Google, Yahoo, and MSN all display local results at the top of the search listings right under the sponsored listings. These results are bumping every one lese down a couple of places that do not have their websites optimized for local search results and that haven't submitted their information to the local directories of the three major engines.
We are going to concentrate on Google local results today. Do a search for "Orlando internet marketing" in Google. You will see local business results show up on the top of the search results. It displays a map with the listings marked with letters and the listing information displayed along side the map. The listing shows the company name, street address, phone number, and website link.
If you can get your ad listed in the local business listings, you are getting great free advertising. How do you get Google to display this information on your website you ask?
First, you will need to be showing in the first page for your listing. If you are not on the first page, don't worry you can still get a hyperlink under your listing with a map and directions to your business.
You will need to create a Google local account at: www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter. Add all the website information that pertains to your business that you would like Google local results to display. Google will require a mailing address to send a postcard to you that will verify the address you gave. Once you receive this postcard, you will log back into Google Local Business center and enter the verification pin on the card.
The whole process can take 4-6 weeks but is well worth the effort. The second way to get your site listed within the local directory is to just wait. If you have your business address and phone number on your site, Google should eventually display the information.
I suggest you submit your site to the business listing as you are sure to be listed within a few months; you have more control on what information is displayed, and best of all its free. Who knows maybe you'll show up at the top for highly searched keywords and will see your website traffic increase dramatically.
The new Google update has affected the website page ranking and the key areas, which have got affected are: 1 Your web page history 2 Method for counting back links 3 Web site content and structure
Let us look at each one of the affected areas.
Your web page history One of the important aspects driving Google ranking is the history of your site. If your website has been online for a longer duration then your chances of getting a better page ranking is higher. If a particular internal page from your website has been live for a longer period of time then it will have a better page rank for additional phrases.
So you will have to consider the amount of time your website has been live. In such a scenario, you should approach the promotion of a competitive phrase by selecting secondary phrases that will also contain the primary keyword. For example, you need to choose "guaranteed SEO services" against "SEO services". You will achieve a good ranking on Google for a relevant keyword phrase and at the same time, keep your efforts on building relevant links for your primary keyword phrase.
So if you have competitive phrases as well as a long website history then you stand a better chance at getting high rankings on Google.
Method for counting backlinks
According to the Google update, the history of the links on your site will also get importance while determining the page rank. According to the Google update, the sandbox regarding links are functioning in parts and after a certain period, the links will gain a considerable part of their weight, and after some more time, they will gain some more weight and it will go on. This basically means that if you pursue a link building campaign today then it will not substantially affect your Google rankings for quite some time. Because Google does not show all incoming links you may want to consider using yahoo to check your back linking.
Another important aspect is that the relevancy determining criteria has improved. According to Google, your web pages don not need to have content with the exact keyword phrase but the keyword phrase has to be relevant to your industry. So if you are running a SEO business and if you link your website to that of a website design & development company then the link will be a relevant link.
Another aspect that has gained momentum is natural links. If your links are within the content area of a web page then they will carry a lot more weight than isolated links.
Website content & structure Another important thing noticed by SEO experts is that there is no change in the optimal keyword density but there has been a decline in its value. Although the importance of having a specific keyword density on a particular webpage has declined but on the other hand there has been an increase in the importance of relevancy.
Google is going to assign relevancy on your overall content and not for keyword specific content on a particular page. There will be a higher visibility for topic-specific directories as against general directories. If your website has a central theme that is carried throughout the website then your web site will have a better page rank.
Google has also added a lot of value or weight on internal links as far as relevancy is concerned. If the internal links are well worded and are built into the entire content of your web site then it will impact your ranking by adding more weight to the internal pages.
The bottom line is that although this is not the perfect Google update on page ranking but it will make sure that people can not have their websites higher on the page rank by buying links or cramming their web pages with keywords.
Both Shawn Hickman & are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.