When I started blogging a few years ago, I did not think much about getting search engines looking for me. I just blogged. However, after a period of time, I noticed I got many unsolicited referrals from search engines (especially Google). That made me curious as to what did I do to get Google’s search engine’s attention.
Difference between Alexa and Google’s Search Engine -
Note that just because you are rated high up by Alexa, it does not mean that Google is going to list you in their search engines at the top. Alexa only monitors number of hits. Hits can be bought. Yes, you got it. There are sites that BUY hits. They engage companies that put up lots of referral links to their site, boosting their ratings on Alexa.
Problem with that is Google isn’t impressed by such tactics. When Google gives you results of searches on certain keywords, they want the site or webpage they refer to be as relevant as possible. Buying links to increase the number of hits is one sure way to get Google to blacklist you.
Google works on what is called Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). This means that if you key in search words say “fishing gear”, as an end user, you expect the search engines to refer to sites that talk about fishing gear and not something else.
So how do you get your site listed and listed high up in their search results, even on the first page? Here are some tips.
- Use key words that match what people want to find. Example, if you want people to come to your site when they search for “Global Warming”, use that term “Global Warming” in your post. Put it as your header, plus a few more times in your text. Of course don’t repeat that 100 times in your text or Google’s bot may see that as a cheap attempt to get listed and blackmark you.
- Google’s bot is a machine. It can’t feel aesthetics. And definitely it won’t appreciate that nice stuff. For those who beautify their site with Flash, music and what not, the robot will just give that a miss.
- Stay relevant to the topic. Example just because “Global Warming” is a highly searched term, don’t use that word in your text just to get hits, then talk about everything else except Global Warming itself. You’ll be blacklisted.
There are many more tips that you can find from experts if you search the net. The above are just some from me through experience.
Here are the results of my own website and how I have been doing so far.
Google’s Search Engines results on “Where Bears Roam Free” -
Please note that Google (or any other search engine) is highly dynamic. A site listed as number one on Google’s search list today, may end up number 20 next week, due to the changing dynamics.
“Chan Chun Sing” – I have to admit that this is my number one keyword phrase that keeps Google referring searchers to my site. When we were at the peak of the GE campaign, Google Search Engine listed my site as the Number 1 returned result. Today, after four months, my website is still listed by Google on the first page!
Google lists my webpage as #9 (and its on the first page).
“Tan Jee Say” – Another high referral rate from Google. Again, I wrote about Jee Say during the GE in May. It is still getting me referrals.
That webpage is fourth on the list and like “Chan Chun Sing”, it is on the front page.
That was not the only webpage on “Tan Jee Say” Google listed from my site. Here’s another one at Number 9 on the front page too.
“Lim Boon Heng” -
It is listed third on the first page. Again, note that the article I wrote is more than 4 months old. Yet, it is still listed on the first page on Google’s returned results.
And like “Tan Jee Say”, in the case of “Lim Boon Heng”, Google returned two of my articles on its first page. Here’s the second article and it is at Number 10 on the first page.
(All screenshots above taken on 18 Aug 2011.)
Search Engines is a better way to get hits to your site -
As mentioned earlier, search engines are a better way to get hits to your sites than buying backlinks. Firstly, it is free. Secondly, they are “quality” hits because people come to your site because the search engine has listed your articles as relevant to what they are searching. The biggest put off for surfers is to be referred to a site where there is little or no relevance.
As a matter of interest, about a quarter of my daily visitors are referred to by search engines. From search engines alone, I get about 3000+ referrals a month, which is about 100+ per day. That does not include backlinked referrals from other sites and direct hits.
Here is a screenshot of the search engine results of my site the last 31 days, according to Google Analytics.
Final Word -
As a final word, getting your site listed by search engines on the front page takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight. I only noticed my articles listed as front page in Google’s search engines for many keyword searches after a few years of blogging.
Like I said, it didn’t happen overnight. Patience, consistency and relevance of your articles you post, is the secret. It would come to you soon enough without you realising it.
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Update 19 Aug 2011 – Due to search engine dynamics ever changing status, “Tan Jee Say” and “Lim Boon Heng” no longer gives this site top priority. I note that for these two set of keywords, I get a lot of referral from third parties in “spurts”. That means when the spurts comes, Google picks them up and puts my site on first page. Likewise, when the spurts die off, the rankings die off with it.
“Chan Chun Sing” on the other hand is far more consistent. I have been getting referrals from third parties (and search engines) EVERYDAY without fail. As such, this site is still able to hold the first page of Google’s search in a very consistent manner.
PS – comments off bcos of spamming and trolling.
