How do you get to the top of Google?

Before we jump into the information, let me give you some background information on how I know this stuff, and what it is that I do for a living. 

Over the past six years, I have worked with Web.com starting on the phones calling out to our existing customer base to discuss their online presence and what it takes to be successful online. During that time I moved up in the company and I worked with literally thousands of small business owners in regards to what they are trying to accomplish on line and all of the different factors that come into play.  

Over the next few weeks I am going to post some of the insights that I have found by working in this industry.  None of this is proprietary information, it is stuff that you can find online, however I can tell you that these factors all help when you are a small business owner trying to stake your place online. 

The first thing that you need to do if you are trying to get to the top of Google, is to stop and think about what it is that you want to be known for.  This is where it all begins, before you start to put your business plan together, you need to see what the competition looks like and also what your online goals are. 

Are you trying to get people to come to your site?
Do you want people to come to your store?  
Are you trying to get them to purchase online?
Will you be updating your site all the time or just once every couple of months? 
Who will be maintaining your website? 
What is your online profile and what does it look like now? 
Where can people find information out about you online now? 

These are some of the first things that you want to look at. 

Once you have that started, you need to start with your Domain Names.  Now for those of you who are trying to figure out what's in a domain name, there are way more options out there now than you would expect. 

A good domain name will be something that is memorable, short and has some key words that people will remember or will Google for.  This will help not only on line, but also when trying to explain to people what your company looks like and what you do. 

Now, if you have ever tried to find a short, catchy domain name, you know that this is much easier than it sounds.  Most people find that the "best" domain names are gone.  

Well, I would challenge that there are new domains that you didn't even know existed. 
 
Did you know that there are new extensions outside the .com, .org, .info and .net?  There are now domain extensions that are much more specific.  If you are a coffee shop, you can get a .coffee or if you are a beer company, you can get a .beer, shoe store, a bank you can get a .bank, and the list goes on. 

Sure these new domains are "new" but think about this, at one point in time, the idea of having a car seemed outrageous, and these were only things that "rich" people had.  Well domain names are the same way, if you get in early, then you will have the right key words and phrases to get you the traffic that you want.  

I will let you know, I do work for Web.com, which has Register.com and Network Solutions, who are both domain companies, however we don't specialize in domain names, we are small and medium business consultants.  When you buy a domain name from us you are also paying for the chance to deal with Google Certified small business consultants.  

However, feel free if you think that getting your domain name from someone else will help you, however I will let you know that there are many more factors that you will need to look at to get to the first page of Google.  

Keep an eye open for more of my posts, as I keep going through what it takes to get to page one.