Google does not accept payment for inclusion in their main index ? so anyone that's at the top is there through hard work and perseverance, or through paying a company such as NikkiPilkington.com to do the hard work for you. Below I show you 7 great ways to increase your chances of a Google ranking.

The Basics

Ensure that your website has a clear navigation system ? and by that I man that the reader of your website can get to every main page of your website, from every other page. There's nothing more annoying as a user of a website than finding yourself lost in the middle of a site with no way to find other information other than using the back button. A search engine spider (the program that the search engine uses to index your site) doesn't have a back button so will just give up.

Check the links in your site ? broken links will also stop a spider in its tracks.

Try not to use text contained in graphics or images ? spiders can't read these either.

Don't use the front page of your website to automatically redirect the viewer to another page. The spider sees this as spam, and in Google this can get your site banned!

Content Is King

It's said all the time, but it's true. Think of the phrases you would like people to type into the search engines to find your site and include them in the copy of the site. At heart, a search engine is just a database and works quite logically ? make it easy for the spider to know what your site is about. (However, beware of repeating phrases too often on your page ? this is seen as spam and will be detrimental to your listing. Aim for no more than 3 times on a 100 word page)

Headlines

Once you have a list of phrases you would like to use to promote your site, use them as titles on each page of your site. Inside Business Northampton might have pages titled in ways such as 'Business Promotion Northampton ? Inside Business' and 'Advertising Northants ? Inside Business'.

Choose two or more word phrases to increase your chances of good listings ? the less people you're competing against, the more chance you have in a short amount of time.

The Links Effect

Google is quite unique in that it sees sites with lots of links back to them as quite important. The more links you have from well-trafficked sites, the higher 'PR' level it gives you. Although this isn't the be all and end all of getting high listings, it is helpful.

If you're a printing company, approach other related businesses (such as companies offering corporate gifts) with websites and ask them to link to you, making the text for your link one of your key phrases (e.g. printers in Northampton)

If you can get links to your site from sites that are already in Google listings, then you have more chance of being indexed quickly.

Directories

Submit your website to the Yahoo Directory and the Open Directory Project ? both of these sites directly filter their results into Google and increase your chances of getting into Google listings. For an article on submitting to the Open Directory Project, please click here.

Submission

Don't forget to submit your site to Google directly! It's amazing how many people forget this simple thing.

It's true that Google is great at picking up sites without them being submitted, by following links from other sites, trawling the web, etc, but the sure fire way of making sure that they know about your site is by visiting the Add URL page on Google Itself.

Patience is a Virtue

Results don't happen overnight. Google can take between 6 and 18 weeks to even LIST your site, and then longer to move it up the listings for the phrases you want.

It's time consuming and can be hit and miss when you're learning ? but ANYONE can learn to get a site to the top of Google ? don't listen to those that tell you it's impossible.

I hope that's helped some of you to make the most of your website and Google ? as always, if anyone has any questions please feel free to call me on 07782 543182 or email me at [email protected]

Nikki Pilkington is owner of Milton Keynes based Internet Marketing company NikkiPilkington.com, and writes articles, hints and tips to help people looking to promote their website for free. For more of her articles visit http://www.nikkipilkington.com and sign up to the newsletter.