|
Will Visiting
My Site Often Improve Google Rank?
Over the last ten years as a web designer, I'm often asked by
clients how they can get their website to rank better on
search engines like Google. One question that I get
every now and then is whether or not doing searches for a site
in Google, and clicking on the link, will help that site rank
better.
The short answer is no.
When Google decides how well to rank a website in it's search
results, it doesn't pay attention to how often that site is
searched for, or even how many people visit that site.
If that really had an impact on Google ranking, site owners
would simply pay people to constantly search for their
website.
Explaining how Google
decides how well to rank a website is complicated. But
here are three main factors that go into how well websites can
rank:
If a website has been
optimized for certain keywords
If a website has a good
number of links pointing to it from other sites
If a website has a good bit
of original text with its related keywords
Know What Keywords Your
Site Should Show Up For
As far as keywords go,
every business has target phrases or words that it wants its
website to rank well for. Los Angeles painter, Miami
shoe store, Organic dog treats, etc. An experienced web
designer can optimize your website for your target keywords,
so that Google gets a good idea of what your website is about.
Links From Other
Websites Will Help You Rank Better
The other factor mentioned
was inbound links. When another website has a link
pointing to your own site, Google pays attention. Google
figures that your website must be relevant, or popular, if
other site owners are willing to link to you. The more
links you get, the more relevant your website looks to Google.
Make Sure Your Website
has Plenty of Original Text
Google loves text.
Loves the stuff. I always get a few clients that say, "I
don't want too much text on this page, I want mostly
pictures." But the truth is that Google can give more
importance to a page on your site if it has a good bit of
text. And not just text that you copy and paste from
Wikipedia or somewhere else, but original text that you or
someone else wrote specifically for your own website.
If you own a home painting
company business in Los Angeles, it helps to have those
keywords mentioned a couple of times in the text on your home
page or other pages. Don't overdo it, though.
Having a page that simply repeats the words "Los Angeles home
painting" over and over won't look natural to Google, and your
website can even be penalized for "spamming" keywords.
So having a page with a
good bit of original text that mentions your keywords can help
that page rank better in Google. But you still might be
worried about how human visitors to your website will react if
there's a lot of text. Well, don't worry. Studies
have been done that proved pages with more text outperform
pages with just a little text. Why is that?
It's because there are two
main types of visitors to your website. Some people who
just like to skim and get a little bit of info before deciding
on whether to hire you, or buy your product. And others
who want more than just a bit of info. If you only have
one brief paragraph on your home page, maybe that's enough to
satisfy the brief reader. But the visitor who wants to
learn more at that moment is out of luck.
By having a good bit of
text, you allow both people to skim if they want, but the more
curious site visitor has a chance to keep reading and learn
more about your business. Plus, if you answer questions
in advance, that's less time that you or customer service has
to spend on the phone answering questions that could have been
addressed on your site.
Just remember to organize
the text on every page of your website. Break it into
paragraphs. Add sub-heading titles every now and then to
let people know that the text is moving in a new direction.
Use bullet points or number lists in some places to make text
easy to skim over. But don't be afraid of text,
especially since Google loves content.
Still Have
Questions About Getting Your Website to Rank Better?
Pick up the phone and give
us a ring. Delta Creations has developed over 300 websites
across the world since 2001. We can provide you with free answers to your
Google questions. Call 866-928-1300
or email us if you have
questions about Google.
|
