[audio:http://s3.amazonaws.com/audio-wb/wb-day3.mp3|titles=Get Clicked – Website Blueprint]
So let’s say you have a website online that you’re proud of and you know is an asset to your business. Congratulations, you made it through the hard part! Of course, I’m guessing you didn’t get your website built (or rebuilt) since yesterday’s lesson.
So let’s just imagine it’s all done and talk about how you’re going to get people to your website.
There are two ways to build traffic to your website: promote it (which we’ll cover later) or get it to show up in Google, Yahoo!, or Bing search engines.
Ahhhh, the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)… There have been dozens of books on the subject, there are hundreds of websites dedicated to it, and there are many highly skilled professionals out there that make their living from it. It’s all about getting that Google Juice!
Here’s the good news. For a small business owner looking to get people to find their website by searching key words in Google, the process of getting you on the first page of the list is a relatively easy process. The hard part about SEO is if you were trying to compete nationally. That’s because when you’re searching for a generic product or website, you don’t add a location into your search terms. When you’re looking for something locally, you naturally always add your location to your search. Getting your dry cleaning business on to the first page of Google is hard under the search term, “dry cleaner.” But, getting that same business to show up under “dry cleaner Pittsburgh” is much less difficult if you know what you’re doing.
If you (or your web person) understand the right text to add into your pages, page titles, and meta-name/meta-description (that’s located under the hood in the HTML), you should be able to rank high in Google in a short time (a month or two, max). The key for the local business owners is to remember to utilize the keywords for your business as well as your location.
Beware! There are “SEO specialists” that will charge you to get you to the top of search engines and registered in hundreds of directories and search engines for a fee. Do not be lured. There are no super, free ways to make this happen. It’s an organic process that involves having the right words in the right places in your website.
Build Your Business!
Gregory Murray
Website Blueprint Architect
