Why Isn’t My Website On The Front Page of Google?

Is Your Web Designer Responsible For Your Website Rankings?

The answer to this question is no. Your web designer is not responsible for your place in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page). They create your presence online through your web design project and if they do your ‘on-page’ SEO (search engine optimization) correctly with all your meta data…that is a bonus!

If You Can’t…Start Building Your Brand!

A competent web designer will normally include useful SEO on the site as they go, including graphics ‘alt’ tags, meta data inclusion, H1 tags, and changing some obvious text content to basic search terms.

• I have seen hundreds of websites where the ‘on-page’ optimization is non-existent or badly done.
• It could have been the fault of the website designer or the website owner hasn’t known how-to.
• I have also had many clients that have hired me to ‘fix’ their previous designers omissions.

If my website has all the necessary on-page metadata, will that put my website on the first page of the SERPs for my primary keyword or search term?

Again, the answer is no.

If it was as simple as that…we would all be on the first page for our desired search term/keyword phrase. All we would have to do is build a website, insert the keywords we want to rank for and ‘bam’ be on the front page! Umm…if only it was that easy.

I will use the keyword phrase that I would like to be on the front page of Google for as an example. The phrase is “Website Designs Australia”. Now there are 465,000,000 pages in the search results as of today!

Am I on the front page for that keyword? No.

My website domain is www.websitedesignsaustralia.com – that is an exact match domain name (EMD) but it is also my brand. In a perfect world…wouldn’t I be…shouldn’t I be on the front page of Google?

The answer would be yes, wouldn’t it? After all it stands to reason. I am trusted, I have been around for a long time, I dot the “i’s” and cross the “t’s” but there is a big “BUT”…there are many more web designers that have been around a lot longer than me and they are bigger brand names etc.

My Competition Is Fierce! Is Yours?

Therefore the answer is simple. To rank on the front page you need to prove to Google you are worthy of having such a prominent and valued position compared to that of your big-name, well-known competitors!

Who are your competitors? How big are they?

Answer these questions about your own website and online presence…

• Have you been online for many years and earned Google’s trust?
• Have you hundreds of backlinks pointing to your site from other reputable websites?
• Do you have a following in social media? Are you popular in your niche?
• What type of social signals are pointing to your site?
• Do you comment on other blogs to share your professional ‘know-how’?
• Do you publish content to your website regularly to keep your site updated and loved?
• Are your privacy policies and disclaimers in place?
• Do I need to go on?

As you can see you have to be actively promoting, sharing, writing content, promoting, sharing, writing content…over and over and over again.

I don’t care if I am not on the front page! (Well I do…but I don’t lose sleep over it anymore.)

There are so many people who promise to get you on the front page of Google, for a hefty price of course.

Now I can get you on the front page of Google too, but I won’t make promises on a search term that has millions of pages. Once upon a time a few backlinks from high PR sites, or a few EDU links would help you get there…not today. (Google Panda and Penguin Update to see what I mean.)

I may not get on the front page for the search term ‘website designs Australia’ but I have built my brand with my name, so I will be able to rank on the front page for ‘website designs by Susan O’Dea‘ – and I hope to fill the whole page.

Build Your Brand and Profile

So you may be saying, “Well that isn’t any good if nobody knows you…” and I agree! However…Google wants you to build your brand and your profile! They are happy to promote “YOU” not just your search term.

So, when the snake oil sellers come along with all their promises, ask them what search term they will have you on the front page of Google for. If it is the exact match search term your clients would type into the search bar and it isn’t going to cost you an arm and a leg…and it is ‘white-hat’ not ‘black-hat’ then go for it.

Can you feel my disbelief here? If they can’t they are simply wasting your time and taking your money.

This is one of the reasons when I consult with my own clients, I say, ‘build your brand, grow your social profiles, post on Google Plus, post on Facebook, Tweet, put pictures on Pinterest and Instagram…whatever you like to do with social media, do it! Get known in your niche!

• This could be your edge! Have you looked at your competitors to see what they are doing socially?
• Some niches have no social community at all.
• They rely on the old way of ranking on the front page of Google. Building hundreds of backlinks.

Now don’t get me wrong, that still works if done correctly, but my ‘new’ argument is, why not build your online presence through social media marketing and have people link to you because they like you and want to?!

I would also like to point out that again, it is not your “web designer” who is responsible for putting you on the front page for your search term.

Here is a ‘real-world’ analogy. You hire a builder (web designer) who builds your business premises (website) and you do not get any customers to your beautiful new premises. Is that your builder’s fault? No. That is not in your contract, nor is it his field of expertise.

You would need a marketing manager or consultant and you would probably need to learn how to market your business. For your online strategies, you may also want to hire someone that concentrates on “SEO Marketing” to target your keywords.

I ‘was’ an SEO marketing consultant, but now I concentrate more on social media marketing. Why? Google loves it and encourages it and has penalized many for aggressive SEO tactics. (Some of my own sites have been ‘slapped’.)

I still keep up to date with techniques (it is in my blood) – however, I highly recommend using the many social strategies now. SEO strategies are constantly changing and evolving, however some things always remain the same. If you don’t keep up with the things that do change you will be left behind.

Website Designs/Management/Coaching

So, if you would like me to help you with:

• Your website design project
• Your website management or
• Other services to get your site noticed – please contact me today.

If you would like to rank on the front page of Google for a term with less than 100,000 searches…that is fairly easy…hire me now…or…if you want to rank for a search term with millions of pages…get out your wallet and I will let you find someone else. It is NOT easy to rank high in the SERP’s for popular keywords. There are only 10 places available, so the competition is fierce!

Or you can start promoting your ‘BRAND’ and fill the front page of Google inexpensively! 😉