It is a question that we hear frequently "How do we get our website to be at the top of Google?". As with most IT related issues, it's complicated....There is no short answer to this question but there are several simple things that you can do to improve your search engine rankings:
This list is by no means exhaustive but will get you off to a good start. Search Engine optimisation (SEO) should be a campaign rather than an event...it is something you should return to time and again. Use web analytics to inform your updating by looking at what your visitors are looking for and how long they are staying. If your visitors are not hanging around for long then perhaps you need to look at your site content and navigation.
Build relevant external links by getting on your suppliers websites. Get your site linked on trade body websites and use social media to build up links and drive traffic to your site. A blog is also useful to pull in visitors and if they like what they read it is also likely that they may take a look around at what else you have to offer.
eNewlsetters delivered by email are another method of providing your clients and subscribers with information they may find useful or relevant. Provide links to your website to increase traffic and attract interested visitors. There is a danger that you will push content to them that they may not necessarily want. Your newsletter should have an easy 'get-out' (such as an unsubscribe button) to avoid irritating people and it also makes sure that you are contacting the right audience. Use a managed enewsletter service to avoid being identified as a spammer and it also makes the business of managing your subscribers much easier too.
Depending on your resources, you can venture into the world of pay-per-click to get your site listed at the top. The cost of this will depend on what key terms you want to be listed on and the amount of competition for the key terms. It is always better to appear at the top of the natural search results rather than the paid for results. Research has shown that the number one paid for advert gets about the same traffic as the 7th or 8th natural search result.
Whether it is a website, enewsletter, or blog the message is the same; provide content that is interesting, relevant and useful to your readers. Deliver what they want and not what you want to sell them. Without good content your site with wither on the vine, no matter how much energy and money you throw at improving the listing.