ø Increase Google Rank ø

The desire and yes, need, to get into the major search engines is very strong for everyone building their small business on the web.

I have also found that most people are anxious to get into Google and now, Yahoo, to find out how they are ranked and to improve their Google ranking as soon as possible.

The sooner you find what your Google ranking is, the quicker you can get to tweaking those pages for better SEO. While your are dying to get into the big engines (ie. Google and Yahoo), here is what you can be doing while waiting to be indexed.

Step 1. Get yourself listed in the the free directory, Open Directory at http://www.dmoz.org. This is a human edited directory so be sure your website if full, active and well stocked with good rich content. All links must be working. As most everyone knows, this can take awhile to get in so start now for later rewards that result in higher Google ranking.

Step 2. Be sure and include some very good smaller directories as part of your marketing plan. Here is the list to get you going:

These sites will list you quickly for a one-time fee ranging around $40.00 (oops. GoGuides is now quite a bit higher) or you can submit free but it you can be sure it will take longer to get listed. For an excellent reference to the value of each directory and how to make sure your directory listings will be well received by Google ranking and Yahoo, put this link in your SEO tool box: http://www.directory-pages.com/

Step 3. Find small themed directories that match your site theme. Do a Google search using this format:
Site theme keyword phrase +add url
Site theme keyword phrase +submit url
Site theme keyword phrase +directory
Site theme keyword phrase +links

The be sure to check the Google ranking of sites before you spend time submitting to directories with a low Google ranking...it's important to be listed in directories with a Google PR of 5/10 or more.

Step 4. ExactSeek is a free search engine (now affiliated with Alexa) that will list you within 48 hours http://www.exactseek.com/add.html (Note: Your site will not be added if it lacks Title and Meta Description tags. Click here to read how to make sure your site gets a good ranking http://www.exactseek.com/srank2.html)

One other note about ExactSeek. I would not bother to pay for their featured listings that display much like Google Adwords on the right hand side of your browser window. I have used them in the past and the hits to my sites were minimal.

Step 5. Begin listing in the smaller Pay-per-click engines to learn how they operate. I advise all my clients to stay away from Google Adwords and Overture until they thoroughly understand the PPC model of advertising and the system in place at these two major advertising options. You can lose money very quickly if you are not familiar with how each one functions and how to get the most out of your advertising dollar so get your feet wet at FindWhat and Kanoodle.

Okay, now you have a ready-made to-do list to get indexed and even boost your Google ranking by listing in higher PR directories. What are you waiting for?