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Google: how to ensure your web page is indexed correctly

This page is intended to, very briefly, explain what you can do to prepare the content on your web page for accurate search engine indexing.

'Why isn't my web page listed number 1 on Google in relation to xxx keywords?'

We get asked this a lot. There are a number of reasons to explain why you're not listed number 1 (or why you're not on the first page) on Google search results:

Like everyone else, we are competing with the rest of the Internet (more than 60trillion pages, and growing). That's a lot of competition!

We don't control Google. And Google isn't interested in making it easy for us to figure out how to get onto the first page of search results - they make all of their money from pay-per-click advertising.

Our public web information is scanned by a Googlebot, which is a computer program, not a human being. Therefore, your information isn't read, so much as dissected according to a Google algorithm comprised of more than 500 factors (which is changed all the time to prevent anyone from figuring it out) and then placed in the Google index, for retrieval. The Googlebot review and the algorithm determine how your pages are presented in relation to keyword search - and they also control how everyone else is presented, which is why you might see results that you don't agree with.

Note: this also explains why out-of-date or deleted pages can be returned in response to Google searches - Google uses its index, *not* our live web pages for all web searches. And, no, there's nothing we can do to prevent that - however, we do try to ensure that, whenever we delete or archive pages, we set up a redirect, so that users following an old link still end up on the right web page.

Want to know more? Watch this really great video by this Google engineer on how their search works and how they rank pages

Search engine optimisation: what you can do

Although we can't control Google, and there is still no guarantee that you'll appear in the top 20 search results (the only way to ensure that your web page appears in the top rankings on relevant searches is if you set up a pay-per-click campaign), this doesn't mean that there is nothing you can do to improve your search results. We can look at optimising content for search (SEO). Here's a brief guide.

1. Select the right keywords

  • Pick 1 or 2 'keywords' (phrase consisting of 2 or 3 words each) per page. You will never be indexed for every possible keyword, so please be realistic and make sure you decide on 1 or 2 at most and that they're relevant to your page.
  • Which keyword should I use? the term you would choose to use to search for your course information is not necessarily the one actual users use. In order to figure out what your users do, you need to do keyword research.

2. Include your keywords in the right content

  • Once you've selected the keyword(s) you want to use, you need to ensure they appear in your content in order for you to be indexed for them. Here's what you should be looking at optimising
    • The title at the top of your page: this is the most heavily weighted content on your page.
    • At least once in the first paragraph: this is the most heavily weighted paragraph on your page
    • Your link text (never use the words 'click here' in a link): your link text should tell the user where the link takes them to and, if relevant, include a keyword - e.g. 'more computer science courses' is a good, optimised link, and also tells users what they can expect if they click on it).
  • Note: don't expect to be returned for keywords that don't appear on your page - if you want this to happen, your only option is pay-per-click.

3. Provide great content on each page

  • Please remember that getting web visitors to your page is not the only issue for you - you need to make sure they want to read it too! If you only have limited resources, you are far better employed writing compelling content for real users than worrying about search.