How to submit your website to search engines

With the popularity of the internet, some of us expect instant success when we create a website. The truth is that any business will take a while to gain a reputation online and a standing on search engine pages. This is how to ensure that you are in with a fighting chance of being found on Google.

Getting the basics in place

When starting out and looking to create an online presence for your business, the second step after getting the basic template of your website laid down by a web designer is URL registration. Picking a relevant and not overly long URL is important for making your website easy to find, both by potential users and the Google spiders. Relevance In order to ensure Google views your website favourably, you have to earn trust in the online community. Relevance is crucial to this. Make sure the content of your website matches the expectations visitors will have after they have read your URL and meta titles/descriptions. Keywords Establishing your keyword targets is a crucial part of SEO optimisation. Decide which search phrases you would like internet users to be able to find you for and make sure these phrases are well represented across your site.

Optimise

Search engine optimisation can be performed in many ways and has become something of an art, here are some ways in which you can bring traffic to your site through website search. Link building The more backlinks to your site from other trusted sites, the higher you will rank in search engine results. Encourage other websites to link to you with affiliate offers or ego hooks such as complimenting them in a blog post. Alternatively it is possible to submit a website to free online directories to create links. Social media Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook have become great forms of website promotion. Ensure you are regularly interacting with your followers and offering prizes to them and they will create content online that links to you, whilst also increasing the chance that they will share you and your services with their online community. Article/ Press release submissions There are several sites that specialise in website promotion which can distribute articles or press releases that you have written about yourself around the web to reputable sources, thus creating valuable backlinks on targeted keyword anchor text.

Patience and brand building

Gaining a reputation is not an instant process. Google has to thoroughly assess your site over time to ensure that they are only providing internet users with quality, trusted results. Stick to the key principles and build your brand through well managed social media and you will soon see your visibility begin to grow.