Get to the Top on Google: Tips and Techniques to Get Your Site to the Top of the Search Engine Rankings -- and Stay There
"David Viney's book pulls off the difficult trick of both being comprehensible to beginners and offering a level of comprehensive (and up to date) detail that will appeal to older hands. It's divided into seven steps that broadly follow the timeline of an SEO campaign, with some useful case studies. Put simply, this book delivers what it promises."
The Press-Enterprise, June 30, 2008
The information in this very specific book can help you increase the effectiveness of your Web efforts and gain better visibility among the Web search results on Google and other search engines. David Viney shares his expertise in Search Engine Optimization and provides useful detail on the topic. Have you wondered if you need professional input in this area? Read here to find out how expert guidance, copywriting, site design and Web master services can supplement your efforts, and boost your visibility and sales. Viney explains how to assess your current results. He tells you how to make sure your Web page appears among search results in productive positions, but he doesn't overpromise about what you can accomplish. Much of his information is quite detailed and technical, but relatively accessible and applicable
Product Description
Written in a clear, non-technical, style by a leading expert in SEO (search engine optimization), GTTTOG explains techniques and strategies proven to return higher search engine rankings and sales. It addresses all aspects of search engine marketing and includes an assessment of the impact of Web 2.0 on Internet search strategies.
From the Publisher
Search Expert, David Viney, provides his top 5 tips to improve the search ranking of your business.
Court the Crawl
Don't bother with paid search engine submission services; they're now obsolete. If you have at least one link from another website, the search engine spiders will list you eventually. 90% of the market is controlled by the big 4 (Google, Yahoo!, MSN and Ask.com).
More important today is that all your pages carry the right weight (on Google, called "PageRank"). Make your site structure like a tree; the home page is the trunk, your categories the branches and the pages the leaves. Make your tree (a) symmetrical rather than lopsided, and (b) don't have too many branch levels before you reach the leaves. Less is more!
Find Phrases the Pay
What do you want to be top on Google for? Don't limit your ambitions to being top for the name of your business, but target instead searchers looking generally for services you offer.
The key is to research the popularity and competition for each search phrase. As an example, did you know that people search for "rugs" four times more often than "carpets", but that carpets features on twice as many pages? There are a number of keyword analysis tools on the web that help you find these "phrases that pay".
Target the Long Tail
Some phrases, like "mp3 player" are very competitive! Try targeting the longer phrases, as demand for these falls more slowly than supply!
For example, ranking well for "ski chalet Chamonix child care" is likely to be easier than "ski accommodation France" (and get more conversions)
Prime your Pages
The best-known part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is SEO copywriting, the art of writing content that both humans and search engines love.
Realize every part of the page is read by the spider, including the full URL (or page address).
The most important page elements are the page title, the full URL and the page headings.
Remember 3 rules; (a) prominence, (b) proximity and (c) density. Put your keywords nearer the front of a text block, keep them together and make sure they appear often.
Landing the Links
The Google algorithm gets tweaked often but retains a simple principle; sites that get mentioned often by others (on a topic) will rank better on that topic! You need links from other sites in (a) quantity, (b) quality and (c) containing the keywords or phrases that you want to be top for.
If you write great content, others will naturally find it and link to it over time, but you can speed this along through listing on directories, forum participation, article submission, online press release publication, and exchanging links with other webmasters. KEY FACTS Do not doubt the size of the prize on offer; It has never been as vital to top the search engines as it is today! 40% The U-Switch forecast for the percentage of all sales online by 2020. 90% Percentage of site visits that originate from the top four search engines 80% The Market Share of Google on most industry measures 84% Of users never go beyond the bottom of page two of the Google results 65% The percentage of users who never click on sponsored (or paid) ads
From the Back Cover
The vast majority of searchers never make it past page two of Google or click on sponsored listings, so being at the top of the standard search results can literally transform your business. Having your site in the top 10 is like having a store near the entrance of the largest shopping mall in history, while if you're outside the top 20 you could experience the frustration of an empty shop with few visitors and poor conversion rates.
Search engine optimization (or SEO for short) involves making it easy for search engines to find your website and boosting your position in their rankings. Get to the Top on Google is the first book to address all aspects of search engine marketing comprehensively through a simple, seven-step methodology, tried and tested with clients small and large, including Amazon and Microsoft. Designed to be accessible for the beginner but comprehensive enough for the skilled marketer, the book is illustrated with global case studies and covers emerging ideas in Web 2.0, local search optimization and the future of search itself.
Discover how to attract searchers with the phrases that pay, how to court the crawl of the Google spiders, tips for copywriting and link building, how to target the long tail, and techniques for tracking and fine-tuning your campaign to make more money online. This book could be the best investment you ever make in your website and your business.
About the Author
David is a leading search engine optimization (or S.E.O) expert and has initiated and steered multi-million pound e-business projects at two of the UK's biggest companies (British Airways and Centrica) and played a leading role in the relaunch and Internet marketing of the AA's website in 2001. As principal consultant and owner of SEO Expert Services, he works with companies large and small to improve their search engine placement. A regular speaker on e-commerce at industry and professional events, David is passionate about the power of the internet to transform our society. David is an L.S.E graduate, Chartered Accountant and IT Professional. He is a qualified C.S.E.M search engine marketeer and member of S.E.M.P.O, the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization.