I still find it interesting that people believe their web site has been indexed well if they can find it in a Google search for the name of their web site. Let’s think about that for a moment and see if it is truly important.

Let’s assume the purpose of your web site is to sell something whether a product or a service. Let’s assume, also, your company name doesn’t identify that product or service. Ex: Mc Grath Enterprises, Ltd., and the product I sell is a blue-fringed widget. The company/web site name gives no hint that you can purchase a lovely blue-fringed widget from us.

If a person doesn’t know the company exists, he or she is so very unlikely to search on Google for “mc grath enterprises, ltd.”  But, if a person knows he or she wants or needs a blue-fringed widget, he or she is very likely to search on Google for “blue-fringed widget.”

If the web site of Mc Grath Enterprises, Ltd., has been optimised well for that keyword, Google is very likely to present it as a search result for that keyword.  If the price for your widget is a good one, a sale is likely.  That is the point of an e-commerce web site.

When you are thinking about the content of your web site, and especially the home page, keep this little example in mind.  You want Google and Yahoo and MSN and all of the other search engines to rank you well for the keywords people are likely to be searching for, and you want your e-commerce web site to be optimised for your products and services.

So, you will want to mention your “blue-fringed widgets” rather prominently in your home page’s copy – - in your headings, in the paragraphs that follow, in the page title, in the meta description, and in your navigation menu even, if possible.  That will get you indexed well and correctly for the keywords that will bring visitors searching for what you sell.

It should be no surprise that you can find your site in a Google search for the name of your site.  But, how many others will be searching for you by the name of your site?  Since they are more likely to be searching for what you sell, that tells you what you need to say on your home page.

Make the words you use count.  And, measure how well your site has been indexed by the rank results for the keywords that count.  In that sense, the name of your site really doesn’t matter.

Here’s another example:  our client, Wynners.ie.  Daphne Wynne’s company sells printed promotional products and corporate gifts. You’d never truly guess that from the name of the web site, www.wynners.ie.  And, it’s probably no surprise to you that for a search on Google for the keyword “wynners.ie” her site is ranked #1 and #2.  But how many people are likely to search that keyword?

Her home page copy was optimised for the keywords “printed promotional products” and “printed corporate gifts” because those are the products she sells.  And, because those are the keywords potential customers are likely to use in their Google searches.

For the keyword “printed promotional products,” her site ranks #3 on Google; and, for the keyword “printed corporate gifts,” her site ranks #4.  That’s not a bad rank for the first month following launch of her new site.

Keep your products and services in the forefront of your thinking when it’s time to write copy for your web site’s home page.  That’s what your customers are going to search for, and you certainly want them to find you when they do.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 12:20 pm and is filed under Web Copywriting/SEO. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.