Started a Website? What’s Next?

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I just paid all of this money building a website, but why isn’t it showing up on google?

Congratulations on building a new website. Whether you are a new company starting out or an established business reinventing yourselves online, the process of getting search engines to recognize you are almost always the same. Here are some of the main “checklist” issues any SEO expert should tell you to consider once your website has been created:

Create/Claim your business profile. Many aggregator websites give you the ability to claim or create a listing about your business for them. Think about it, they’re trying to grow their content with relevant information so search engines pick up their websites as an authoritative landing spot themselves. This can be as simple as creating/logging into Google Places, Yahoo and Bing Local and going through their verification process step by step. Some websites, like Google, sends you a postcard with special codes to verify who you are. This could take a few weeks.

Make sure your Google profile has 100% score. While creating a profile for Google, there are 25 or so fields that need to be filled out. Understand that search engines crave content and the more you fill out, the better opportunity you will have to show up on Google Maps. Make yourself the obvious choice and fill out every field to the best of your ability. By filling out all the fields could also impact the rankings on Google Maps.

Include products/keywords in your listing description. When submitting your websites to these aggregator companies, it’s important to list your most important keywords and communities in the text body as well as any other opportunity within your profile. Be careful not to over-spam these fields and write them in logical paragraph form. Over using your keywords may create the reverse effect for you.

Upload pictures. Pictures are worth a thousand words to a new prospect during searches online. If you clean dryer vents, show a before and after shot of your company doing work on that profile. Most listing sites provide the opportunity to upload pictures onto their websites. Make sure you take a picture of your building, trucks, vans, employees or services so a prospect can get a solid understanding of who you are, what you can for them and the professionalism of your company.

Have a full mailing address on all pages of your website. You never know which page will be most optimized to show up on search engines. It is important to make sure your business name, phone number and full mailing address is on each page of your website to establish your geographic location within that community that is being searched. Make sure that they are not incorporated just in a picture. Search engines don’t read images unless they are tagged correctly.

Multiple locations? Direct them to the correct landing page. If you have multiple locations within your company, each location should have their listings created and claimed by search engines. Search engines want hyper-local relevant information and once clicked on their profiles should be directed towards a landing page for that specific location. Sending a link to the same homepage isn’t an ideal situation for relevance and Hyper-Local search.

Link it up. I always equate having a new website to that of having a new business card. Just because you build it doesn’t mean they’ll come. You have to share it with the world. Find companies that have decent page rankings and offer the ability to link with your website. search for your best keyword in the town you do business and write down what non-competitor websites show up and see if there’s an ability to network (link) with them.

Make sure you are listed in the phone book. It’s funny that one of the best and fastest way to help your business grow online would be needing to have a presence in the local paper phone books right? The truth is search engines like Google want relevant information from established companies to build and verify their information. Website like a Yellowpags.com, Dexknows.com or Superpages.com are hosted through directory companies and show up on the front page of many keyword based searches. Make sure your information is readily available on there. They are powerful links that will help with your website optimization.

Submit website to search engines. The seemingly logical first step after creating a website would be to submit your site to all of the major search engines immediately. This is actually one of the very last steps you should do. You only have one shot at a first impression for indexing your website with search engines. Make sure that you have linked your site up with as many other websites first to gain authority before you submit it to search engines.

Ask for reviews. Most consumers who go on search engines are looking for information about who you are and what you do. They are also looking for reviews from others who have used your services in the past. Make it a point to ask current and repeat clients who seem satisfied with your service to please take the time and write a review about your business on search engines or websites like Yelp. These reviews make your business more credible for prospective future clients/customers.