I’m a web developer. I take ideas and use the tool I know best (the web) to make those ideas into a product. Sometimes that means I write a custom app in C# using ASP.NET MVC to help manage a business process and sometimes that means I set up WordPress and customize a template.
Everyone wants a website . . . from the CEO of a big advertising company to the soccer mom who wants to share a story and some pictures. Some want a site as a forum to express something they NEED to say. That kind of site has no goal of attracting readers or revenue from adwords. Other sites are set up with a specific goal: marketing tool.
Inevitably the “marketing tool” sites are going to ask about Google, specifically, “How do I get on the google?”. Here is my advice (in terms everyone can understand).
Google (and by “Google” I mean every search engine) looks at every site it can and and tries to figure out the ones that users will find interesting. How it does and the order sites show up is magic and no one knows the how and why. Google is always changing the rules to thwart those who think they figured it out. If you want your site to show up when people search for something you need to have valuable content. If you are a bike repair shop, create articles about DIY repair. Sure, some users are going to see your site and do their own repair but the vast majority are going to bring their bike in to you because they found you with Google.
So here it is . . . Sheldon’s Rule: To show up on Google add content to your site that reveals how you do what you do. Tell all your secrets. Over time all those articles will add up to valuable content people want. The more you reveal about how you do what you do the higher in Google’s ranking you’ll be.
Sheldon