When will my new website appear in Google?
This question comes up so many times as a web designer, hours or days after launching a website for a new business.
It’s not unexpected. It’s just that appearing on Google’s first page (or better still the top hit of a search) is high on their list of expectations, once their website is live.
Now I say “expectations” not “priorities”, as many startups don’t want to talk about SEO before their website launches. It’s only a priority once it doesn’t happen automatically.
Before launch SEO is either too much for them to take in, or they’re too caught up in startup excitement.
This is all natural I suppose, but appearing on Google’s first page is not nearly as simple as people think.
The rest of this article is some very basic information I tend to give clients after a website launch. (Note I’m no SEO expert — this is just a jargon-free, very quick guide).
First, let’s tackle those expectations.
Google is NOT a directory of websites yours gets automatically added to. Nor is it a directory you can just add your site to. (Actually you can add it, but it doesn’t then automatically mean you’ll appear high in results — but let’s not get into that now).
Google IS a search tool, which has to do two main things:
- Find your new website by itself, which can take days or weeks
- Make its own decisions about how high your site should appear in its search results
It has do do these for millions of websites. It also has to do these on a regular basis, as the web doesn’t stay the same for very long these days.
What does this mean for you? It means that getting high up there on Google’s search results isn’t simple or quick.
New websites are at a distinct disadvantage, so some businesses spend a lot of time and effort getting there, or staying there. Your situation could be hard or easy, depending on a lot of factors.
So what should you do?
First, know that Google considers things like:
- How long your website’s been around
- How many inbound links you have from other, established websites
- How well organised or useful your text and images are
The first of these isn’t something you can do much about when your site is new, but the other two are something you can work on (or get someone to work on it for you).
Other than that, there are a few main things you need to work on too:
1. Decide on your keywords — There’s little point just making sure just your business name appears in Google. Most potential customers aren’t searching for your business name (unless they got referred to you without a web address). More useful to you is when they search for services you offer, and find you as a result. So think hard about what the search phrases might be and use them consistently, just like your logo.
2. Get on the map — If you’re wanting to appear in local searches, adding your business to Google Maps is a must. I recently helped a personal trainer get on it and after a few months they were appearing at #3 in a search for “personal trainer” in their town.
3. Plan regular content — Google is looking for high-quality content that benefits the searcher. It’s not interested in keyword-packed pages, as that only benefits you. How does it know what’s good quality? Mainly by the number of other websites or social media posts linking to your website content. Plan to create regular blog posts, or other content that’s useful to your customers. Bonus points for including your relevant keyword phrase at least once each time.
4. Build a network — New websites or businesses lack an audience, such as a blog following or an audience on social networks. Having a network of people who will share your links will help improve your Google rankings. And I don’t mean your friends and family on Facebook ;)
