The Number One question from website owners is “How do I get to be first in the search engine results?” The answer is it is difficult to get ranked in the top ten but there are things you can do to help people find your website.

It’s all about content! Create an information-rich site that clearly and accurately describes your business. Think about the words customers would use to search for your product or service. Identify 5 to 7 key words that people would use to search for your business. Search engines are more likely to find your website if you consistently use the same keywords throughout your website.

To help search engines find your website use text instead of images/graphics for navigation, names, content, or links. Search engines cannot read images/graphics. Search engines cannot read ‘Flash’ introductions either! Make good use of Meta tags. Again use those keywords in all Meta tags, html Title tags, description, alt tags, etc.

• The html Title tag is shown at the top of the browser and should describe your business and website content.
• Description is shown in the search engine results under each individual result or link. Be concise with your description as only 250 characters are displayed.
• Alt tags are the pop up window when a cursor is scrolled over an image.

The more times you use your keywords the more likely you are to be found on the search engines.

Make sure you include contact information with a complete street address and phone number on every page of your website. Pay particular attention to including the contact information on your home page so it will appear on Google maps.

Ask to be included on the local or regional websites such as Chamber of Commerce, community listings, etc. as well as directories of sites with similar content to yours. Make sure they are reputable websites and are relevant to yours. Not only will customers and visitors find their way to your website from other websites, but Google, Yahoo, and other search engines will find your website easier.

If your marketing budget allows, you may want to consider buying online traffic. Services such as Overture® or Google AdWords® let you ‘buy’ specific search terms or keywords, also known as “adwords.” When somebody searches for a product using your adword, your web address with your description appears in the sponsored section of the first page of search results. When a visitor clicks on your sponsored ad, you will be charged the minimum of five cents. You set your daily budget of how much you are willing to spend or can afford. You will never be charged more than the daily maximum budget you set.

Viral marketing techniques encourage website visitors to tell others about your website. Some techniques include offering (1) e-newsletters or e-postcards, (2) an entertaining feature on your site, or (3) a place for satisfied customers to tell others about your site.

Being found on the Internet can be a challenge but with hard work and patience your marketing techniques will pay off.

Prepared by Rae Montgomery, University of Minnesota Extension