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I created a site a couple of months ago using GoDaddy software.
This included meta tags on each page.
I assumed that some programs called web crawlers or spiders would find it & then when the appropriate search words are entered that if my meta tags match a high % of them, then my site pops up on one of the first pages or two or three.

Not working so well.

Is there another step I missed, like "applying" the web site to Google or Yahoo or Bing to get the site higher up in search queries?

GD offers something like that for a few bucks a month, but if it's free I'd rather do it myself.

http://www.mobile-bookkeeping.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks!

http://support.google.com/webmasters/bi ... swer=35769" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks Marshall, I'll go thru that.

The basic answer is that if Google finds lots of links to your site on other web sites that Google judges to be respectable or popular, then your web site will be high up in the search order.

Or you just pay Google money and your site can be on the first page regardless of your respectability.

Thanks guys.

Title tag and description are the most important. Meta tags are not used by Google to rank pages. Google doesn't say that they don't use them for something, just that they don't count in page ranks.

What's your site address?

Bob Beamesderfer wrote:Title tag and description are the most important. Meta tags are not used by Google to rank pages. Google doesn't say that they don't use them for something, just that they don't count in page ranks.

What's your site address?

Hi Bob,

http://www.mobile-bookkeeping.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I don't want to come across as too 'know it all' on this subject, but this is something that I occassionally consult businesses in in the course of my regular consulting duties. Search engine optimization is something that I have put quite a bit of effort into in the past.

The link offered by Marshall is a very good place to start.

There are a lot of factors that go into a good placcement for organic search results. Generally, it all comes down to one thing - Relevance. Just how relevant is your site (think of it on a page by page basis) to the phrase that someone is searching for? If someone is searching Google for Orange County Mobile Bookkeeping, are there any pages on your site that have that specific phrase defined anywhere? This is called keyword or keyphrase targeting. There is much more to this than having meta tags, a title or URL that has that phrase. The page must be designed and engineered so that Google (the biggest player) understands exactly why this page has relevance.

I could go on at great length (and let me tell you, I am hard to shut up) about search engine optimization. However, I suggest that you review the Google webmaster content and other Google tools to give yourself a good understanding of the basics to setting up your site for front page listings for search results.

-Byron

Thanks Byron.



I think I have a lot of what you are saying, but it's always worth a review.

Byron makes excellent points. While your url, title tag and description are important, so is the content, with the home page being THE critical place.

What we've found where I work is that there is a significant advantage in aligning the verbiage across the title, description, and the top H1 tag on the page. Helps if the url is in there too.

So, here's what I see. You have a search friendly url, but your title tag and the H1 say "Home Page" and should say "Mobile Bookkeeping & Tax Service." Also, I recommend putting your contact phone number immediately after the phrase, "Mobile Bookkeeping & Tax Service." If you don't want them to have your cell number, get a Vonage acct with an 800 number that forwards to your cell. Customers get toll free, you get privacy.

Next question: What geographic areas do you want to target? Pick five. Then create a list like this:

Bookkeeping Solana Beach
Tax Accounting Oceanside
Tax Service Encinitas
Tax Preparation San Marcos
Bookkeeping Vista

That can go at the bottom of each page, but at least needs to be on the home page. You can also vary the geo portion from page to page or vary the keyword from page to page.

Despite what they might have taught a few years ago about SEO, limiting the text to less than 200 words is not important. Original content IS important.

You should also add an alt tag to the photo with either "Mobile Bookkeeping & Tax Service" or one of the geo tags.

Spot on Bob, that's the specifics I need.

The other thing I forgot to mention about an 800 number is it gives you another means of tracking the effectiveness of your SEO. People might not click through every time you appear in a search, but the call has more value than a click.