Search basics without a ranking promise

How a page gets into Google

Search engines work in three rough stages. First, a program called a crawler finds your page, usually by following a link from somewhere else or reading a list of your pages called a sitemap. Second, the search engine reads the page and stores it in its index. Third, when someone searches, it decides which stored pages best answer the question and in what order.

You have real influence over the first two stages. The third, ranking, depends on your page and also on every other page competing for the same search. That is why honest people in this business don’t promise rankings.

How long it takes

Google’s own documentation is the best guide here. It says crawling can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, and its starter guide says some changes might show up within hours while others take several months.

For a brand-new business site, plan on weeks, not days, before it shows up for anything beyond your exact business name. That isn’t a sign anything is wrong. It is how the process works.

Give every page a clear name

Each page has a title that shows up as the blue link in search results. Make it describe the page in plain words: “Pressure washing in Sarasota | Your Business Name” tells a searcher and a search engine exactly what the page is. “Home” tells them nothing.

Under the title, search results often show a short description. You can suggest one. Write a sentence or two a customer would find useful, like what you do, where and how to get a quote. Search engines don’t always use yours, but a good one helps.

One page per real service

If you offer distinct services that people search for separately, give each its own page with real content: what is included, photos of that work, common questions. A lawn company might have one page for weekly mowing and another for landscape installs. A customer searching for one of those lands on exactly the right page.

Don’t go the other direction and make dozens of near-identical pages. Google’s spam policies specifically warn against mass-produced pages made mainly to rank. Write fewer pages that actually say something.

Link your useful pages together

Search engines find pages by following links, and so do people. Link from your homepage to your main services. Link from each service page to the photos and reviews that prove it. Link from a helpful article to the service it relates to. Use words in the link that describe where it goes, like “see our pool repair work,” rather than “click here.”

Your business details in a form machines read

Besides the words people see, a page can carry a small block of structured data that spells out your business details for search engines: name, address or service area, phone, hours. Google documents a format for this called LocalBusiness structured data.

It doesn’t guarantee anything, and it has to match what is visible on the page. But it removes guesswork about who you are and where you work. Every site I build includes it, kept in sync with the details shown on the page.

Use the free tools

Google Search Console is free. It shows whether Google has indexed your pages, which searches show your site and whether anything is broken. You can submit your sitemap there, which helps Google find all your pages. Bing has its own free version called Bing Webmaster Tools, and Bing’s results also feed other search engines. Setting up both takes under an hour and gives you real data instead of guesses.

Be careful who you trust

Search attracts a lot of overpromising. Walk away from anyone who:

• Guarantees a first-page or number-one ranking.
• Offers to submit your site to “hundreds of search engines” for a fee.
• Sells packages of links from sites you have never heard of.
• Can’t explain in plain words what they will change and why.

Good search work looks boring: clear pages, accurate business details, real photos and reviews and time. That is what I set up on every site I build, and it is also why I tell every customer the same thing. I can make your site easy to find and easy to understand. I can’t promise where Google puts it.

Keep records

Write down when you make changes to your site and what they were. When something shifts in Search Console a month later, you will know what might have caused it. Without notes, you’re guessing.