Trying to capture a top listing in the Search Engine Results?

Posted on January 8, 2008
Filed Under Local Internet, Local Online Marketing, Online Businesses by Industry, Real Estate Online, Uncategorized |

LaMach Search ResultsYou have to agree, Search Engine Results are pretty important. Every web site and blog out there on the internet is trying to do the same exact thing that you are. Getting your web page listed on the top of the search engine results page depends on a lot of things to be done right.

Since I’m all about the local business online, I want to give you an example of what the local small business web site owner should be thinking about when it comes to trying to get the top search engine results.

The Search Engine Input Box

Here’s what happens. Your customer enters words in the search engine input box, search for information on what they need. Most of the time they don’t know the correct way to enter the search information, but that’s another article. OK, so let’s use an example.

Our example will be “Martin Real Estate” Mr Martin has a web site about his business and can’t figure out why he isn’t getting the listed in the top of the search engine results page. I’m guessing he’s thinking if I create a web site and have the name Martin Real Estate on every page and in every article, I should get top results.

I recommend you think a lot about what the customer is entering in that search engine input box. Lets see, he thinks they would enter “Martin Real Estate”.

Search Box Martin Real EstateLet me stop you right here. This is not the customer you want. If they already know your name and what you do, they will not be what you want. You want the potential new customer. Ok, let’s start over. This time we will remove the word Martin. You want the person looking for real estate.

Input - Real Estate Thats better but guess what, you just became competition with a whole lot of real estate web sites. If your customer happens to be on the east coast, do you want to compete with real estate people on the west coast. No! You want your local customer. Now the question becomes, what is my potential new customer going to type in that all important input box to find my web site? He is going to add city and state information.Your customer doesn’t want results from all over the world, he wants results from your area. Here’s the new search

Input with Location Information This is what your potential new customer is going to type in. Is he typing the words in for you? NO, he is typing the words in for what he wants. You have to think like your customer.

How do the top search results get listed?

Ok, you want to get back to that. The Search Engine takes the search word, or phrase that you type in, and tries to find the web page that is most relevant to those words. In the above search we have the following words and groups of words: real, estate, yourcity, yourstate, real and estate, real and yourcity, real and yourstate, estate and yourcity, estate and yourstate, yourcity and yourstate, real and yourcity and yourstate, estate and yourcity and yourstate, and the one important one, real and estate and yourcity and yourstate. The job of the search engine is to return the web page that is most relevant to those words or group of words. It’s a computer program. It doesn’t have a brain. It does what it is told to do. The reason I bring this up is because the top result may be from a web site that is best at Estate and yourcity! This example is really oversimplified. It is much more complex than what I stated, but, it shows you whats going on with the seach engine.

Your Job is to own the words

What I mean by that is, you want to make sure the search engines know you are the one who knows the most about every word in the search. You want to own the words. How you own words is very complex, and no you can’t buy them. The best way to own the words is by writing about them. Your content should be about those words. It is not easy.

Conclusion - and what should Mr. Martin do?

At the very least, Mr. Martin should realize his web site is about Real Estate, HisCity, HisState. That is what his web site is about. Know I ask you. How many of you have your city and state on every web page? I’m only talking local here! National has other problems!

Now go out there and determine what your customer is going to type in that input box, and try to own the words! Let’s get LOCAL.

Comments

3 Responses to “Trying to capture a top listing in the Search Engine Results?”

  1. bloggingzoom.com on January 15th, 2008 9:50 am

    Local web sites and bloggers have to get LOCAL! » Interactive Nation…

    Is your customer base local? If your customer is searching local, then you better be thinking local on your web site. Do you design web sites or blogs for the local businesses around you? This article will give you some things to think about when it co…

  2. Denise on January 18th, 2008 9:59 am

    Thanks for pointing this out! Makes total sense. When some of the keywords are hard to find it simplifies things with the way you have it broken down.

  3. localref on January 28th, 2008 8:58 am

    Thanks Denise. Hope all is going fine with you and your blog attempt. I just got back from 8 day vacation. To say I’m behind is an understatement. Need Plug-Ins bad!!!!

    Please keep in touch!

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