Search Engine Optimization

Google is one of the hardest search engines to get a "new company" listed on right away. Most new website owners, don't realize that it takes time for search engines to find you. In order for them to find you, you have to advertise and spread the word about your website. For most, it takes several months to a year to get a hit in the first five links on a Google search specifically. It's a statistic of the web, that if someone searches for a product or service, they will most likely click on one or all of the first five and sometimes, but rarely go to other links after that. Most of it has to do with the popularity of a website, in fact, I would say 80% is based on popularity and 20% is based on referrals. For instance, if you Google a common word, or a name brand, such as "Wal Mart" your first hit will be WalMart.com. Where as if you Google somthing less common like "Coco" who knows what you might find, but chances are your search will also be about "Cocoa" and perhaps even "Milk" at some point.

There are also ways to get listed on Google that are easier then web page optimization itself, although only if money is not an issue. For most small business types and start ups money is always an issue, so this may not be an option, but it's good information to have. You could become a paying sponsor. Paying sponsors are the ones that are highlighted in the various colors when you do a Google search. They are guaranteed a spot on the search or searches pertaining to what their company does for that industry the search is pertaining to. When you pay Google money, they profile your company; give you a marketing configuration set up with a login and password, tools, etc. You get a certain amount of "clicks" before you are removed from that spot for a "designated" amount of time. For instance, if I had a.company.com and I was a paying sponsor giving X amount of dollars, Google would have a designated number of "clicks" from users clicking my link that would be allowed before I was delisted on that search. After that, my listing would go off that search and it would restart again after a "designated" period of time.