No matter how amazing their products or services may be, no company can turn a profit unless they are getting as much publicity as possible. For many businesses, this will require a modern website that is ranking well in the search engine results pages, but maintaining these sites is often easier said than done. Anyone that has begun to notice that their website is falling behind the competition may want consider these five tips that will help them climb back up the rankings as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Redirect to One Site

One of the biggest mistakes that business owners make is having multiple site addresses that don’t get counted as a single “vote” in regards to search engines. Companies will often maintain a number of domains such as http://yourwebsite.com, yourwebsite.com, and yourwebsite.org without realizing those extra sites are actually hurting their rankings. Instead, they can use all of these sites to automatically redirect to the site they will be spending most of their time and energy on. In extreme circumstances, this can often double the site’s “value” in the eyes of the big search engines.

Start Updating Content

There are few things that will hurt a site’s rankings and its conversion rates like old content. When the leading search engines are indexing a site, one of the first things that they look for is new and relevant content. For many, this will mean the consistent release of content such as blogs. While this is important, those that are running the site should also consider options such as revamping the landing page, press releases, white pages, tutorials, infographics, and anything else that will keep visitors on the site for a longer period of time.

Become an Industry Leader

Many business owners tend to think of their website as a traditional advertising medium such as a billboard. Thinking of the website as a platform for connecting with customers and other industry leaders is actually a much more effective method of increasing that site’s rankings. Owners should start taking a look at industry forums, competitor’s websites, and anywhere else that they can start conversations and become a major voice within that particular field. Asking and answering questions is the quickest way to create effective backlinks that will skyrocket the site’s rankings.

Focus on Geographic Keywords

Another common mistake made by web designers and business owners is throwing a broad net when it comes to keywords and key phrases. The more common the keyword is, the more difficult it will be to move up in the search engine rankings. An easy way to do this is to think like potential customers and what types of searches they will make. Instead of a dentist going with options such as “cheap dental services”, they may want to tack on a geographical name and a specific treatment that they are known for.

Let Your Partners Work Do Some of the Work

Creating effective backlinks will also involve some work around the neighborhood. Local organizations that use a company’s name or add clips to sites such as YouTube could actually be invaluable when it comes to increasing a site’s rankings. Heading to meetings among local leaders, donating to charities, and any other methods a business owner can use to create a name for their company locally is actually going to translate into higher rankings.

Creating a high-ranking and effective website doesn’t happen by luck. Instead, business owners need to start thinking about ways they can actively contribute to the industry, connect with potential customers, and focus their efforts in the right areas.