Have you ever wondered why a certain search term doesn’t list your website in Google, Bing or some other search results? Assuming your website is mobile-friendly, has been thoroughly optimized and indexed by the search engines… Not seeing it in the search results is disappointing, to say the least. Let’s run through a few things that you need to consider and some tips you can implement for future growth and marketing of your website.
Search Results Vary From Person to Person
Did you know that your search results, especially in Google can vary drastically from person to person or by device? What you are seeing, is not what someone else may be seeing. Search engines like Google are always looking for ways to provide quality search results the individual searcher would find most helpful. Happy searchers mean they keep coming back.
Factors that can affect search engine results:
- Your geographic location
- By device type (i.e. desktop, laptop, phone, tablet)
- Web history & previously clicked links on said device
- The browser you are using
- Whether you are logged in to a Google Account
- What type of search you are doing
Instead of obsessing about any one particular keyword phrase, a better way to think about the marketing of your website would be to focus on the overall quality and the building of its presence.
Keyword Research
First, I would highly recommend that you research keywords for your website and make sure that they are real-world actual searched for phrases. What you think, and what is actually searched for can be very different. Ongoing keyword optimization is also highly recommended to uncover any new upcoming opportunities where your website could shine. Especially in this time of voice search, there are a lot of long strings of words being put together to find what people are looking for.
Second, I would advise that you not pin all your hopes and dreams on just a few keyword phrases alone. You should easily be able to come up with a very sizable list of keywords that have a good monthly search volume associated with them. Start creating new content that includes them and cover all the many ways people may search to find your website.
Third, the more competitive a keyword phrase is, the tougher it will to get high rankings. Even with focused phrases like “Hawaii vacation rentals”, the competition is high with big companies like HomeAway, FlipKey, VRBO, TripAdvisor and Airbnb taking up top positions in the search results. That’s where finding those long-tail keywords through research will help in bringing a good amount of traffic to your website.
Okay, so you did the research and know of a particular search phrase that you would like to focus on to get your website showing in search results and get great qualified traffic. What now?
Website Content
If the search term isn’t part of the actual content of your website, there is no way it would even be considered relevant to the search engines for the keyword you are hoping to appear for. Even after you have sprinkled your target keywords through the website, doesn’t necessarily mean your website is going to be on the first page of the search results. The more competitive the keyword phrase, the more solid quality content on the subject you need.
Look to answer questions your customers or clients are asking about the topic and start writing up blogs. Not only is this filling out more relevant marketing content for your sought-after keywords, but even more so, this is very helpful to your customers and shows them how knowledgeable you are in your area of expertise.
Internal & External Linking
Links also play a factor in building trust that your website has quality content that searchers are looking for. People are engaging and sharing your content. They trust it, so the search engines feel they can trust the content as well. The more quality links pointing to it, the more trustworthy.
You should have internal links with the keyword text linking to relevant content on your website. You should have links coming from other websites using the keywords in the linking text pointing to relevant content on your website.
The aforementioned helpful blog posts could come in very handy here. Perhaps, think about doing a guest blog on a related and relevant website that complements yours somehow.
Competition
Check out the competition for the keyword phrase you are thinking about. Why are they showing for that search phrase? Where are their links coming in from other websites? Perhaps you can get a link too…
Still Not In The Search Results? Is All Lost?
No Way! You can keep fighting for the keyword phrases you believe in. The tips above are a few strategies that will help you build your position over time. Just keep plugging away and check your traffic stats to watch for growth.
Interesting Read: What does Google have to say about it? Google Help – Site Doesn’t Appear for a Specific Keyword
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