OK … here’s the challenge for small/mid-size businesses (SMBs) … getting and staying on Page One of Google.

Why? People start their search for a product or service with Google. That underscores the importance for you to be visible where folks are looking for you. When you own a continuing presence on Page 1 , your company and offerings will be top-of-mind when your customers, prospects and referral resources are searching for what you can deliver. 

If you are not at the top of the vendors list, i.e. Page One of Google, then you just lost a customer to a competitor who has successfully done what is necessary to occupy that critical position.

So it’s critical that you have at least a working knowledge of how Google works. And that’s where we are going with this article. Note: The intent is not to make you a techie … just a knowledgeable decision-maker when it comes to implementing your Google search strategies.

Graphic Introduction

If you prefer a visual description, here is a simplified and hopefully easily understood illustration of the Google search process.

The Written Word

And for those of you who prefer a written rundown on the Google search process … it starts in response to a search query, e.g. “ What are the highest mountain peaks in North America ”. That triggers Google scouring of the web, called crawling, to look at content that includes the search phrase. The crawling is conducted by “spiders” … programs that are designed to identify the phrase and then assign a score that reflects the page containing the phrase for relevance to the search.

Google then determines whether and where a site will show up for a given search phrase. Your site’s page rank will depend on:

• The frequency and location of keywords within the Web page : If the keyword only appears once within the body of a page, it will receive a low score for that keyword.
• How long the Web page has existed : Google places more value on pages with an established history.
• The number of other Web pages that link to the page in question : Google looks at how many Web pages link to a particular site to determine its relevance.

Note: Links from another site to yours is effectively a “thumbs-up” vote that will raise the ranking of your site. So cultivating links to other reputable sites will accelerate the elevation of your ranking.

As the spiders scour the web, they index, analyze and organize the content retrieved from various relevant sources into databases … and report that data to the Google search engine. Then the top secret, and constantly changing , Google algorithm takes over to deliver relevant responses to the search query.

The best way to make sure your Web page is on Page 1 of Google’s search results is to provide great content. “Content is king” is the mantra to embrace … meaning include blogs, newsletters and other relevant information on your website to improve your site’s visibility to Google searches. That will help your site to show up more often in searches by folks seeking what you offer in products, services or education.

Your Payoff

Know the Google process and play by the rules to ensure Page 1 ranking. That means your company and offerings will be top-of-mind when your customers, prospects and referral resources are searching for what you can deliver. And that will keep your sales funnel brimming with customers finding your business online.

Summary

There’s more to digital marketing than a good-looking website. It’s important to employ marketing strategies that will drive traffic to your site, convert visitors to customers and generate sales.