Due to an increasing number of questions aimed at the IT Department regarding Google listings; this report answers various points from how a search engine works to how you can improve your chances of appearing in Google.

"How do search engines and Google work?"

Originally search engines worked on the basis of meta tags. These keywords are still used by a number of search engines today.

When you registered your site with bacp you sent us a list of keywords which are added as hidden code using meta tags to your site to enable these older generation of search engines to pick your site up.

This is not how Google works.

Many web developers abused these hidden keywords entering completely unrelated tags compared to the contents of the page e.g. a site for cars: using other brands names to get additional hits on the search engines.

Google was created as a "Content-Based" search engine and did away with the use of meta tags solely to get an idea of what a site contained.

Instead, Google uses a mixture of the following:

• Using keywords taken from the domain name (www.bacp.co.uk)
• Using a snapshot of the text on the page filtering it down to a number of important words
• The density in the replication of these words
• The words found in the title bar of the web browser
• The meta description (The single paragraph you
  hide in the code for search engines to display under your link)
• The amount of times it finds your link (e.g. www.bacp.co.uk) on other pages relevent to the keywords used to search for your site

"So why does my site appear on page 5 and not on page 1?"

The final point of the list above is the most important. Most keywords searched for bring up millions of results.

For example, the words "Counselling" and "London" come up 19.7 million and 387 millions times respectively.

Together these come up 2.7 million times so you can understand that to stand a chance of appearing at position number one you have to beat another 2.7 million other pages which is why a great deal of sites will never reach position one or even appear in the top 100 pages.

"So how can i get my site close to the top/How do i get more hits through my site?"

There are no guarenteed ways of reaching a higher postion in Google but there are ways you can improve your chances of being featured:

• Unique names bring the number of competing sites in a search result down so counsellors using a business name are more likely to find themselves near the top
• Doing a search using the keywords you think the general public would use to find your site is a good way to start. Note the websites that appear high up on the list and contact each one to see if you can place a free link on their site in return for a link to theirs on your site. The more links to your site the better as Google will assume your site is more relavent to the subject the public are searching for
• Include your hyperlink on emails, in forums, on your stationary etc. This will gather interest from people who will visit the site increasing traffic and thereby getting the word around
• Add yourself to maps.google.com - Searching for a counsellor with a postcode brings up 3 links to the closest counsellors in that area with a map. It’s a simple process, takes around 5 minutes to sign up and then once verified your business will be pinpointed on the map with contact details and included in all search queries. This is by far the easiest option

"is there a guaranteed method to get myself to the top of Google?"

In short: not unless you are willing to pay Google for the privaledge

Google offers a service called Google Adwords where you pay per click only when the site is hit by a user finding it via the Google search results.

Your site is placed on the first page and sometimes over position 1 as a sponsored link.

A budget can be set and as soon as your budget is used up your site drops down the results again.

Be warned certain keywords are treated like a bidding war and the price increases depending on its popularity.

Prices start from a couple of pence right up to a number of pounds per word and the less words you want to be picked up for the more it will cost.

"Why has my site not appeared in Google even when i search for it by my name?"

• Your name may coincide with another individual, maybe in film or television with many references
• The site may have only been added in the last month and Google takes at least a couple of weeks to pick up your site and organise where it goes
• There are spelling mistakes on your page regarding your name/the town you reside in
• It may be there just very low down in the results

"Why didn’t the site BACP created for me reach the top of Google’s search results?"

Each site is created in exactly the same way for the client. The only difference being the content of each website.

This is supplied by the client, not BACP and it is this that affects the position in Google.

Some of the sites we have created have had many many hits, others get very little but they are all basically the same and Google decides where you fit in.

There are companies that specialise in Search Engine Optimisation and will optimise the site and submit a link to a number of pages that will get your site to the top but this does cost money and BACP does not affiliate with any companies that provide this service.

Last updated Wednesday 5th September 2007 by Nick Tandy