Search Engine Optimization

Google’s search results are generated by its indexing system, which scans web pages and catalogs their content. When someone searches for a term like “csu lsc catering,” Google’s algorithms retrieve what they believe are the most relevant pages from its index.

Five Minute Guide To Improving Your Ranking In Google

While it isn’t possible to directly control Google’s search engine results (including the order of those results), there are a few easy things you can do to improve your rankings for a particular page on your site. Eg, let’s say we wanted to emphasize the keyword “disability” on the page https://disabilitycenter.colostate.edu/awareness/. 

• Make sure the keyword is in the URL. We did this by giving our page the name, “Disability Awareness” which subsequently became a part of the page’s url
• Ensure keyword is in the domain name. In our case, this was already done for us given we have “disability” in our domain name.
• Ensure keyword is in page title. By default, WordPress uses the page’s name as the title of the page, so we’ve already taken care of this.
• Keyword is in the description tag. Although this is of relatively minor importance, Google may reference your page’s description. Your page’s description can be configured within Yoast (talk to your web developer).
• Keyword density in the body of the text. 1-5% keyword density is optimum. Just figure out a way to include the keyword in logical ways within the body content of your page.

In any case, once you have taken the above steps, you can monitor your rankings in one of a couple of ways.

1. Visiting http://search.colostate.edu/ and typing in your search query
2. Visiting http://www.google.com and entering “site:colostate.edu YOUR_QUERY” in the search textbox (minus the quotes)

Finally, please be patient. It may take Google a week or two to reflect your changes in its results. If the above fails, feel free to contact your resident web developer for further assistance.

Help! My Page Should Be Ranked Higher In Google’s Search Results!

We occasionally get questions regarding placement in Google’s search results. While these concerns are more commonly associated with the private sector (where higher rankings typically translate into more dollars), it still is an important concern at CSU. The short answer is we (or any other web dev) cannot directly control Google’s search results. You can learn a little bit more about Google’s page ranking algorithm using the info/links above, or by visiting http://computer.howstuffworks.com/google-algorithm1.htm.

If someone promises you that they can guarantee first page/link placement (after you pay them, of course), I would turn around and quickly run away (or at least get it in writing so you can later get a refund), because it simply isn’t true. And, even if we could (as it relates to competing pages at CSU), what would give me the right to upgrade your ranking but downgrade someone else’s? Anyways, all this said, the longer answer is you can very likely influence your placement in Google. The first thing I would do is to follow the tips above. Further information can also be found under the “Learning More” section above on how to improve your search results. You might also wish to look at https://www.internetmarketingninjas.com/tools/seo-compare/ for a free tool that will allow you to compare multiple urls side by side to get a better idea as to why one outranks another.

In the end, it usually boils down to one of these 3 factors as to why one page outranks another, even for similar programs on campus:

• Age and authority: If Site A has been online and linked to from other CSU pages for many years, Google views it as a more established and authoritative source for a given keyword than Site B.
• Backlinks and internal links: If there are exponentially more links from other sites pointing to Site A (use https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker to check backlinks), this boosts its credibility in Google’s eyes.
• Content and keyword density: If Site A’s pages include more of the search phrases people use, it will get consistent traffic for those searches.

1. Optimize the language on your main pages to include the phrases people are actually searching for.
2. Do more cross-linking of your site from other high-traffic CSU pages. Internal links are one of the fastest, no-cost ways to boost ranking.
3. Encourage backlinks from external pages if possible – for example, there may be partners or even off-campus clients who may wish to list you as a resource.
4. Keep Google Business up to date (if you don’t already have one tied to your office), since local search results often rely more on those listings than traditional SEO.
5. Optional: For quicker visibility, you may wish to experiment with a small Google Ads campaign targeting the keywords you care about most, so you can appear immediately while organic ranking improves gradually.  One advantage of this approach is that you can decide how much money you are willing to spend each month on it.

Still have questions/concerns? Please contact your resident web developer for assistance!