I’ve been spending a lot of time paying attention to webstats in the past 2 months. It’s kind of my thing. But I know it isn’t for most people. And it really shouldn’t be. It’s way more important to focus on your relationship with your clients & customers. And providing the best possible product or service.

But, if they can’t find you it’s kind of pointless, isn’t it?

Over the weekend a lovely friend of mine thought her website had been lost from Google permanently. That no one could find her. Scary thought! Thankfully it wasn’t true, and here’s how we found out.

We used a Keyword Search Tool

I used a funny little tool I found on the internet months ago. I know there are way more sophisticated tools out there, but this one is quick, easy & in my favorites bar.  I type in the keyword I was hoping to find, and the address of my URL, just like this  (yes, this is a silly example – “portable biz” isn’t a widely used term)

For my friends site, I went through with her top 10 keywords and searched to see where they ranked in Google. Over half of them showed up in the first 6 pages – not too shabby.

Then we talked about the little map that we sometimes see when we’re searching for sites. Especially local websites (like our local hair dresser, mortgage broker or bank).  I once thought it was a special feature only for the “big guys”, but it’s not. 

Google XML

Thankfully someone pointed me to a plugin for my WordPress site a few months ago, and now my website shows up in google looking like this (take a look at that travel entry?! It’s probably worth clicking on…)

Alexa Registration

The third thing I’ve talked a lot about recently is done in the past 2 months is “claim my site” at Alexa Rankings. There is plenty of debate about the value of an Alexa ranking. I hadn’t really paid much attention to it until I read a blog post by Michelle Schaeffer last summer where she explained how she found her way to a number lower than 100,000.  And whether it’s good to have a low number or not, these are 2 main reasons I want to make sure mine continues to shrink.

1. It’s an indicator of how much traffic is arriving on my website (and in theory, this should turn into leads, and customers – it doesn’t always work that way for me though)
2. Guest posting opportunities and JV opportunities – I love to write guest posts on other blogs. But some of the blogs I would love to contribute to prefer to see numbers much lower than mine. My goal during the summer of 2011 was to shift from somewhere near 10 million to below 2 million. I lost traction in the fall & went all the way back up to 6 million (from not keeping up with regular blog post entries, commenting on other websites and blogs in my community, or keeping my website up to date. Bad Loralee!).  But this spring I returned. And for the first time I’ve broken through the 2 million barrier.

And Dear Facebook!

(This is the other tidbit I was referring – it’s not Google, but for me, if people can’t find me in Facebook, I’m in trouble.

Facebook is where I seem to be not only be finding and connecting with new clients, but actually conducting business – my meager little numbers on my fan page are growing there too.  This past weekend I celebrated my 100th “like”, with my poorly designed cover page, and so many things on my “to-do list”. Things that will wait for another day, or maybe even months. 

So where is all of this going?

If you take care of these three things this week, in one months time it will be easier for clients & potential clients to find you when they’re looking. I say this not because I read about it online somewhere, but because it’s exactly what worked for me.

1. Claim your site at Alexa.com
2. Install an XML site map plugin, or ask your web developer to help you with this.
3. Update your content regularly (write blog posts, share a video you think your clients will find useful – stay connected  – Google will notice and help you continue to connect you with your ideal clients.)

Keep your eyes, ears and heart open for other golden opportunities to connect. All of this “Stats” stuff means nothing if you’re not ultimately reaching your goal. Which is probably something like this?

Provide outstanding service to my ideal client!