Ask The Expert
Why Aren’t My Ads Showing Up In Google?
Q: We’ve just started playing with Google and Yahoo bidding. That’s fairly easy. But if you run a regular Google search on “Health Insurance in Colorado” as an example, all my competitors are there but I’m not. People tell me it’s a question of “optimizing our website”. Do you offer such a service? — Steve S.
Getting your pages listed in Google is a constant challenge. New websites are always popping up. Existing sites are constantly adding new pages. And just to make things interesting, Google likes to change the formula it uses to rank results every once in a while.
Google wants to provide people with the best possible matches to their search. Getting Google to consider your pages good matches is called search engine optimization — or SEO for short. The best way to optimize your website is by making your pages relevant.
How do you make your pages relevant? There are many strategies, but here are three of the most important:
Content. If you want your site to show up when people search for “Health Insurance In Colorado,” you need quality pages on your site about getting health insurance in Colorado. That doesn't mean you should have 50 pages stuffed with keyword-heavy nonsense like “health insurance Colorado, get Colorado health insurance, health insurance in Colorado.” That used to work, but search engines are smarter now.
The rule of thumb to follow is that if a page has information that people will find useful, Google will consider it useful, too. And yes, spelling and grammar are important.
Shoot for between 300 and 500 words a page — and make sure each one has a nice big headline that says exactly what the page is about. The most important thing to stress here is quality.
Links. When someone links to your site, they’re giving it a vote of confidence. It's like getting a third-party to vouch for your credibility. The more links that point to your website, the more likely it is to get a high rank.
But don't go looking all over the web for people who want to trade links. You could find yourself mistakenly signing up for what's called a “link farm.” A link farm is a devious way of tricking search engines into thinking your site is more popular than it is. And don't bother buying links. If a human can tell that a link was bought, Google can too.
So where should you get started? Try your local Chamber of Commerce, online insurance forums, directories. Your local Yellow Pages probably has online listings, too.
Accessibility. Are your most helpful tips and guides buried in some obscure corner of your website? If so, dust it off and move it closer to the front of your site. Your content should be easy to find. If possible, link to it from your homepage.
This isn't just good for Google — it's good for your visitors, too. Putting useful information right where people can find it will make your website more helpful, and can score you some repeat visitors.
Should You Pay For Better Rankings?
We don’t offer search engine optimization. But if you decide that professional SEO is a good investment for your shop, there are plenty of companies that are happy to help. Be prepared to spend between $1,000 – $5,000 a month, and expect to wait at least 6 – 8 months to see results. And before you agree to do business with them, MAKE SURE you speak with referrals. Any company worth their salt will provide you with a long list of happy clients. Any company that can't isn't worth your time.
If you want to find out more, or learn the basics yourself, there are several good resources out there on the web. A few of our favorites:
Michael Mahoney is Lead Generation Manager for Norvax, Inc., where he oversees B2C Marketing Campaigns. Mr. Mahoney has over 4 years of website management, optimization, and online marketing experience.
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