How to Get Your Site Listed in Google in 24 Hours or Less

Wouldn't it be nice to start seeing your site in Google's search engine results in 24 hours or less? It should be first noted that if a site is crawled but not yet indexed, the results aren't visible to search users. For example, if you enter the full domain of your site with the "http://www." and your site hasn't been listed yet, it won't show up in Google's results. When your site does get indexed, if you enter the full URL, you'll see your site listed. This listing contains the URL, the title of your website, and a description.

To get your site indexed quickly, you won't use Google's submission form (google.com/addurl.html). Using this method may take 2–6 weeks to get your site indexed.

So, what do you need to do to get your website indexed in 24 hours or less? The first step is to visit Google and enter a broad, generic keyword that's relevant to your site. This is the rare time that the broader the keyword, the better. Don't worry about trying to go for niche markets with this step, because you're going to want to have access to sites with the highest level of traffic. Once you enter the keyword, you see the Google listings. Use the "Page Rank" indicator on the Google toolbar to see what the page rank is (or you could use SEO Elite or linkVendor, but doing it right from the browser is faster).

To refresh your memory, the higher your page rank, the more websites that are linking to you. Keep an eye out for sites that have a page rank of 5 or higher (with the higher ranking being the better one). Visit each of these sites to see if they offer a link exchange. Remember, if they do they'll advertise it in the same way you did yours, through a "link to Us" web page or something similar. Look for the contact information if it's listed. If it's not listed, use the Whois utility found through domain name services or SEO Elite to find their e-mail address. Use the same methods of e-mail etiquette you learned about before and send them an e-mail asking if they're interested in a link exchange. Remember to post their links on your site first before you send out the e-mail. And don't forget that you can still purchase advertising on the resources given throughout this book.

Just make sure the site you choose has a page rank of over 5. If you advertise your site on a site with a page rank of 5, your site will get indexed in three days or less. If you advertise your site on a site with a page rank of 6, you can get your site indexed in less than 24 hours.

Jon Rognerud is a recognized authority on SEO and the author of Ultimate Guide to Search Engine Optimization, available from Entrepreneur Press. He is also the SEO columnist for entrepreneur.com, and he has spent more than 20 years creating and managing web marketing projects, including positions at online giant Yahoo!/Overture. A search engine technology he created was licensed for use on Expedia.com/Microsoft.

Things That Google Ignores

There are some HTML attributes that Google pays no attention to when it goes through its crawling process. While you won't get penalized if you use these attributes, why waste your time with them if they're not going to count anyway?

Of course, there are exceptions to these rules, as noted in the numbered list below. There are also some elements listed that you will choose not to include.

1. The keywords and description attributes of the meta tag. The keywords and description attributes are read by other search engines. However, the boost you get from having them isn't as much as if you follow the other techniques, such as proper link building. If you submit to Google only, you may not want to include the keywords attribute, but focus on a smart "upsell" or "positioning," "branding" of your message in the description attribute. Other search engines use them, so you should go on and include them.

2. The comments tag. The comments tag is an optional tag designed more for the website designer than for search engines or browsers. You use it to make personal notes related to what the upcoming coding does. It's especially useful if other webmasters are working on web pages that have been started by someone else. Still, it isn't a necessary tag, so you can omit it if you want.

3. The style tag. This tag has attributes that specify what your site will look like. This deals with styling of your page (CSS). If you're using extensive CSS, include the file as an external reference.

4. The script tag. This tag lets the browser know that a block of javascript code is about to be initiated. While Google ignores the information in this tag, it's still useful if you want to take advantage of javascript. You would use javascript when you want to run applets, special programs that run in a separate browser window. Use of this tag may or may not be optional, depending on what your site is for.

5. Duplicate links. If you have duplicate links to the same page, Google only counts the first one.

6. Interlinking to points on the same page. Interlinking involves picking a point on your web page called an anchor that you want another anchor to link to. This practice is commonly used when websites present very long copy on the same page. Readers can click on links throughout the document to jump to other parts of the document. It's very effective for increasing readability, but it's another optional device. Worst case, you could break up the copy and make more subtopic links.

7. Graphics, animation and video. Google pays no attention to these types of content, but it may notice the descriptive attributes surrounding them and certainly their URLs.

8. Boolean words. We discussed these earlier. They are words like a, an, the, is, etc. If you're optimizing for Google only, don't bother including these keywords.

SEO Googler How-Tos

Get Google to read your keywords first. Things Google ignores. Don't link to sites in "bad neighborhoods." And, how to get your site listed in the search engine within 24 hours. These are some of the topics Jon Rognerud discusses in this post.

Rognerud, for example, tells us not to waste time on keywords and description attributes meta tags; style, script and comment tags; and duplicate links. He also steps us through the process of getting Google to index your site quickly. Don't use Google's submission form. That could take between 2 and 6 weeks, he writes. And, don't worry about niche keyword targeting at first. This is the rare time that the broader the keyword, the better.

Gut Genug SEO

For those unfamiliar with the German language, "Gut Genug" translates to "Good Enough".

Ever run into this situation? Maybe you've been fortunate enough that you are swamped with client work, and you have to do the bare minimum to get by. Instead of getting 50 links for the keyphrase that is most important, you only get 10.

Many times, when trying to get some work done, it is the client that impedes the progress. At that point, it's not your fault. But if you know that you could be doing more, are you really servicing the client?

The arguement could be made to say that if a client is only paying a certain amount, they should only get a certain amount of service. I can't argue that. But at some point the question needs to be asked: Are you providing value to your client? Or just taking their money?

So, enough about the rant. These situations do occur, and as I thought about it, I came up with a list of what would be gut genug:

(All of these are on a per month basis)

• 10 keyword-rich text links for each keyphrase
• 5 directory links for each keyphrase
• A review of the copy on the targeted pages
• A review of the page titles and meta tags
• Inform client on any changes in the search space
• Provide insight for client's search marketing strategy
• Be a protector of the client brand