photo credit: hakahonu::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::Before you can effectively raise your Google web ranking, you need to understand what factors figure in to the rank number. Google (or any search engine for that matter) uses many methods to determine which pages are displayed first in the results. There is an exact algorithm that determines placement but that is confidential. However, there are several well-known strategies that you can employ to improve where you come up in the search results.

First of all, do not waste your time or effort on submitting your website to hundreds of search engines. Not only will this not get you results, it could actually backfire and cause your ranking to go down. However, submitting your site to the right directories can help. Search for directories that are directly related to your business. Check what there page rank is (the higher, the better) and submit your website there.

Keyword optimization is important. If you aren’t familiar with this term, it basically means using the exact words that people are searching for on the Internet in the content of your website. It’s very easy to find what terms people are searching for and how often they are searching for them.

You can use any of the search engine’s free keyword tools to help you with this. Just in a general term that is related to your business and the tool will give you related terms that users are typing in, along with how many searches per month that term gets, how competitive the term is and other information. If you are just starting out, you will want to use the uncompetitive keywords (those that don’t get too many searches). As you start to build in ranking, you can use more competitive keywords.

How often do you use the keywords you have chosen to target? You should try to use them in main headings, titles or links within your website as well as within the content. However, the usage should not be forced. Your Google web ranking will actually go down if you try to “trick” the search engine by over-using keywords.

One of the biggest determiners of your rank is how many incoming links you have to your site. If Google sees that you have other sites linking to yours, it signifies to them that your content is valuable and must be worth sending visitors to. The more links, and the better the quality of the links, the better your ranking will be. If you have other high-ranked sites (that are relevant to your business) linking to you, you will get a boost in your ranking.

You can also submit your site to social networking sites. When people bookmark your site, Google sees that as a thumbs up and raises your ranking.

These are just a few things, along with maintaining valuable content and good design, that you can keep in mind to increase your Google web ranking.