Can Your Search Engine Listing Stand Up To The Classified Ad Test?
Everyone (and I mean everyone) is hoping that their website gets a top ranking in search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN/Bing. It’s interesting to note that even though a website may rank #1, that in and of itself doesn’t ensure the click from your most valuable customer.
Have you ever viewed your search engine listings with an eye for classified advertising? Most local business owners don’t know how the search engines display their search listing.
To do so simply perform the following search, without the quotes;
“site:yourwebaddress.com”
Doing so will give you several insider details on how each of your pages are listed in Google; and especially if they are listed at all. If performing the search as stated above and your website pages are not listed you have a different problem all together and will require the assistance of an experienced webmaster to solve the issue of not being indexed at all.
Do your page listings have engaging Headlines? Does the description leave the reader wanting more? Does your description include a call to action; essentially asking the reader to do something, like visit your site for more information?
Most websites search engine listing is a mish mash of words, and worst yet is the website that has their business name as the title for every page. Unless you are a big local or national brand your business name is not as important as a page title as your most descriptive keywords would be.
You’ll notice that when looking at the top results in the search engines, the first page of results typically have very compelling page titles and descriptions and as you look deeper the results become irrelevant. You can use this to your advantage when realizing that the competition is never really that fierce. Google will award you for getting the clicks by using a compelling page title and description.
To find out if your page titles and descriptions work, imagine taking that exact same text and placing it in print as a classified ad. Would you pay to have that ad printed? Would readers be compelled to call you or look to you for your services? OR would they not have a clue as to what your ad or business is all about?
In the end, your search engine listing is a simple classified ad. If it reads well and asks the search visitor to click in a compelling way then you are on your way to a more effective website — however if it drives your reader to read the next available ad then it certainly needs work. Thinking of your search engine listings as an effective classified ad can increase your online business exponentially.
