My new website is live – why can’t I find it in Google?
A quick overview of how Google finds a new website and determines where to rank it. And how quickly.
One of the regular questions we are asked by dentists and practice managers after their new website is launched is “why can’t I find my site in Google?” Whilst we explain how Google works at the start of every new project, during the excitement of the launch, some of the key factors are often forgotten.
Sometimes new site owners forget that you need to do a bit more work to help Google find a new website and then, depending on how competitive your environment is, quite a lot more work to gain a good ranking position on page one. So even if you have great new website with lots of good content and a Google-friendly configuration, you should expect to do more work to fully realise its potential to acquire new patients.
Stage 1 – getting Google to find and index your new website
A new website will eventually be indexed and included in the search results whether you intervene or not – so the search engine “spiders” which look for new content on the web will find you eventually. However, if you just rely on this “natural” process, it can take several weeks to find your new site.
It makes sense to accelerate this process and there are tools available to help. The first thing to do is to set up a Google account and register your business using the local business tools they provide. This will include adding data to generate a “map/local” result, and creating a Google+ business page. Now you are starting to let Google know you are there and you can also link to your new website from the data you entered. Next is to ensure that you have Analytics installed and use this to verify your website with a Webmaster Tools account. These tools will provide lots of insights into how your website is performing as well as informing Google of your presence online and also where you are physically located.
Within the Webmaster Tools account, you should also submit a sitemap. This tells Google exactly how your site is structured and further helps to get all of your pages into the search results.
Step 2 – improving your search engine positions
Whilst some new dentists websites can perform very well with minimal effort to promote them, these tend to be in the minority and in areas where the competition from other dental websites is slight. Where competition is greater, possibly from businesses which have been around for a long time, then the practice will need to invest in ongoing digital marketing to help improve ranking positions over time. Without this, even a good website can languish back on page 3 or 4 with little prospect of pulling in new patients. This is often forgotten by practice owners when they embark on a new website project, but it’s extremely important and must be considered in the marketing budget.
How much you need to spend depends entirely on what you are trying to achieve with your search ranking and the extent of the competition in your area. So if you are trying for broad reach with many keywords in a competitive location, prepare to invest more than if you are targeting a specific niche.
Summary
“Build it and they will come” is not something you should take for granted with a new website project.
Initially you need to make sure that your site is high quality. Next, help Google to find it directly after launch and then invest in digital marketing to improve your ranking results over time if you want to fully realise the potential.
To discuss how Dental Media can help you with a new website and it’s ongoing promotion, please call us for a no-obligation discussion on 01332 672548.