• How do I get my site to appear on the first page of search results?
• Why is my site on page 27 of the search results?
• How do I improve my search results?
• Why is my competitor site so much higher than mine in search results?

These are simple questions with complex answers. Let's first consider the problem.

Search engines have no easy task.

When you consider there are literally millions and millions of websites on the internet and thousands are added every day, its a wonder anyone can find anything. The search engines can often narrow things down to exactly what you are looking for. It's really kind of amazing what you can find. However, sometimes you can be extremely specific in your search and still find pages and pages of results.

The sea is vast

Even with the help of really really smart search engines there are so many choices. Let's look at an example. Let's say you are a plumber in Minneapolis, Minnesota and you provide 24 hour residential plumbing services.

Here are some sample search results:

Search Terms	Number of results
Plumber	10,000,000
Plumber Minneapolis	3,470,000
Plumber Minneapolis 24 hours	220,000
Plumber Minneapolis 24 hours residential	62,200
Plumber Minneapolis 24 hours residential repair	55,100

Suffice it to say, even with the incredibly sophisticated search engines we have today, just having a website does not mean anyone can find it. Think of building a house in a very remote, heavily forested area. No one will ever know you are there unless you send out directions, put up signs or build a road to your house. You might even setup big search lights, or buy billboards in neighboring communities. The point is you have to make your self visible using a variety of techniques or strategies.

Help! I am a needle in a haystack!

Search results produce a list and somebody has to be first on the list. The search engine algorithms are very complex, ever changing and always a closely guarded secret. So there is no silver bullet or magic formula to be first on the list. But there are ways to move up the list.

Let's start with your website.

Visibility – To be found you must first have a website. It must be visible to the search engines. Amazingly, many sites are still completely unreadable by the big search engines. Those built entirely in flash or those whose content is contained entirely in images are essentially invisible to the search engines.

Understandable – Search engines must next understand what your site is about. The search engines “read” the text on your site, but also rely heavily on the structure and organization of your content. This includes among other things, headings, titles, links, page descriptions, image descriptions/captions, etc.

Keywords – Your site must contain the terms or phrases that your clients would use to find your business. These keywords must be used correctly in your headings, titles, links, etc.

Differentiation – Your content must also differentiate you from your competitors so when someone searches for something specific you can be included in those results.

These are part of what's called On-Site Search Engine Optimization. It means you've optimized your site so search engines can see and understand your content. This is the easiest part of all this. Your website developer can easily fix up your existing site or incorporate these techniques into a new site.

While this is all good, it will only get you so far. Chances are all those ahead of you on the search results pages are already doing this.

Somebody has to be first.

The search engines have to rank the long list of sites that match the selected keyword terms. How do they do this? Again the formulas are a closely guarded secret, but some general principles do apply.

Content Matters

Search results are for humans. The search engines job is to provide helpful search results for people. If someone searches for something that isn't mentioned on your site, you won't be included in the results. If you just mention this item, but another site has a whole page of content about this item, the search engine is likely to conclude the site with more content will be more helpful.

Generally speaking having more content about a topic will put you higher on the search engines list. However, relevant content is crucial. The search engines are really smart about understanding context and identify relevant content related to search terms. So having lots of content related to the search terms will rank you higher—for those terms.

More content = more matches to search results

Lots of content means different things to different businesses, but generally speaking, a few paragraphs on a subject won't be that helpful and won’t move your site up on the list. Anyone can whip out a paragraph of content, but it's not likely to impress anyone. Remember the search engines find content for human beings, so they will rank useful content higher than fluff. Deep content across a variety of related topics will add credibility and will likely be more useful to your site visitors and therefore more likely to rank higher with search engines.

Another key factor are search terms or keywords used in a search. People often search for the same thing using lots of different terms. So having more content will increase the likelihood of your content being matched to those terms. However, just stuffing a variety of search terms in a little bit of content won't cut it. The search engines can spot that a mile away. But more importantly, any human being seeing this will find it hard to read, awkward, not very useful and will be unlikely to do business with you.

Provide content about your client problems not just your solutions

Some people know they are looking for a plumber that works on weekends in Minneapolis. But often people searching for answers to problems don't know the solution to search for. For example if I have a migraine, I wouldn't know to search for a specific medicine or treatment, I would search for "migraine headache" or "my head hurts, a lot". So to be found by this search, you'll need to have content that contains a good description of the symptoms for that person. Of course, you should also have the treatment they need. It’s also very important to remember that all this must be in layman’s terms, the language of the person searching, not medical or technical terms.

OK good! I've got lots of content. I'm still on page (insert large number)

Remember search engines want to provide humans with useful search results. Yet, there may be many many pages of Plumbers in Minneapolis that have websites filled with helpful content about plumbing projects, do-it-yourself tutorials, tips, recommendations about tools, down-loadable instruction booklets, how to hire a plumber, what to expect, before and after photographs, etc.

Still, somebody has to be first on the list.  As the search engines strive to provide the most helpful results, they look to see who is considered an authority, an expert in their field or is the most referenced by others.

What does it mean to be an authority? It means you are the go-to-guy or girl for a given topic. Your site is THE destination where people find answers, information, entertainment, the best goodies, coupons, advice, downloads or what ever is relevant to your clientele. You become an authority when you have lots of information that lots of other sites reference for that information.

Friends in high places

The web is all about links. Links to and from websites. When a highly regarded website refers to your site for up-to-date information and advice, it speaks highly of your site. Search engines take note of this and rank you accordingly. When more, well respected sites, also link to your site, your online credibility grows even more. Your status as an authority is highly influenced by who think you are a good resource in your field. Those sites that reference yours, and are already highly ranked, will increase your ranking.

Yet, all links are not created equal. Just as there are good links there are bad links. Sites with bad reputations can cause real harm to your credibility and therefore search ranking. Link farms, websites that exist simply to create a link to your site (usually for a fee) have very bad reputations and can even get you penalized by the search engines.

Build your online reputation.

If a friend were making a recommendation to you for a plumber, you might ask a couple of questions. Can I trust this guy? Does he do a good job? Does he clean up his mess? Does he get the job done quickly? Basically you're asking about their reputation.

Let's say, there is a competing plumber that is higher than you on the list of search results. He's got great content on his site. But you happen to know he can be a jerk, doesn't apologize for tracking mud into his clients homes and often goes over his estimates. You on the other hand, would never do that and your clients know this.

How does this help you? Remember, search engines are trying to give you the most helpful information. They want to provide you with a plumber that gets high marks in customer service and quality before someone that has no service reputation or someone with a poor service reputation.

How do search engines do this? How do search engines evaluate your reputation? Simply put, online reviews and testimonials. There are many, many sites that solicit reviews of business & service providers. These reviews can provide valuable insight to your questions about a business. Search engines gather up this information and add this to the mix when considering who is first on the list. If you have no online reviews, or online reputation, search engines cannot assess your business and will put you behind those businesses it can assess.

Of course having positive reviews is very important in this process. More is better. Ask your clients to make recommendations and reviews after you’ve completed work for them. Don't forget social media, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter etc. all contribute to your online reputation.

Get Local

If your business operates, in a specific geographic region, it is crucial you get listed in as many local business directories as you can. This includes online yellow pages, Google Places, neighborhood resource pages, chambers of commerce as well as directories specifically geared toward your industry. Most of these sites provide lists of businesses by name, category, local addresses, phone numbers, directions and maps to your business. Many of them also solicit customer reviews or your business.

There are lots of these online directories and the search engines rely on them to help identify local businesses. These listings help the search engines provide results that are geographically relevant. There's no need to know about a great plumber in Denver if you are in Minneapolis.

Sum of the parts

As you can see there are many factors that determine where you appear on the search results for your business. I've covered just the major considerations here. Here's a quick summary of the key factors.

• Optimize your website so you can be easily found and understood by the search engines.
• Develop great content about your business, your craft, your industry. Ensure that your content helps people find their problems and solutions to those problems
• Get referenced by highly respected websites in your industry
• Get listed in all the local directories complete with maps and directions.
• Get lots of stellar reviews from clients

Whew! This is a lot of work! Each one takes time and energy to do well and the results take time to percolate through the network. Is it worth it? It all depends on your business and who and where your clients are. For some it is crucial to their very survival.

Fast Forward. What happened?

You did all the right things and you really moved up in the search results. Yet, your site has dropped way down the list again? What happened?

The internet is a constantly changing universe. Thousands of new website appear every day. New industries appear overnight. Others slowly fade way. Just think how, just a few years ago, Facebook was considered to be just for kids. Today it has become a game-changing force noticed by governments and business world wide!

Your search results are not unlike a beautiful garden. It needs constant attention, care and feeding. If you become inattentive, the weeds take over and your garden is no longer the showcase it once was. When you stop tending, the garden dies and is lost. Your website is no different. There is no one tactic that will suffice. You must address many facets of your online presence. You must constantly feed it with great content, great reviews and friends in high places if it is to remain prominent among the millions of other sites competing for that ever elusive page one.