How To Boost Your Google Ranking

Do you – or your website – show up in online search results? How do you boost your Google ranking?

Let’s face it; in today’s digital age your internet presence is pretty much required. But just having a website is not nearly enough… with more than 1 billion active websites as of September 2014, can your customers find yours?

How do you boost your online visibility and ranking? How do you get enough relevance to show up on Google searches?

As you can see above, I literally DOMINATE Google’s first page results.

If you’re not on Google’s first page when someone searches for you or your services, your chances of being found dramatically decrease.

1. Consumer research indicates that 91% of searchers do not go past page 1 of the search results.
2. Nearly 50% do not go past the first 5-6 results on page 1!
3. Page 2 only gets about 18% of the search traffic.

We also know that 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local businesses and information with their location and proximity in mind. They also perform searches on smartphone and computer/tablet for addresses, business hours, and directions so it’s imperative that your website be mobile-friendly.

A great problem most care home providers and operators face is that you can’t easily be found online, and when you are found there isn’t enough trust and credibility in the eyes of consumers. As a result, they continue their search and usually contact senior placement services instead of you.

The question of credibility, trust, and expert positioning is more advanced and I cover that in “The Adult Family Home Marketing Roadmap – How to attract, impress, and convert private pay residents” workshop. This article focuses on the first problem… be found in the first place.

I am going to share 5 powerful strategies I personally use to boost my ranking on Google search, as you see in these screenshots.

The image below also shows page number 2 and 3 for the same Google search. Page 2 has 9-of-10 results and page 3 has 6-of-10.

People want to find relevant, well presented information. If you want to rank high, both in Google’s eyes and in the eyes of your website visitors, follow these simple steps.

1) Chose Keywords Your Potential Customers are Likely to Use When They Search.

Searches are driven by “keywords” that is specific words or groups of words that people use to search for what they are looking for. You need to think about and pick those key words carefully, then use them strategically. For example, someone might search for “adult family home in Renton” use the same key words to name your website address, blog name, and other relevant pages of your online presence.

Optimize images. You’ll see that in my search result image above, various images on my site also show up. That’s because Google searches for images all the time, so you need to NAME your images carefully by using relevant keywords. Oftentimes, a simple image might send a visitor to your site!

2) Start or Promote Your Business Blog

A blog is simply a place on the internet to post your content. If you already have a website, you can simply create a special page to host your BLOG, and start posting relevant, quality content. You can see the Spada Care Homes blog for ideas. If you don’t have website (yet), you can start a blog using one of the many free popular blogging service like Blogger.com, Weebly.com, or  Tumblr.com.

When your start your blog, make sure you name it using relevant keywords you decided upon.

3) Use Video

Get a Youtube account and post videos. I realize many people feel shy and overwhelmed at the idea of doing videos, but with today’s tools you can shoot a high quality video with your iPhone and have it up on Youtube within minutes.

Here are 4 important tips to creating an effective video:

1. Sound quality matters. If the sound quality is poor people won’t watch it.
2. Shakiness gets people dizzy! Use a tripod or something similar to stabilize your shot.
3. Be authentic and genuine. People want to know the real YOU, so don’t worry about being perfect.
4. Think of a great customer you’ve recently helped, and speak to them when shooting your video.

When you save your video, use keywords that are most relevant to the content you just created, for example “tips for managing your elderly parent’s medication” or “discover what makes Spada Care Homes different.”

4) Use Social Media Strategically

Is your time on Facebook producing results that support your business? Unfortunately for most people, Facebook becomes a major distraction that is mostly unfruitful.

Here is how to think about Social Media to get more leads for your business: join the Social Media party and have fun, but at some point you need to bring the party to your house! Here is how.

Use Facebook Strategically

Create a business page using your business name. Once your page is up, post quality content, nice picture of smiling and happy residents (get consent first), and status updates, then link those back to your business or personal blog.

Use Google+

Create a Google+ account and use it to post your content. Again, make sure that you link that content back to your website or blog.

Use LinkedIN

LinkedIN is a professional social network so be certain that your LinkedIN profile is… well, professional! That means no profile picture of your cat or kids or your last trip to Hawaii – unless THAT is your business! Once there, join groups, post relevant quality content and link that back to your site or blog.

5) Create or Update Your Online Business Listings

Start with Google Places. Make CERTAIN that your business name and address is entered EXACTLY as it appear on your formal address, to include commas and periods like “Spada Homes, Inc.” Your listing’s phone number should be your best number so you can answer personally to any potential inquiry.

There are many other online business listing services where you should be listed. You can download my directory with live links below.

Get the Top 25 Online Business Directories To Get Your Business Listed Free

(Be sure you entered your email correctly, then check your email – and SPAM box – after opting in, the PDF report link will be in it.)

When creating your business listings, remember to enter you business name, address, and phone number exactly the same way in every business listing you create. A good practice is to type that information once inside your word processor, then copy /paste into each listing.

To your success!

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