Online positioning of a web site, profile or an internet page is very similar to the physical positioning of an actual store. You need to invest time and funds into marketing, in order to distinguish yourself and draw attention to your business.

Imagine that you are an owner of a store, which is located in a low key street, and you do not have any advertisement, marketing, logo or sign. You may have a brilliant product, but your potential buyers have no way of being aware of you.

It is similar on the internet. Quality and originality are certainly a plus, but people have to have a way of hearing about you. Today, one of the best ways for this is to have a strong internet presence, across a wide range of social networks. Create a Facebook profile, upload a Youtube video, twitter something or upload a photo to Instagram. You can think of each like, share and view as a form of virtual currency.

One of the most important tools that can help you to reach recognition is SEO and improve Google ranking.. It is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, of which Google is the most important. During their searches, users type in words or phrases that allow them to find what they want. Your goal is to have the best ranking possible, or, in other words, to be at the top of the list in order to make it easier for potential customers to find you. You can influence on this in several ways: basic adjustments, advanced techniques, and paid advertising. Still, the most important thing is:

Improve your website!

There are a few basic adjustments that can help you in improving your ranking.

Meta tags

Firstly, there are meta tags, which Google recognizes as key phrases connected with your site. Meta tags are keywords, descriptions, and much more. So, for example, if you were in business of servicing air-conditioners, meta tags should relate to your area of expertise, services and special offers.

Description

Further more, a precise and clear description will go a long way of helping you – well used 160 characters can make a big difference. Recently, Google has started paying more attention to the general description over keywords, since they can be abused by constant repetition. This development was introduced in order to provide more relevant search results, by listing sites that are really connected to the searched phrase, instead of those that simply repeat the phrase infinitely. Google now pays attention to complete texts, themes and, so to say, a viable presence of key phrases and words.

Headlines and site maps

Headlines and site maps are always a plus. As is any other way of connecting with Google, like Google Maps, for example.

Responsive design

The latest development is that Google will emphasize which site is responsive, which means that it is adjusted for viewing on both mobile phones and tablet devices – but this does not mean that the site has to be mobile friendly in order to appear in search results, it just helps. Due to the extremely fast growth of usage of new and mobile devices for surfing the internet, Google ranks the sites that follow this trend higher than those that do not. If your site is not responsive, it does not mean that it cannot be viewed on a mobile device, but its functionality is limited – the site is either reduced, and zooming becomes necessary, or its size remains the same, and up-down and left-right scrolling becomes necessary to see the whole site. Responsive design introduces breaking points, places where, depending on the size of the device, the site ‘breaks’, in order to adapt more fully.

ALT tags

Google can use only the advantages of your website that you provide it with. This point is also valid for images on the site. By using ALT tags for images, you increase your optimization and ranking. ALT tag is actually a short image description, since, as we know, Google is all about words.

To summarize – optimize your website. Attractively designed, skillfully arranged, and optimized website will always achieve a higher ranking. Create a site map, and check your description and meta tags. Make your site mobile-friendly. Do not try to ‘trick’ Google, for you will be sanctioned for it. This means that you should not use fake descriptions, too many keywords, or keywords that put you in the results that are in no way connected with your business. These shortcuts can bring only short-term advantage, and long-term consequences.