Using one of the popular search engines, you search for your company name and it appears well down the list of results. Or, the search engine doesn't show your site at all. What gives?

Well, there's no simple answer, but the one I have for you is not all that complicated either. There is no guaranteed method of getting your site to appear at the top of the first page of search results, but there are some strategies you can adopt that go a long way to getting your site to the top of the search engine's result list.

To being with, the algorithms the search engines use to rank search results is a closely guarded state secret. You can ask Google how they figure out how they rank search results, but there's no way they will tell you. Same thing for Yahoo, MSN, and most of the other popular engines.

Having said that, here are three strategies you can adopt that help move your site toward the top of the list of results. All of these strategies work together; doing just one or two of them won't give you the results you're expecting:

Register your site with the search engines.

This is one of the last things we do when we set up your website. We register your site with Google, Yahoo, and MSN. The others usually find you.

Some search engines offer a premium service where you pay them money in exchange for a more prominent placement in search results. For example, Google refers to these as Sponsored Links. Contact us if you'd like to pursue this option.

Optimize your website for the search engines.

Known as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), these are steps we take that have been found that help match search words to your website. For example:

• Use a meaningful title. This is what appears in the title bar of your browser.
  
  
• Have the meta tag “keywords” use words that resemble (as close as we can) the search words your visitors use to find your site;
  
  
• Have the meta tag “description” contain one sentence that tells your visitors exactly what you do, and how you can help them solve their problem or help them achieve their business opportunity. Think of what you'd like to see in the search results.
  
  
• Have the first paragraph on the home page describe exactly what you do, what sets you apart from your competitors, and how it helps your prospective customers meet their business goals. Some engines look at the title, others look at the first paragraph on your home page. Make sure you take care of both. Contact us to see how we've structured your title and your meta tags.
  
  
• Repeat your company's name throughout the couple paragraphs that are on your home page. Repeat the few keywords that describe what you do. We don't go overboard here, but we work with you to ensure that anyone reading it feels compelled to engage your services or buy your products. The search engines have become smart enough to grasp this.