Savannah
It's the Holy Grail of website owners: A high ranking website on Google, Yahoo, and all of the other search engines.
In fact, there are dozens (maybe even hundreds) of companies that promise to increase your web site rankings - for a considerable fee. The truth is, it's easy to get a high ranking site. You don't have to play dirty by trying to cheat the search engines or pay thousands to a site optimizer. You can do it yourself, following these three (yes, only three!) easy steps.
1. Equip your website with a Content Management System (CMS). We recommend Movable Type for most sites. Heideldesign will be glad to install it and train you how to use this easy web-based software. The CMS allows you and your staff to add new content yourself, with no knowledge of web programming required. This removes the need to pay a developer every time you need new content. Which brings us to number two...
2. Identify your target keywords, and create appropriate content. If you own a website that sells dog toys, some of your keywords may be "dog toys", "chew toys" or "dog frisbees." How about creating web pages that describe your products - be it safety information, case studies, or feedback from your users - in addition to your individual product pages? In a 200-300 word article on "chew toy safety," you'll have numerous opportunities to mention your keywords, while at the same time provide useful information to your visitors.
3. Link and be linked. Is there a site that is related to your business? Following our previous example, you may link to dog food companies or animal protection agencies. Likewise, you can request links from websites to your unique content. The more inbound links your website has, the more important it is perceived.
That's it! Get a content management system - and use it! Relevant, current content is the best way to draw visitors to your site from search engine requests. Make it good, get some links, and turn that search result into a sale!
