When Will My New Website Show Up on Google? A Quick Guide
By Kristie Parker
Your new website launches and you can’t wait for the world to see it…but when you Google your industry + your location (think plumber in Tampa) you don’t see your website on page 1 of the search results.
Hmm. ok. Keep scrolling.
Not on page 2 either. Weird.
You keep going and after scanning 200 search results you’re nowhere to be found.
What gives? Where's My Site?
Here’s the thing: Search engines do tend to rank older websites before newer ones because the older ones seem more trustworthy and have had time to gain some traffic, while your site might be better looking and more modern it hasn’t had a chance to accumulate visits so it doesn’t have any authority yet.
Luckily, old site vs. new site isn’t the only ranking factor. There are about 200 factors that Google uses to determine what shows up in search results. But before you can improve your ranking, Google needs to know you have a website.
How does Google even know your website exists?
Google has crawlers, automated programs that explore the internet. These crawlers are constantly scanning the internet for new content, including new websites and updates to existing websites. It “reads” the content on those websites and stores the information in a big database. Google uses this database to show websites to people who search for things online. You (or your website designer) can speed up the process of Google finding and indexing your site by submitting your website directly to Google using Google Search Console.
Simple strategies for improving your website's visibility in search results
Boosting SEO is a collaborative effort between the website designer and the business owner. The website designer can implement technical optimizations and design elements to make the website more search engine-friendly, while the business owner can provide high-quality content and actively seek out opportunities to build backlinks.
Ultimately, both parties should work together to create a website that is both visually appealing and optimized for search engines, with the goal of driving more traffic and ultimately, increasing business success.
1. Optimize Your Website For Search Engines
By making sure your website is properly structured, using relevant keywords, and providing high-quality content, search engines will recognize the value of your small business website and rank it higher in search results. Here are some of the top ranking factors:
- Conduct keyword research and incorporate relevant keywords into your website's content, title tags, and meta descriptions.
- Optimize your website's URLs to be descriptive and keyword-rich.
- Ensure that your website's structure and navigation are user-friendly and easy to understand.
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly on both desktop and mobile devices.
- Use header tags (H1, H2, etc.) to structure your content and highlight important keywords.
- Optimize images to improve website load time, which is an important factor in search engine ranking.
- Obtain a security certificate. HTTPS is a secure version of HTTP, which encrypts the connection between the user's web browser and the website's server. Search engines like Google have confirmed that HTTPS is a ranking signal, meaning that websites with HTTPS may rank higher than those without it.
2. Transform the Quality of Your Content
As the business owner you can create high-quality and relevant content that provides value. High-quality content is content that is informative, engaging, and relevant to your target audience.
10 Examples of High-Quality Content Your Small Business Can Use to Boost SEO
- In-depth guides or tutorials
- Original research or studies
- Expert opinions or insights
- Case studies or success stories
- Infographics or visual content
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Reviews or comparisons of products or services
- How-to articles or videos
- News or current events related to your industry
- User-generated content, such as customer reviews or testimonials.
3. Frequently Update Your Site
Frequent updates on your website signal to search engines that the content is fresh and relevant, which can positively impact your search engine ranking. This is because search engines prioritize providing users with the most up-to-date and relevant information.
Adding new, engaging content can result in longer time spent on your website and reduced bounce rates, both of which can boost your search engine rankings.
*Increased Backlinks: When you update your website with high-quality content, other websites may link to your website as a reference, which can improve your website’s backlink profile and, in turn, boost your search engine rankings.
Essentially, the more high-quality backlinks your website has, the more authoritative and trustworthy it appears to Google, which can lead to better search engine rankings. Learn how to get backlinks.
Building a website that ranks high in search engine results takes time and effort, but it’s definitely worth it. By following the tips in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to improving your website’s visibility and attracting more traffic to your site. If you have any questions or need help with your website, reach out to us at hello@bungalowwebdesign.com
