What changes are needed to get my web page,
"seattle-hotels.gothotel.com/seattle_wa_hotels.html" ranked in the top
10 on Google when people type in the search term, "Seattle Hotels"?
Since this is an EXTREMELY competitve business, there are 1000s of
others vying for the same ranking.
In addition to my main site, I have 6 other sites in a "ring" that
link to each other and also link to the main site, "www.gothotel.com".
They are linked to each other in the following order and no two
directly-linked sites are on the same webhost. All have different
content even though there are visual similarities.
www.evmedia.com
www.got-meeting.com
www.hotels-online.us
www.gotmeeting.com
www.got-hotel.com
www.hotel-reviews.us |
Request for Question Clarification by
serenata-ga
on
03 Jan 2004 14:08 PST
Hi Alprice ~
Surely you must realize that no one can honestly guarantee you a top
ten ranking in Google (or any of the other top search engines) for any
search query. If anyone - an individual or a business - offers to do
so, you should run, not walk away. The simple truth is that no
legitimate search engine would remain in business if they allowed such
practices.
And Google would never break its trust with the searcher by doing so.
===================
A search for the term "Seattle Hotels" without the quotation marks
returns about 3,950,000 pages.
-://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Seattle+Hotels&btnG=Google+Search
A search for the term "Seattle Hotels" with the quotation marks
returns about 1,570,000 pages.
- ://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22Seattle+Hotels%22&btnG=Google+Search
No matter how you look at it, that is pretty stiff competition.
Getting listed in the top ten would require a great deal of rich text
content, links TO your site, and good HTML design. I took a look at
your page, seattle-hotels.gothotel.com/seattle_wa_hotels.html, and it
is a list or directory of hotels, instead of a page with text content
relative to the search term "Seattle Hotels".
To design a page to rank well, it helps to understand that Google's
responsibility is to return the MOST RELEVANT information in response
the searcher's queries. Unfortunately, a list of hotels is not what
Google considers the most relevant content to present for any query.
You might want to read "Google Today", which is a part of the general
information included in Google's Corporation Information.
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
"Though acknowledged as the world's leading search
technology company, Google's goal is to provide a
much higher level of service to all those who seek
information, whether they're at a desk in Boston,
driving through Bonn, or strolling in Bangkok."
and
"Google does not accept being the best as an endpoint,
but a starting point. Through innovation and iteration,
Google takes something that works well and improves
upon it in unexpected ways."
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
Although it may sound hokey, Google is determined to return RELEVANT
sites with rich information to a searcher's query. If you want to make
the top 10 listings, it will take more than a page listing scores of
hotels.
While no Google Answers Researcher can tell you how to get into the
top ten for the search term you want, we can tell you how to construct
a page so it ranks better than a list of hotels with links can ever
list - unless, of course, the searcher is specifically searching for a
"list of hotels in Seattle".
If that information would qualify as an answer, please let me know.
Thank you,
Serenata
|
Clarification of Question by
alprice-ga
on
04 Jan 2004 09:27 PST
I thoroughly understand the ranking competition you describe. I have
spent hundreds of hours working the problem. I should have mentioned
that over 12 of my major city pages were ranked in the top 10 on
Google during '01-'02. I was in the top 4 for Seattle during that
time. A loss of a major link from "Seattle.com" and other unknown
factors found me slipping steadily since then. I now rank beyond 100
for all my major city pages.
I've learned that different people want different content using the
same search term. This content was exactly what I wanted personally
when I was traveling a great deal, especially the grouping of hotels
by location. That takes an enormous amount of time to create. Also
the custom maps of all hotels are very tedious to build. Perhaps my
"value added" content is not apparent enough on my pages. My goal is
to provide the "Wall Street Journal" of hotel reservations for the
frequent traveler. Perfect for some, boring to others.
I've always analyzed my traffic logs in great detail. Searchers using
the keyword, "Seattle Hotels" were booking rooms in droves. That
tells me that my display format worked even while other sites had lots
more text about city attractions. Having said this, I'm still open to
other analysis.
I will pay for your answer because it reflects an informed viewpoint,
which is what I'm looking for. One last clarification, has Google
really changed their ranking criteria for hotel reservation sites in
the last 12 months?
Thanks very much for your response;
Allen Price
|
Request for Question Clarification by
serenata-ga
on
01 Feb 2004 23:45 PST
Hi, Alprice ~
Thank you for your offer to pay me, but I really don't feel as though
I have earned this, as you aren't happy with the answer.
In answer to your last request for clarification (which I never
received, but which one of my colleagues pointed out to me), yes,
things are changing drastically, and it is to the searcher's
advantage, although some website owners may feel they're being "picked
on".
If you'd like, you can expire this and write a specific question
regarding your site and we can try to give you a clear and concise
answer.
You may want to see some of the recent answers about content, links
and user/search engine friendly design to help with your search engine
results placement.
Thanks again for your offer, but if you're not happy with the answer,
I really can't in good faith accept payment.
Yours,
Serenata
|
