NFIB

How to Come Out on Top
04/ 15/ 2002

by Kimberly Sanchez

Now that you've taken your business online, how in the World Wide Web are shoppers going to find you? "Search engines are the No. 1 and least expensive way to get traffic for a small company," says e-business consultant Ralph F. Wilson.

But getting your site to pop up with the click of the consumer's mouse is not that easy. Search engines are constantly changing their rankings and keeping up with them is a job in itself.

"You cannot depend on the search engines for the most part," says Danny Sullivan, who is editor of the Web site http://www.SearchEngineWatch.com. "You cannot control their listings, and therefore it is very difficult to guarantee traffic and to convert that traffic to profits."

Listing your site with search engines is free, but that doesn't mean your name will automatically appear in every ranking. You must design your Web site with unique keywords that are going to distinguish you from other sites, says Sullivan. "Look for unique or special words that you might not find on other pages," he says. "If someone were searching for a particular topic, what kinds of words would they use for a search query? Those words should be on the page itself."

Most search engines have guidelines posted on their homepage explaining how to submit a site. Follow those rules, says Alexa McCann, consumer public relations manager at Ask Jeeves. The Emeryville, Calif.-based search engine discards thousands of pages that do not meet their ranking criteria. E-commerce sites, for example, must have return policies, a toll-free telephone number contact and be secure. Links that connect your pages to more popular sites increase your chances of being picked up by search engines. Content is also important. Including specific descriptions, brands and prices could help you get better placement. Tips about the products you are selling and a picture of the owner or the history behind your store helps to personalize your site and build trust, says Wilson, who also edits DoctorEbiz.com, a question and answer Web site dedicated to helping small businesses tackle the Internet.

The FlyingNoodle features a picture of the owner's pet ("The Noodle's Poodle") and ways to contact owner Raymond Lemire personally (http://www.flyingnoodle.com). The Hanover, Mass., pasta provider is consistently among the top hits of major search engines. "The Internet is an interesting beast because it's almost like being in a new business every six months," says Lemire, who is also known as the "Big Parmesan." "You have to keep revaluating what works and what doesn't work. The parameters are always being redone."

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About 149 million Americans use the Internet.
The average user visits six unique sites each week, spending 34 minutes per site and 50 seconds per page.
Nielsen/Net Ratings

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This article originally appeared in the January/February 2001 issue of MyBusiness Magazine, NFIB's member magazine.

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