If you are trying to figure out why your competition ranks higher than you on a search keyword or long tail search, you may want to consider what matters most to Google according to Google. What they measure most in order to provide a result for a query is:
Relevance: Does the information on your website satisfy the searcher? The more it is optimized for the right keywords, the most traffic you’ll generate. The longer the searchers stay on your site and seem to be happy with the link, the higher Google ranks your site for that search word.
Speed: Time is money, so if you have a site that takes too much time to load, you will get dinged for the lag time to deliver results. Many websites were designed years ago or content that takes too much bandwidth, and therefore are not as responsive. This can cause you to lose the click through, even when you have relevant content.
Comprehensiveness: Does the searcher find everything they need on your site? In other words, does your content satisfy their need for an answer? Make sure that if you are buying keywords, the landing page you create for that keyword has the information that searchers are seeking.
Freshness: How stagnant is your website? If you do not frequently change content on your site, your site will rank lower. Make sure that your website has tools for easy updating so Google sees that your site is active.
For more information on adding an online advertising campaign to your marketing strategy, give us a call at 310-791-6300 or email us. Make sure you talk with someone who knows the requirements of Google and who measures your results to improve them over time. And before you even buy one keyword, make sure your website has addressed these four requirements and identified a landing page that will work for the keyword.
