How to Get to the Top Of Search-Engine Results

A television commercial was once the biggest marketing coup for a small business. Today, getting your company listed in the first page of a search on Yahoo or Google can transform an also-ran into a front-runner.

For Baldwin/Welsh & Parker Insurance Agency in Wayland, Mass., the Web has become the firm’s best source of sales leads, outside of direct referrals, because a high listing in search results attracts quality prospects.

"There’s not a big downside if we’re not listed high, but there’s a big upside if we are," says the firm’s principal, Dave D’Orlando.

Businesses can take some simple steps to improve the relevance of a Web site for search engines — and traffic and hopefully business — without spending lots of money on search-engine optimization. (StartupJournal will have tips on hiring a search-engine optimization consultant in a future article.)

Search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN send out spiders (also called bots or crawlers) to scour the Web and retrieve certain information from sites that is then analyzed using complex algorithms.

By ALAN S. HOROWITZ

Full Story: http://www.startupjournal.com/ecommerce/ecommerce/20060814-horowitz.html?sjcontent=mail