For all you internet gurus...

[Coopdman]

I work at a small family company, an exhibit house and custom woodwork shop. As the most "technically adept" in the group, I've been recently assigned the responsibility for improving the results found from general web searches.

The idea is that perspective clients searching the web for companies like us will find us at the top of their Google searches. I've only spent a couple hours figuring out how to do this and am finding it hard to see the next step.

A few small things I know I'll be doing is updating some of the reference sites that show our business, like the local newspaper, business journal, etc...

What else should I be looking into? Are there secrets to making our site show up in the top 10? Are the companies that are there now paying for this as a service?

I have a lot more info I could share, but I'll keep it short for now. I'd love to hear/read some ideas.

Thanks!
Cooper

 

[Denver_FZ6]

The little bit I know is your rank within Google is based on others linking to your site. PageRank - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've heard of folks successfully creating webpages with links to their own site, thus boosting their own ratings, but believe Google is hip to it now.

Dunno about other was to boost your pagerank.

 

[zmeiaspas]

Not sure how much time you have on your hands but just google "SEO tutorial" or something like that and read on. I wish I could give you some practical tips but I still haven't done my homework in SEO so I'd have to read everything myself first

Here are a couple of links:

Seo tutorial - seo recommendations - seo tips - practical seo

SEO Tutorial

 

[Jez]

That looks like a handy tutorial, but one thing strikes me. They mention a keyword density of 5-7%. That was the view back in 2002, certainly, but nowadays you're likely to have that work against you. No more than 3% is what many agencies recommend now.

The best suggestion I have is to carefully consider the copy on the site. Use keywords, but write it primarily to be read by a potential customer. Any search engine benefits should be secondary.

 

[Wavex]

How about paying Google to be on top?

My understanding is that it works in 2 ways:

1) you pay Google to have a sponsored link on top
2) the more ppl click on your webpage after making a search, the higher in the list you will be for that specific search.... there are tricks to make that happen, but your best shot is doing what you've been doing, making your webpage as exhaustive and clear as possible, making sure you have a lot of key words showing on the homepage.

 

[cknatz]

First,

Go get signed up for Google Analytics and make the necessary web changes. This tool is free, easy & the information gathered is priceless. This will assist you with building smart and affective SEO campaigns.

Google Analytics | Official Website


Good luck. Let me know if you need a hand.

 

[Joshua Redman]

Coopdman,

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is what you need as the guys already told you. There are companies that provide such service for a fee and if you don't have the time or know-how to do it, maybe it's best that you find such company to assist you.

If you choose to do it yourself, well, I can only give you a couple of hints.

- Use Google Analytics as someone already mentioned.
- Use Google Webmasters Tools, it'll provide lots of information useful to help SEO. http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools
- Using webmasters tools, make sure to submit a Sitemap for your website. You'll find instructions on the above link

You'll have to manage 2 aspects of SEO:

1. On-site SEO
2. External SEO

The first one is something you can manage fairly easy. Name your pages appropriately, always put meta descriptions and keywords, make sure your pages are linked, use keywords in page text (but make sure not to overdo it) etc..etc.. google for on-site seo for more tips..

External SEO is a bit more difficult as it requires links to your website from other relevant websites. This means, if you're linked from a FZ6 forum and your website is selling computers it won't help as much as if you would sell motorcycles (or be linked from an Apple shop e.g.) but any link would help.

This is just the most basic things to remember but there is A LOT more...


Hope I helped..

 

[Coopdman]

Thanks guys! I appreciate all the help and will certainly be combing through all the links you've suggested. I've signed up with dmoz.com, that's one of the SEo sites right? Also, looking for approval on the pay sites like joeant.com.

I have very little knowledge of website design, or html or anything like it. The closest I come to any of that is FORTRAN from mechanical engineering... the software used in the space shuttle. Needless to say, I'll be hiring the original designer to do that part but I have a ways to go before I can confidently lead the effort.

I should probably re-read the rules first, but lack of time lends to asking for forgiveness rather than permission... Disclaimer, this is not an attempt to advertise on this site, rather one to present more specific information for the subject.

If anyone's interested in checking out my current situation, our business is called Ferguson Design, Inc. We're based in Charlotte, NC and we specialize in commercial "millwork" (i call it cabinetry), corporate interiors, trade show exhibits, and museum exhibits.

The Google search, "commercial millwork, charlotte, nc" brings us up as #1 behind the 3 sponsored links! I just need to figure out how to get many other key phrases to pop up at least in the top 10. Our competitors are doing it and I'm sure have spent a lot of $$$ on it. Any other tips on doing this inexpensively, are greatly appreciated.

 

[Jim Karam]

Here's a link to a free SEO tool developed by the Small Business Development Center at the University of Arkansas Little Rock... Internet Marketing Tool - Arkansas SBDC: FREE Internet Marketing Tool and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Report

 

[shuckle]

your home page, index.html, is very cool. looks great.

But for a search engine it says nothing.

The search engine won't look at the flash, so the only thing it will "see" is an image and a link to download flash.

You'll notice that your result on google, is to your old pages, the html ones, because the search engine could read them.

Have your site designer include links to those old html pages in the

<noscript></noscript>

section of the home page and maybe update them. There are still people around that don't have flash too. though not many. My blackberry, for example, doesn't do well with flash.

HTH