Before you think about search engine optimisation, the question you need to ask is not simply “Do I come up in Google?”, but “What searches do I want to appear under?” Enter your full business name into a search engine and hey presto! your website may appear at the top of the list. However, for most businesses the power of Google is in making yourself known to new customers who don’t know your business by name. So with your keywords in mind, here are some quick tips to get you started…

1. Try and incorporate your target keywords in your chosen domain name.
2. Incorporate keywords into your page URLs. Even if your domain name is non-specific, remember to be descriptive in your folder and file names. (E.g. www.stevensons.co.uk/audioelectricals/radio_repairs.php)
3. Use your target keywords in your <TITLE> tags. This is the text that appears in the very top of the browser and page history. Its also commonly used as the default text for bookmarks, and as the text for search engine results.
4. Use your keywords in headings and subheadings within the content of your site. Normally these will be formatted in <H1> and <H2> tags etc.
5. Internal Links. Often overlooked, internal page links (that is, links between pages on your site) should use your keywords too as these will add to your overall page ranking score; avoid linking generic text such as “click here”.
6. Write at least 200 – 250 words for each page. Writing your site can be time consuming process, but invest the time and you will be repaid! Successful page indexing depends partly on quantity as well as quality, so plenty of well written content will boost your page ranking.
7. META tags. They aren’t the ‘magic bullet’ they once were, but a full set of carefully chosen keywords and description can still only help your ranking.
8. Get sites to link to you. But not just any sites, try and get listed on other quality sites that already have a positive ranking on Google. Though Google’s search algorithm is now highly sophisticated and complex, the number of quality inbound links remains an important factor in ranking your site.
9. Submit your site URL to Google. If you are launching a new domain don’t forget to let Google know.
10. Be patient. Don’t expect too much too soon – there are a lot of pages out there, and it can take Google many weeks to visit your site and index your new pages into its directory.