Look how old this is! I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 19 years 5 months 7 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
As an internet consultant based in Oregon specializing in search engine marketing, it’s only natural that I come up highly ranked for those terms. I’m number 1 and 2 on Google for oregon internet consultant, and number 2 and 3 for oregon computer consultant. However, I’ve never worked very hard at going after the world market, or worked very hard on my own site either, for search engine rankings.
Imagine my surprise then, when I discovered that I’m ranked #1 on MSN in the entire world for “computer consultant”! Even more impressive, was that I’m number 1 on Google for “internet computer consultant”, which is pretty neat. And finally, out of 44 million results for “computer consultant” and “internet consultant” on Google, I actually appear on page two!
The specific reasons for this are varied and include a variety of factors, but I suspect that the main reason I rank so highly for these competitive terms is due to the fact that search engines are getting much better at recognizing the “theme” of a website, and ranking it accordingly.
My goal in sharing this here is not to brag (well, maybe a little) but to demonstrate t oyou web designers and SEO people that it’s not only content that matters in search engine rankings, but context too.
My website is filled with tons of artticles and tips I’ve wriotten about maintaining your computers, your networks and your websites. Therefore, my website is one that basically almost performs a consulting service, and is not one that just “sells’ consulting service.
So… the moral of the story is that if you want your site to rank highly for a given search phrase, you need to have relevant content that not only mentions and offers “that phrase” as one of your services or products, but provides a wealth of information about it too.
It’s not all gravy for me though. Interestingly enough, some terms that I would like to rank highly on, like “search engine optimization oregon” and “internet marketing oregon” are NOT two that I’m ranking very well in. Go figure!
I guess I’d better get busy…
