Every now and then I’ll get emails from people who are puzzled as to why they can’t get ranked in Google. And almost every time I review the site in question, I see the same things…

• Not enough unique, useful content
• More affiliate links than content
• Too few pages
• Not enough backlinks (quality sites linking in)

Google makes its money from advertisers. Advertisers use Google because it’s the Web surfer’s #1 search engine.

Why is Google #1 among Web surfers?

Because it provides useful, relevant results.

Look at your site through the eyes of a stranger. Imagine someone arriving at your site after typing in the keywords you are targeting.

Would they find what they were looking for?

Does your site provide enough info on the topic that your visitor would want to stay and return later?

Is your content useful and unique?

If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, then that may be a big reason why you aren’t having success with Google.

Now of course, there are other factors Google looks for – link popularity, etc. However, the biggest problem I see with most people is that they simply do not provide enough useful content on the keywords they are targeting.

Google loves big sites that focus on one main theme. If your site is not “bookmarkable” then you need to work on expanding content. Take a look at your competitors and add information that they don’t provide. What can you do to make your site stand out in your niche?

Become THE information source for everything related to your topic. Pretty soon Google and other Webmasters will reward you with traffic… for free!