU BEING FOUND?
By Mark Idzik
Do you know how your web site ranks on the major search
engines?
If your pages are not in the top 30 positions (1st 3 pages),
chances are you are not being found by 57% of web users
(according to Forrester Research, 57% of web users find
web sites by using a search engine).
With search engines accepting hundreds of thousands of new
and re-submitted sites each month the chances of getting
a top position are against you. To make the odds worse,
the engines often change their ranking "algorithms"
monthly or every other month.
So how do you achieve and maintain top positions for your
keywords?
The answer is POSITIONING.
Positioning is a "not-so-scientific" method of determining
what ranking method works on a specific search engine
and using that method as a template to create new pages
on your web site. Some people call these "entrance" or
"door" pages.
The first step is to determine what keyword combinations
(the more specific, the better your results) you want
visitors to find you.
Next, you'll search all major engines for each keyword
combination and save the top 10 sites (bookmark or
save to your hard drive).
Now, you take the top 3 or 4 sites and scan the pages
for the density of keywords (how many of your keywords
show up in the title, body, comments, ALT tags, hidden
text, forms, etc). After looking at 3 or 4 of the top
listed pages, you'll get an idea of what combination
works for that search engine.
You're now ready to create your "optimized" page. Create
a similar style of page as the top 3 or 4 sites you've
found. For example, if the pages are mostly text,
few graphics, lots of keyword text in the ALT tags,
meta tags, and a short but specific title, use that
format. Create a similar look-and-feel of your current
site, so that the page blends into your overall design.
Now, repeat these steps for every keyword phrase for
each major search engine. Name the files so they correspond
to the keyword phrase you optimized for that page. For example,
if your phrase was "new york real estate", call the page
"newyorkrealestate.html", or something similar. Once you're
finished, submit them manually, or by using a good automated
submission program (look for our suggestion below).
After you submit, you may see results as quickly as a
few days, but most engines will index you over the next
few weeks. Depending on the backlog and timing of the
engine updates, you may have to wait as long as 6 or 8 weeks.
To maintain your positions, check your rankings for
every keyword phrase weekly. If any of your pages drop
below #30, or completely off the index, start the
process above again.
To assist you in automating much of this work, we use
and recommend WebPosition Gold. The software makes
creating and maintaining positions a breeze. Click here to
download a fully-funtioning free trial and to get more information.
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