How to make Google’s top 10—is there a magic bullet?

When developing websites, the most commonly asked questions we receive are about search engine optimization. Here are some rules of thumb to get the most out of your site.

How optimization works:

Site optimization requires expertise in many different disciplines: copy and design, direct marketing, technology, testing, and analytics.

Spiders are programs that crawl all over the web, ranking websites based on relevancy, freshness of content and unique value. If spiders detect one or more of these, they will visit every three days. If nothing new shows up for a while, they come back every 10 days. If still nothing new appears, they don’t return at all.

What you can do:

• Create one press release a month, and, at minimum, one a quarter. Spiders recognize keywords not images. For spiders to return, write keyword-focused content with no more than 200 words of copy on each page.
• Write a blog.
• Become a member of a forum or community that makes readers want to return to your site.
• Have others mention your site and include a hyperlink—it works as an implied testimonial.
• Analyze response levels using Google Analytics.

Don’t forget that you need to apply some basic tenets:

• Understand your target audience.
• On your site, make it as easy as possible to order/subscribe/donate.
• Set goals. Expect that 1% to 3% of visitors will become supporters.
• Develop an articulated web strategy.

It takes a minimum of 3 to 6 months, hard work and many hours to make it to the top. Search engine optimization is constantly changing. There is no magic…if you want to have a meaningful presence on the web, it requires attention to your site and its content on an ongoing basis.