Hello Cjkadlick ~
As my colleague mentioned in his Request for Question Clarification,
and from the comment below, other sites are listed first for search
terms which "appear in the first three lines of the site" because
Google finds other sites more relevant than yours.
Three factors are important in search engine results pages, and they are:
1. Links TO your site (see Google's Page Rank Explained)
- ://www.google.com/technology/index.html
2. Relevant content on your page, and
3. Basic good web design.
While you have some impressive links from DMOZ and Google under
Business/Industrial_Goods_and_Services/Packaging/Machinery_and_Equipment/Auxiliaries/,
and even a link from Thomas Register, there is a basic flaw in your
design and content which is no doubt hurting you.
If you search for "tape dispensers", your site doesn't have the word
"dispensers", but rather the word "dispensers-" (with the hyphen),
which for whole word searches, keeps that word from registering.
Remember, search engine crawlers do not see the same things that your
browser shows, and that hyphen is considered a part of the word.
The fact there is no space before the hyphen changes the word for
Google's search engine.
You have the same thing for every search term you are trying to rank
in, for example:
Tape Dispensers-
Tape Applicators-
Pressure Sensitive Tape Dispensers-
In addition, there is an actual link to a non-existant file,
<a href="graphics/3000button.jpg">
which seems to be erroneously attached to your nameplate graphic. So
right after your non-words, there is a link to a graphic which returns
a 404 error.
The Solution
===============
First clean up the content and HTML to make it easy for search engine
crawlers to index your site and the key search terms under which you
wish to be found.
Shari Thurow, one of the leading authorities in web design and search
engine optimization (and author of the book "Search Engine
Visibility"), recently made the following observation with regard to
HTML:
"Clean HTML is absolutely imperative for search engine
indexing. Browsers are extremely forgiving when it comes
to displaying pages with "unclean" HTML (unclosed tags,
no quotation marks, etc.). Search engine spiders are
not so forgiving. Even something as simple as a missing
quotation mark on the <.a href="page.html"> can cause a
spider to not index text or a link." (See: Link Exchange
Digest, July 3, 2003, "Clean HTML")
- http://list.audettemedia.com/SCRIPTS/WA.EXE?A2=ind0307&L=led&D=1&T=0&H=1&O=D&F=&S=&P=282
Errors in HTML can affect your ability to be indexed, and ultimately,
ranked, so you need to carefully check them all.
Next, work your key words into your text, not just a description line
at or near the top of the page. Don't overdo it, either, but for each
of those terms for which you wish to be found, they should be a part
of the page's content - and that is RELEVANT content.
Thirdly, establish more links TO your site from relevant or related
sources. As Google explains in the information for webmasters, links
to your site are included in its algorithms.
===========================
Establishing Links
===========================
Google's PageRank is based on the number of pages which link to your
site. You will also have to establish relevant links TO your site in
order to be included and rank well in Google's index.
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.
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
Search Engine Watch's "Google PageRank Lunacy" by Mike Grehan, March, 2004,
- http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3319461
and his "Link Equity Explained", available in PDF,
- http://www.search-engine-book.co.uk/LinkEquityExplained.pdf
"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.
Utilizing these three basics will help your site move up in the
results rankings. It is not an overnight process and it does take
time, but it can be done.
Search Terms Used
==================
* tape dispensers
* tape applicators
In addition, I relied on resources and information regularly used
during the course of business.
==========================================
Important Google Links For Your Reference
==========================================
I have taken the liberty of 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
* Remove Content from Google's Index (just in case you feel
a burning need to start all over again)
- ://www.google.com/remove.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.
Following Google's advice and establishing relevant links, in addition
to paying attention to good design practices will ultimately help you
in your endeavors.
Best of luck,
Serenata
Google Answers Researcher |
