Hi Flapart~
The good news is that you *are* in Google's index.
The bad news is that for your search term "rv mud flaps" (without the
quotation marks), you come up in 365th place - which is so far back
there as to make it difficult, if not impossible, for others to find
you.
You've done a pretty decent job of designing your site, but there is
one major thing you forgot - the thing that helps you rise higher in
search engine results pages (SERPs) ... you forgot to get links TO
your site.
Here's what Google says,
"The best way to ensure Google finds your site is for your
page to be linked from lots of pages on other sites.
Google's robots jump from page to page on the Web via
hyperlinks, so the more sites that link to you, the more
likely it is that we'll find you quickly."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#A2
And it further explains its technology in "Our Search: Google Technology":
"The heart of our software is PageRank?, a system for
ranking web pages developed by our founders Larry Page
and Sergey Brin at Stanford University. And while we
have dozens of engineers working to improve every aspect
of Google on a daily basis, PageRank continues to provide
the basis for all of our web search tools."
and its PageRank in "PageRank Explained"
"PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the
web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of
an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets
a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for
page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume
of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the
page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are
themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make
other pages "important."
Important, high-quality sites receive a higher PageRank,
which Google remembers each time it conducts a search. Of
course, important pages mean nothing to you if they don't
match your query. So, Google combines PageRank with
sophisticated text-matching techniques to find pages that
are both important and relevant to your search. Google
goes far beyond the number of times a term appears on a
page and examines all aspects of the page's content (and
the content of the pages linking to it) to determine if
it's a good match for your query."
- ://www.google.com/technology/index.html
===========================
Links to www.flap-art.com
===========================
A check of links to your site using Google's Link:tool (that is typing
link:www.flap-art.com in the search bar), reveals there are NO links
to your site.
Checking the sites that come up using your chosen search term, rv mud
flaps, gives us:
* towtector.com with four links (including a listing in Yahoo)
* highcountrymobilerv.com/mud_flaps with one link
* kaydenco.com with five links
* not-just-parts.com with three links, etc.
If you want to place well in the SERPs, you will need to establish
links TO your site.
===========================
Establishing Links
===========================
There are many practical ways of establishing links which are
beneficial to you in your endeavor to get respectable position
placement on search engines. These methods may take time, but they
also help in establishing credibility and help with your page rank.
Approach like-minded or complementary businesses about linking to your
site (with a reciprocal link from your own). This works without
harming search engine positioning or page rank.
Make sure you use your full URL, that is www.flap-art.com, (WITH the
www in front), because although either may resolve in routers to your
site, some search engines treat them as two different URLs, and you
don't want to split your good efforts.
A WORD OF WARNING:
==================
Google specifically warns "Don't participate in link schemes designed
to increase your site's ranking or PageRank. In particular, avoid
links to web spammers or "bad neighborhoods" on the web as your own
ranking may be affected adversely by those links." (See Google's
Quality Guidelines - Basic principles)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
It stands to reason that what's good for Google, currently ranked as
the number one search engine, is good rule to follow for other search
engines.
Articles on Link Popularity
===========================
Some excellent articles on how to establish the right kind of links
are available in Traffick's "Ten Steps to Building Links to Your
Site", Craig Fifield - 5/3/2002
- http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=77
and "The Right Way to Improve Link Popularity", By Paul J. Bruemmer -4/14/2002 -
- http://www.traffick.com/article.asp?aID=41
"Link Building Is Important", which discusses link building from A to
Z and also provides a good reference page with linking resources.
- http://www.linkingmatters.com/WhyLinkingIsImportant.html
The information contained in the above articles offer suggestions
which can be easily adapted for use on any website without resorting
to link farms. The differences in "good links" and those which may be
harmful are discussed, and the articles offer simple ways to get
started to the kind of linking search engines prefer.
=========================
Other Things You Can Do
=========================
Google also recommends that you list your site with Yahoo! and the
Open Directory Project (DMOZ.org),
"If you are having difficulty getting listed in the Google
index, you may want to consider submitting your site to
either or both of these directories. You can submit to
Yahoo! by visiting http://docs.yahoo.com/info/suggest/.
You can submit your site to Netscape's Open Directory
Project (DMOZ) by visiting www.dmoz.org. Once your site is
included in either of these directories, Google will often
index your site within six to eight weeks."
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html#B2
A check with DMOZ shows you aren't listed with their directory,
"Search: www.flap-art.com
No Open Directory Project results found"
- http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=www.flap-art.com
So you may want to also want to submit your site there.
==========================================
Important Google Links For Your Reference
==========================================
I am including important links from Google's site. This information
will help you understand Google's goals and responsibility to the web
searcher (and not the webmaster or site owner).
Webmasters who follow the guidelines and avoid Google's "Thou shalt
nots" usually have no problem getting listed and showing up under the
search terms they desire.
* Google Today (absolutely the best information you
can read about the "how and why" of Google's results
- ://www.google.com/corporate/today.html
* How Do I Get My Site Listed on Google?
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/1.html
* My Web Pages Are Not Currently Listed (a good 'primer'
on how and why Google works so well)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/2.html
* PageRank Information (covers both Google's PageRank and
SERPS)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/4.html
* Webmaster Guidelines (contains both the dos and don'ts)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/guidelines.html
* Google Facts & Fiction (can you buy your way to a
high ranking in Google?)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/facts.html
* Search Engine Optimizers (some good advice on what to look
for if you're going to hire a Search Engine Optimizer)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/seo.html
* Frequently Asked Questions (pretty much what it says, but
definitely worth wading through)
- ://www.google.com/webmasters/faq.html
================================
Other Sources of Information
================================
There is also good information from many of the top search engine
optimization experts, such as
* Detlev Johnson, Search Engine Guide
- http://www.searchengineguide.com/detlev/
* Danny Sullivan, Search Engine Watch
- http://www.searchenginewatch.com/
* Jill Whalen, High Rankings
- http://www.highrankings.com/
* Shari Thurow, Web Pro News (and quoted all over the Internet)
- www.webpronews.com/
who all have columns or newsletters to which you can subscribe and
keep abreast of the best way to use good content for better
positioning in search engine results.
In addition, Webmaster World - http://www.webmasterworld.com/ - has
discussion boards on most of the search engines. While some of the
discussions are anecdotal and/or questions for information, there is
usually enough discussion to keep abreast of what seems to be
happening.
There is an entire section devoted to Google at:
- http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/
It never hurts to keep track of the discussions; but remember, trying
to optimize for search engines only is like trying to hit a moving
target. You'll notice among the more experienced contributors to the
discussions - plus the SEO experts listed above - that there really is
no substitute for content, relevant links and good HTML.
======================
Summary
======================
Your site is listed with Google, but to place higher, you will need to
establish links ... that is *** relevant *** links ... to your site.
While this may take some time, it will ultimately help you achieve
your goal.
Search technologies ~
======================
Except for the particular search on the term you mentioned in your
question, "rv mud flaps", and for your own site, "www.fla-art.com", I
relied on bookmarked material and my familiarity with resources used
on a regular basis.
Best of luck to you,
Serenata
Google Answers Researcher |
