For the last few months the main questions I’ve been getting have been

1. Why did Google change their way of ranking websites?
2. How do I guarantee that my site comes up high in the rankings?

The answer to number 1 is that Google, and all the search engines, change their algorithms (the formula used to compute site rankings) a couple of times a year. This is to ensure that no one can determine how to manipulate websites and monopolize the top rankings (whether they deserve them or not.)

The answer to question number 2 is very simply, I don’t know, nobody does.

Each of the search engines uses a different algorithm, and as they change them regularly, it is impossible for anyone to “guarantee” high rankings. It is possible, however to make your website more “Search Engine Friendly.”

There are no tricks, special programs or magic spells that will put your site at the top; there is, however, good website design. The secret is to make sure that your site contains all the basic elements that search engines are using to rank websites.

While search engines are important, they are for the most part beyond your control. There are a number of ways you can drive visitors to your website which you can control so why fixate your attention on the ones you can’t? It is a far better idea to take a proactive stance and do something to make your site successful.

In the next few months we will discuss both what can be done to better your site’s chances on the search engines and what you should be doing to drive more people to your site.

Let’s start with a discussion of what the search engines look for in a website. In no particular order the search engines are most interested in:

1. Keywords: Search terms you want your site to be found under. This includes the use of keywords in page text, page titles, domain names, and links to other pages.
2. Coding: The programming languages used for website design allows for additional keywords and phrases to be placed in background “tags” which are read by search engines but unseen by the browser. Theses include META description, META keywords and image “alt” and “Name” tags.
3. Header tags: Proper use of this font coding pulls more weight with the search engines than regular text does. Overuse, however, can have negative effects.
4. Links into the site: Search engines determine not only the number of outside sites linking to you website, but also determine the validity and rank (status) of the sites with those links.

This list is in no particular order for a very good reason. Each search engine assigns a different value to these components and uses that value to calculate the site’s rank. No one component can be said to be more important than the other if you’re speaking of search engines in general rather than discussing one in particular. However, if your site has properly used all the components correctly then its chances of ranking high are far better than if you only concentrate on one or two.

Next month we’ll take a look at your sites content (text) and how to make it work harder for you.

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