Question

Topic: SEO/SEM

Getting Ahead Of Older But Stagnant Sites

Posted by nat.colley on 12/24/2008 at 2:27 PM ET 25 Points
I have come across a number of sites recently that have not been updated in months but are still at the top of the Google search results. How can this be, and what does it take to over come them in the search results?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 12/24/2008 at 2:30 PM Accepted
    They have probably been around a while, have a lot of keywords in the content, and perhaps most importantly, have a ton of inbound links that have been structured correctly.

    So...be around a while, have meaningful content written correctly, and work on your inbound links. Also, make sure your domain does not expire for a good long while.
  • Posted by excellira on 12/26/2008 at 11:22 AM Member
    This is a question of "how do I SEO my site/pages" which is a difficult question to answer in a forum post.

    The two major factors for good search performance are content (includes title tag) and backlinks. There are myriad other factors but again, we don't have the space to cover them all and they aren't as critical (though some issues can create significant barriers if not resolved).

    As Inbox stated, those pages have probably been around a while, are well optimized, contain good content, and/or are generating a continual stream of backlinks.

    As long as the pages appear popular they'll continue to do well unless better pages come along.



  • Posted by Gene M on 12/26/2008 at 3:34 PM Member
    Inbox and Trinity are entirely correct. To shed some more light on why older sites are ranking highly, it can be a case of perpetual motion as far as the number one and two sites garnering more visitors and more backlinks simply BECAUSE they are ranking one or two in google (or other search engines).

    What my advice would be to you is to do everything you can SEO wise. I would start with making sure you have a far amount of content, not just a paragraph per page. Next i'd make sure that each page is individually optimised, not just the whole site.

    This would mean adjusting the page title, h1 tags and keyphase positions. Next i'd tackle the external stuff, like generating backlinks by posting in RELEVANT blogs, contacting site owners and submitting articles.

    I'd also look at alt tags, image names and image tags etc. You should see some improvement in your ranking, and as your ranking gains momentum, so should your hits and backlinks and hopefully it should start to snowball for you.

    Oh, and keep it current, but it seems like you've already made a move on that.....
  • Posted by nat.colley on 12/29/2008 at 3:10 PM Author
    Wow! So many great answers! This site is a great resource. Thank you all so much. I'll figure out the points later. For now, keep 'em coming ;-)
  • Posted by Inbox_Interactive on 12/29/2008 at 3:19 PM Member
    "...keep 'em coming..."

    Wow, you're really getting your 25 points' worth here, aren't you?

  • Posted by nat.colley on 12/29/2008 at 3:22 PM Author
    LOL! Yes, and I want all of you to know I greatly appreciate it, too. I'm trying to reciprocate by offering what little wisdom I have to others as I am able.
  • Posted by nat.colley on 12/31/2008 at 1:31 PM Author
    BTW, I just got my first accepted answer on this forum, earning some points... so I can ask more questions, of course. Thanks to all of you. I see I have a lot of work ahead of me.
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