Organic First Page Rankings are your Lifeline

High organic search positions are very important for the success of a business. Creating a search engine campaign is not a just one-time process, it is something that must be monitored and maintained on a continual basis. Use the five tips below to help you maintain your rankings.

1. Think of your search engine positions as a stock portfolio.
There are many different factors to consider when optimizing your site for good search engine rankings. Usually, an upward trend is shown within the first few months of a new campaign. After a time, you’ll begin to notice some leveling-off. This is when you should monitor and protect your rankings with diligence, to prevent decline. As in your stock portfolio, don’t worry about short-term fluctuations, they are unavoidable. Measure and watch carefully your long-term fluctuations and trends. Compare each month with the last and note the changes. You must have in place a system to chart the overall performance on a monthly basis.

2. Keep a monthly measure of your search engine positions.
You may notice frequent changes in search engine scenery. Search engines oft-times tweak their algorithms, which can adversely or favorably affect your rankings. Also, data sets from the various “freshness” stages of search engines can also affect your rankings based on what is currently being used. Another factor is your competitors. They may be diligently monitoring their campaigns and keeping their sites optimized as well. Changes are inevitable but, being proactive can protect your investment.

3. Watch the popular engines closely.
Most traffic is funneled though the top search engines by popularity. But, be aware that lists of the top ten of search engines can fluctuate and change often. Search engines that were popular not too many years ago may not even make the list today. Keep apprised of the most recent trends in search engine popularity. Base your monitoring strategies on the current most popular engines and research their popularity often.

To get a recent listing of popular engines, visit: http://www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/netratings.html.

4. Keep an eye out for big losses on specific engines.
Although it’s common for there to be a variety of losses and gains in each month, large downward shifts in many or all of your rankings should be investigated. Spiders, programs that allow search engines to index web pages, may have encountered problems with your site. Examine any recent changes in your navigational structure or code as they may be to blame. Another reason might be a spider visiting your site when it was temporarily down. Huge shifts may also occur if a search engine decided to overhaul its algorithms; this may result in the need for extensive site restructuring. And lastly, you may see shifts due to search engines shifting alliances, an example of which is a recent switchover by Yahoo in displaying Google results. Determine the reason and then work to solve your issues.

5. Examine your keywords and phrases for popularity shifts.
If you’re in a unique and widely untapped niche, you might enjoy very nice page rankings. But, be aware, if your niche suddenly gets flooded with new competitors, this could increase the popularity of your keywords and phrases which would result in a loss of ranking. Be sure you show particular attention to your keywords and phrases as they are the building blocks to building a successful campaign.

These tips can help you protect your investment and maintain success in your business venture and marketing campaign. Take the advice and work diligently to maintain your site rankings. You’ll find that this will keep your business successful and you in profits for a long time to come.
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