The Value of Search Ranking Reports

You don't hear much about search engine ranking reports lately. It used to be all the rage. Of course a few years ago you really didn't need much effort to get a "true" search ranking report that wasn't diluted by your IP address giving you local information first or tracking your recent browsing history to guess what you wanted to know.

Yet the search ranking report can be a valuable tool in measuring the performance of keyword terms in a website and the effectiveness of search engine optimization efforts. Having a third reporting source that can give you unbiased results is a must if you really want to know how your website fares.

To get an even better picture of how your website is ranking in the search engines, use a broad variety of terms that relate to your product or service. As an example: you may not be on the first page for "paint brushes" but you may be on top for "high quality paint brushes." The longer term may not be searched as often but when a visitor is as specific to use 4 words - they are more likely to be your customer. They know what they want and when they find the right website they are mentally closer to actually making the purchase.

When you have a comprehensive search ranking report which includes many of the top ranking words and longer phrases you'll get a better picture of what is happening and find those areas that need more attention.

Want a ranking report for your website free? Just send an email with your rankings@myideagirl.com

If their titles, descriptions & keywords put them on top . . .

Want to be on the top of search results?

. . . then why don't I come up on top when I use the same words and similar description?

This was the question posed to me the other day by Maria during a consultation. Since many of you probably have the same question, I thought I would share the answer.

If search engine marketing were as easy as "follow the leader," there were would be thousands, if not millions, that should be "on top." There is only one top slot and someone has to be next.

Because of this, title tags, descriptions and keywords are only a part of what makes a website gain high rankings. There are many, many factors that influence how your site is ranked like these:

• the age of the domain name and related site
• the popularity of the website based upon the number of inbound links
• the popularity of interior pages of the site
• the actual content on the page that serves the visitors
• the words used to link to your site from the outside
• the alternative text used with images and links
• the uniquely written (non-duplicated), quality content

and many more items that, alone, seem insignificant, but when used as part of the overall picture they all contribute to achieving high rankings for a variety of terms within your site.

On a local level, you may have so many competitors that have been online longer it may seem impossible to get your local business to come up on top.   This is especially frustrating when dealing with Google and their local mapping interface.  One way to get ahead in the local market (and overall) is to become great at social marketing.  Google in particular has made it quite clear that they value social interactions on their social site: Google+.

If you've got a question you would like to have answered in this forum, please feel free to email me: tj@myideagirl.com.