Making Search Engines Work For Your Website - Website Findability

“Findability” — the ability of a Website to be located online.

Your website is only as good as it is findable. A recent study showed that nearly 90% of Internet users use search engines to locate the web pages they are looking for. 90%! MANY sites are built with no regard for "Findability" at all - some are basically invisible to search engines.

Websites that are not finely tuned to be found by the big search engines -- Google, MSN Search and Yahoo -- won't be found by potential customers either, turning what should be a valuable marketing tool into a waste of time.

Looking for a cost effective way to get new customers?

Look no further than public search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Americans conducted 6.4 billion searches online in June 2006, according to comScore Networks.

Even more compelling is comScore’s finding that 86% of searches were in one of the three major search engines. The simple fact is that customers are increasingly finding companies to do business with by starting with one of the major search engines.

People don't surf the web anymore, they search the web. Search is the most frequently used function on the internet. Web users find that the URL (website address) of the websites they seek may not be obvious. It’s easier to type a keyword phrase into a search engine and bring up relevant results.

In order for a website to rank highly in a web search, the search engine -- be it Google, Yahoo or MSN Search -- must be aware that the site exists. To find websites, search engines compile massive indexes, numbering in the billions. Software programs known as "bots" and "crawlers" follow links on the web to find and index new pages, and if a company's site is not in the index, it won't be listed in search engine results.

How can YOU become more visible on public search engines?

Many people think having a website is enough. It’s not. You need to have a search-engine-friendly website. Many rely on “paid placement”, which involves bidding for keyword placement on search results pages. There is an entire industry devoted to paid placement marketing.

However, reaching customers online doesn’t have to involve paid advertising. Instead, improve findability in natural or organic search engine results. Any type of company can have its findability maximized.

Most web searchers don't bother to click on paid-for search results, instead opting to click on links from "natural" searches. According to Enquiro, a search marketing company, 70% of click throughs are from “organic” or “natural” listings. Recent data suggests that with Google this may be even higher, at about 85% organic and 15% sponsored (paid placement). Users will generally click on at least one of the top 10 results on the search results page, however, click through rates on pay per click ads are usually well under 5%.

Search Results

Actually getting customers to your website is the first challenge of using search engines as an effective marketing tool. When a searcher enters a term into the search box, pages and pages of search results are returned, generally displaying 10 results per page. The results are displayed in order of relevance to the search term. Each search engine uses different algorithms to determine the results rankings.

How does a customer decide which listing on the search results pages will best answer their search?

The content from your title tag, 1-2 lines from your meta description and your URL. The customer will quickly move on to the next, more relevant result listing if your title has been left blank, includes only company name, or contains code gibberish.

What Should You Do?

Even though your company may be well branded in the offline world, visibility in search engines isn’t automatic. Just because WebPages and content exist on your website doesn’t mean they can be read by search engine web crawlers and added to their indexes. If your web pages can’t be found, you are missing more than just hits to your homepage, you are missing business.

Having multiple pages on your website is important, as search engines such as Google don’t index websites, but web pages. Create lots of pages and target a search phrase with each. Include clear links to all pages; search engines will have an easier time sending their "bots" and "crawlers" out to catalogue/index your website. Next is content, and lots of it, using pertinent keywords, terms and phrases. Website operators must make an effort to put in place as many links as possible, to and from other sites. Finally, updating your website regularly, search engines will see that a site has been updated regularly and will usually rank the site accordingly. Why would a search engine rank a website high if the website hasn't been updated in months or even years? Search Engines prefer to provide current results containing the latest information on a subject, product or service.

Website Optimization can be as simple or as complicated as a company pleases. The more you put into a site, the more you will get out of it, website development and optimization is an ongoing process.

BEWARE - Not all Search Engine Optimizers are equal.

Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners, from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture and helping to find relevant directories to which a site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs have given the industry a black eye through their overly aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly manipulate search engine results.

Avoid search engine spam at all costs, as well as website design and search consultants who "guarantee" top search placement. Don’t cheat. Search engines penalize cheaters.

One thing people don't realize is that a bad website will not only reflect poorly on the company, it could actually cause you to lose sales.

Are you listed in Google, Yahoo, and MSN?

Experts agree that a well-designed site is a key element in improving search engine rankings. While websites that are already up and running can be modified to improve search results, a website built from the ground up and optimized to be found by search engines is likely to perform the best -- which means that it's worth talking to an expert

Would you like to improve your website's "findability" in the Search Engines?

For years, Andrechelle has successfully placed her customers WebPages’ into the Top Ten -- the front page -- of the major search engines... and would love to also help your website.
Obtain prominent search results positions, for your website, in Google, Yahoo, MSN and other major search engines. Contact Andrechelle ann@andrechelle.com or www.andrechelle.com