Re-indexed, what to expect

[kingoftherodeo]

Hey all

This is probably an exceptionally stupid question but if you dont ask you dont know!

So i've followed a lot of SEO advice that i've read. Now im wondering what to expect.

I added lots more content that was of value to my site, headers tags, descriptions etc. Im not expecting to get ranked on first page or anything but recently my site has been re-indexed with all the changes, should i expect that i move up a little in the rankings if google liked my changes or is even that wishful thinking? I know it all takes time but im wondering for example if i just left it now and working on other areas such as link building would that be best or should i see if i rank for any of my key terms and if not re-do the content etc?

Thanks

[tbp]

I would definately leave it for a little while and see what happens.

With your changes, its more the than likely you will move up the rankings. Its impossible to predict, but could be more than you think.

With Google though, its best to make a number of small changes and then wait a while to see what effect the changes have. Doing this allows you to attribute moves in the rankings to the specific changes you have made, and you can see which ones made no difference, which ones made a big difference, and which ones have a negative effect.

This is important to understand how google works, so you can do things right first time on new sites that you build.

If you make a number of big changes all in one go, which shoot you up the rankings, thats great - but you aren't left with an idea of which particular change(s) made the difference.

Ideally you need to leave 2 - 3 weeks between changes to see what effect they have, and although it sounds really boring, don't forget to keep a log of what you did and what effect it had.

Over 6 months, you`ll build up an understanding of what google likes / doesn't like, which will save you a lot of time with new sites you build.

[kingoftherodeo]

thanks TBP as always a great and informative response!

Thats answered my question perfectly. I didnt really rank very well for any keywords, i think only two or three actually ranked anywhere. My site is very new so it will take time. It will be nice if this time next week i can look in google webmasters and see a few queried search terms in there for indication.

I'll leave it a few weeks then and see what happens, fingers and toes crossed

Should i work on some link building now whilst i wait?

[Steved]

Build links and add lots more content. I try to add a few pages every day if possible. Also keep your home page fresh and add new content to it as often as you can

[tbp]

Yes, although links aren't much help in getting you the rankings, they obviously will bring extra traffic that you may not have got otherwise, so its worth doing. Just make sure that they are quality links, links from just anywhere aren't going to help you that much as people aren't going to click on them.

Make sure they are relevant links from quality directories, or ideally sites in the same field as your own.

As steve said, also keep adding new content. Google likes it, but it also keeps your visitors coming back to see whats new. Also has the big advantage that the more text there is on your site, the more varied keywords there are, and you'll start to appear in more and more search result sets.

[kingoftherodeo]

Thanks guys for the feedback, thats great. Im still working all hours to try and build more content into the site, its coming along but still a lot to do yet!

Are there known directories other than Dmoz that i should look into? I hear that yahoos is a good one, although you have to pay?

Dmoz dont look too favourably on affiliate sites though do they?

[tbp]

DMOZ really aren't worth a lot now, won't get you the benefits you used to get.

Getting very out of date now, and its incredibly rare to get a site actually into the directory now, what ever it is. They have 6 months of so of backlog, and most submissions will never get added. Its really falling apart, so if you don't get in there don't worry about it.

[MrCatz]

Just don't stop there buddy. SEO is a continuous process.

Build more targeted and quality backlinks - not just for SEO benefits, but for potential direct traffic as well....

[kingoftherodeo]

Yeah im working on it. Looking at building the quality links now!