Why Can't Google Find My Site?

If you don't know the answer to this question then this blog is for you. This is not a blog for developers, webmasters or SEO gurus, it's for the average small business or individual who has a website which is not working hard enough. Your website is not an electronic business card, it can bring in customers, spread the word and leapfrog competitors if you design it in such a way that Google finds it relevant to the needs of people searching for your niche or business.

In all seriousness Google is a business and its integrity relies on the results it returns from each search. It wants the most relevant sites to appear at the top and oh boy does Google put a lot of effort into making sure this happens. The top spots on Google are so powerful in terms of clicks converting into business that a whole industry has evolved purely to try an peak over their shoulders and find out the secret of that coveted number one spot. What is it that makes one site appear more relevant to a string of search words than another?

Although I spend much of my time thinking and reading about SEO I have to say that the whole thing is pretty funny. The guys at Google who write the magic algorithms must laugh their heads off when they consider how much time, money and effort goes into trying to second guess them. Imagine if you had a secret worth billions and billions of dollars and you just sat on it smugly. But that's the way it is so if Google can't find your site then you haven't played their game properly.

Recently I asked my mother how she thought search engines work. "That's easy," she said, "they list the results alphabetically don't they?" Now of course she's no expert but she was thinking like someone used to reading the yellow pages where Mr. Aardvark is all powerful. However there is a message here and it is that the old world think in terms of old fashioned indexing methods. Once upon a time the top spot was held by the biggest billboard or the loudest voice. Now its all changed. If you buy an advertising space on Google and get the top spot you've only got half as much chance of getting clicked because organic results are usually more relevant, they load quicker and people simply prefer them. Ultimately there is no way around it: if you want Google to find your site for the right words you've got to earn it.

There isn't enough memory in my computer to hold a document that could answer that question in full. SEO is rapidly turning into a murky world of alchemy and web-lore. However, there are certain key steps you must follow that will put you on the right track.

1) Choose your sites key words and phrases carefully, make sure they're totally relevant to you, what you do and the customers you're trying to attract. Be as specific as you can because many of the words you want are already out of reach because the big boys have SEO'd the heck out of them!

2) Make sure your site is well built with internal links to words with in it so that Google can read the individual pages and link between them via relevant content. If Google can't read it they won't index it correctly, this is a common mistake.

3) Page titles! This is so, so, so important I can't stress it enough. Make sure your pages have titles relevant to the content on them. The amount of source code I see on sites with inappropriate or missing page names is staggering. Google likes page titles and they make perfect sense. You have to remember that people aren't always coming into your site via the homepage, other pages will be found if the keywords are right. If you're setting up a new site, do everything you can to get a good keyword phrase into the website title, this makes a big difference.

4) Keywords and Meta Tags! I can hear an audible groan from the SEO contingent at the mention of this but no matter what people say this information is still relevant. I recently got involved in a high level forum debate on Linked in and a number of SEO experts were coming back saying that meta tags are still relevant. What have you got to lose? Just make sure that the index page of your site has a good list of meta tags, a good keyword list and a keyword phrase (under 71 characters) that is rich and informative. So many people overlook this step but I never do. But don't stuff in too many words or Google will slap you on the wrist because it looks like spam!

5) Backlinks to RELEVANT sites! I said earlier that Google puts a lot of work into making sure that the results match the query. So don't go getting some bloke in Latvia linking your site to 1000 porn sites because that will only anger the beast and you're in danger of getting sandboxed (a very nasty thing!). Link to sites who have some connection to what you do... it's hard work, it takes a long time, but an established business in your field carries a great deal of weight when it comes to search engine ranking so use your business skills to strike up a rapport with these people. Give them a backlink too of course. Offer to write a blog for them or give them a nod on Twitter or Facebook!

6) Keep Your site Active! Any blogger will tell you that an active blog, regularly updated is already ahead of most. If your site is updated with regular information and activity it is seen as current and happening. If it sits stagnant like a tired old billboard then that's the sort of attention it will attract!

All of these measures will help your site rise up the rankings organically. And Yes there are other search engines, but essentially the same rules apply. We all know Google is the biggest, I personally haven't bothered to use any other one since I first discovered it in 2001! I could go on all day but you get idea. Google can't find your site if you're not dancing to the right tune!