When you hit 'publish' on your new website, you immediately Google your business name and nothing comes up...why is that? And what can you do about it?
Your new website won't appear on Google straight away
Google works by sending out little 'bots' that crawl around the internet, going from website to website via the links between them and giving feedback about how easy it is to find the website, what it's about and how many people are using it. Until one of these bots has 'crawled' your website, Google won't know that it exists and it won't appear in the search results. This is why your site may not appear at all on Google for up to a couple of weeks.
Can I speed up the process?
You can help the bots discover your website by linking to it from as many different places as possible, and telling everyone you know to visit it. The easiest thing to do is to launch your website on all your own social media channels and include the link for your new website so that people AND bots can follow the link and discover your website.
Another thing you can do - and this is particularly useful if you are a 'location-based' business (ie - if someone would be looking for your services in a particular area - like a Builder), is to register it on Google Business Manager . This ensures that your business, and a link to your new website appears on the first page of the Google search and on map searches!
If your business is already registered with sites like Yell.com and Checkatrade.com , then you simply need to update your profile with your new website address and people will easily be able to find your website through your existing search results from those sites.
My website has now appeared but it's on Page 4, why isn't it on page 1 of Google?
When you first launch your site, Google doesn't know HOW relevant it is to your target keywords. Each visit you get is like a 'vote' in a popularity contest. The more visits you get, the more Google will promote it.
How do I make sure Google sees how relevant my website is to my chosen Keywords?
When you built your website, did you ensure that your target keywords appear in the copy on your pages? Did you also carefully craft a META title and a META description for each page? These are the words that Google displays on your search result. Not only do they tell Google what that page is about, but they entice people to click on your website - they validate that your website is about the subject they have just Googled. And the more people click on your search result, the more Google will recognise how important it is. Slowly but surely you will climb your way up through the search results. Please note: If I have built your website for you, then this section has already been done.
What else can I do to improve my position in Google search results?
To help you keep climbing up through the Google search results, you may need to embark upon a longer term 'Search Engine Optimisation' strategy. One simple thing you could do is to have a system of regularly blogging. Find out why blogging is important for businesses here....
If you want to talk to me about how you can improve your website's 'SEO' (search engine optimisation) I can give you a consultation and suggest areas for improvement and if necessary, I can carry out each action point for you on your website.
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