In Honor of Small Business Saturday, November 30
“How to get my website to show up on Google?” is a question on a lot of small business owner’s minds these days. Two main methods are used, one will get you on Google fast, the other may take some time.
The first method, the faster method, is to use internet advertising. The Google vehicle for this is called Google AdWords. This is a pay per click program that uses a matching system of phrases your customers use to find you with ones you have chosen to pay for.
The second method is a slower method which doesn’t cost you anything when people click on your links. This method is called search engine marketing and is also referred to by many other names such as “internet marketing”, “search marketing”, and “online marketing”.
Need to Show Up on Google Fast?
As I write this I realize it should have been written last month as tomorrow is “Small Business Saturday”. As it is, the timing creates an opportunity for me to give you an example of a situation where you need fast exposure. Let’s say you want to take advantage of a customer hearing about Small Business Saturday tomorrow – someone who might type in “Colorado small business photo prints” for their search.
You know your site doesn’t rank well in Google for that search phrase. This method works great for smaller businesses because it is fast and you often seen instant return on investment. So, if you hire us to oversee your Denver PPC advertising, we would create an Adwords account for you and created a campaign within it for a photo search. We figure out your budget, and search parameters, such as geographic area, exact phrases that would be good for your small business, and whether you want to be found on mobile devices as well as PCs.
We create a text ad, or a few, with a headline, your offer, and a link to your website.
Within an hour your ads are showing up on Google*! The positioning would be determined by your budget and how much you wanted to spend on any given key phrase.
In It For the Long Haul?
As great as PPC advertising is, it stops as soon as you stop spending money. So how to get your website to show up on Google for a longer period may be more desirable for you.
This is a process. The internet marketing process starts with search engine optimization (SEO). This is where we work with your website to send certain signals to Google that your site meets their criteria, and contains content that would be right for their search visitors.
Once we have your website optimized with SEO, we set up a system to extend the reach of the site beyond it’s pages. This is typically done with social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. It is also done with various online directories and mini-search indexes such as Yelp, Angie’s List, and others.
The Google search algorithm looks at over 200 factors that work in concert to get your website to show up on Google. Most are items on your site, such as titles, tags, and content writing. Some are off-site, such as who links to your site and how often.
The immediate items we can take care of with initial website development and planning. Then, over time, we write more pages and content into your site, perhaps through a blog, that shows the Google index spiders that you have an active, growing, current site that has themed content patterns that they can rely on if they show your site to visitors.
No Time Like the Present to Show Up on Google
So if you want to stop thinking about “how to get my website to show up on Google”, and are ready to be there, hire us as your Denver internet advertising Consultants with a call to 303-750-6114 M-F. We will discuss your timetable, your budget, and what searches you want to show up for. Be prepared to invest some money, because a lot needs to be done – the value of ranking well on Google is enormous for small business and well worth the investment.
* this assumes you have a website