Search Engine Optimization Dallas – Fixing my Google Sitemap Errors so I show up in the search engine results
Search Engine Optimization Dallas - Why am I not in the Google Search Results?
Where’s my site?
A big part of this blog is to not only to discuss SEO ideas, but also to talk about the actual implementation of SEO, especially as it pertains to getting local DFW businesses to rank for their keywords in Google.
The big question this week has been “Where’s my site in the search results?” It was not showing up at all in the Google Search Results. This is strange because I had several pages indexed on the main Swanson SEO Services website before this blog was started.
Relevant Content and Still no rankings?
I have been working diligently to get my website to rank for “Search Engine Optimization Dallas” in Google, yet I was nowhere to be found. It seemed odd that even with my relevant content (pictures and blog posts about my keyword) I wasn’t showing up at all, as in, not way down the rankings – but not at all.
Google Sitemap Error:
So I started doing some serious digging and I found that while I did have a Google Sitemap and it had indeed been submitted, it had been rejected for an error. Ah, I hear the questions already, “psst, hey, what’s a Google Sitemap?” Lol, no problem. A Google sitemap is just what it sounds like, it is a map of all the content of your website. You want Google to crawl your site and index your content (that helps Google know what to rank you for). Submitting a sitemap file (i.e. “sitemap.xml”) is like handing Google a Table of Contents for your site. That makes it quick and easy for Google to know exactly what is on your site and how to categorize it. You can submit your sitemap for free to Google by signing with a Google Webmasters account.
Google Sitemap Makes a Difference!
I have seen other sites where I had been working at ranking (building relevant backlinks) and they had would not show up in the Search Results either. Then, I would submit the sitemap and “presto” they would show up. Google loves sitemaps and it shows in the rankings.
Robots.txt Error:
I had submitted my sitemap several times a day for about 3 days and I was getting a bit frustrated because each time it would come back with the following Error:
Network unreachable: robots. txt unreachable
We encountered an error while trying to access your Sitemap.
Please ensure your Sitemap follows our guidelines and
can be accessed at the location you provided and then resubmit.
The Frustration Builds – I HAD NO ROBOTS.TXT FILE!
I kept getting the above error, no matter what I changed on my site. I thought it might be something to do with the Permalinks (Blog URL’s) or some other way that my blog was set up. Home with Andrew’s blog had two posts that were laid out very well to help me determine what my problem was not:
* Debugging the Network unreachable / Robots.txt unreachable error
* Canonicalization
Resolution: Give Google what it wants a Robots.txt file:
A Robots.txt file’s purpose is to tell Google what leave out of its indexing efforts. So, even though I did not need a Robots.txt file (because I want everything to be indexed), I decided to give Google what it wanted. I went ahead and had sitemap file created for free automatically. I basically told it that I didn’t want to restrict anything. I added it to my site and then resubmitted my Sitemap to Google.
24 hours later I was showing up in Google’s Search results!
Submit your comments back about your sitemap experiences to help other webmasters out there.
Getting you ranked!
~Nick Swanson~
Search Engine Optimization Dallas
http://SwansonSEOServices.com
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Search Engine Optimization Dallas TX – Swanson SEO Services Recommends Hosting24.com (Review) for: Unlimited Domains, Unlimited MySQL Databases, Unlimited Bandwidth and Unlimited Disk Space
Search Engine Optimization Dallas TX Server Pic
As I am doing search engine optimization for clients, I get asked fairly frequently about web hosting. I would like to tell you about the host I have been using because I have had such great luck with them. First, let me tell you what I was looking for in a host and well, what I was expecting. I currently have forty-four domains that I have all on the same website host. Thus, I knew starting out that I wanted a website host that wouldn’t have any problem handling a lot of domain names.
Some of those sites receive a fair amount of traffic to them and others are smaller niche sites and receive less traffic. So, basically what it comes down to is “options.” I wanted to be able to have a lot of options with my website host. (A quick aside for those who don’t know what a host is: It’s the company that “hosts” the files for your website. Check out Wikipedia’s hosting definition here)
It was also important that it be very reasonably priced, because you need to watch your business expenses.
Beyond being reasonably priced, I also knew that I was going to have a lot of websites (domain names), an unknown amount of traffic and a bunch of MySQL databases. MySQL databases are the databases that are used to run all kinds of open source software like Wordpress Blogs, OS Commerce shopping carts and Open Realty Real Estate sites.
Hosting24.com meets and, in fact, exceeds those requirements because they have:
So, what do I pay for all that? Get ready, this will blow your socks off: $7 bucks a month!
Lol! Yep, I only pay $7 bucks a month for those unlimited hosting features. I was also pleasantly surprised that I can further cut that cost down to $4.95/mo if were to pay for 2 or 3 years worth at a time. All that included my own dedicated IP address too and cPanel.
It is nice to find the tools you need to run your business without paying a fortune for them.
Support:
One of the most crucial things about choosing a website host is the support you receive. I have had a really great experience with Hosting24.com’s support. It is all trouble ticket based. I just go on to their support website and tell them what my problem is (in plain english) and I always get a response back within just a couple of hours. That is a lot more than can be said for many other hosts. I have never had any downtime, most of my issues were related to changes I needed for a website or configuration or something. They have always been very courteous and prompt.
So, Hosting24.com gets Swanson SEO Services’ official stamp of approval! Please be sure to leave a comment if you have any other questions about Hosting24.com.
Sincerely,
~Nick Swanson~
Search Engine Optimization Dallas
Here’s another Hosting24 Review:
- Tech Zoom In’s Post: Free Domain with Unlimited Space & Bandwidth Offer from Hosting24
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Search Engine Optimization Dallas? Yeah, we do that and lot more too!
Swanson SEO Services is doing Search Engine Optimization Dallas!
Swanson SEO Services’ Blog is alive!
Future posts on this blog are going to have all the exciting ways, techniques and ideas to get your website RANKED in the search engines! We are based in Keller, TX but we providing SEO Services in the DFW Metroplex. Not only do we get your website ranked, we can also take over your competitor’s spots.
Why do you need to get your website ranked in Google?
90% of web surfers do not go past the 1st page of Google. If they do, they rarely make it past the 2nd or 3rd pages in the search engine results. That means that if you want to get traffic (read: “customers”) to your website, you need to get ranked in the search engines.
How do we get you ranked?
Very simply, Google rankings are very similar to a high school popularity contest. Every link to your site counts as a vote for you. Thus, the more sites linking to you, the more “votes” you get. The more popular you are, the higher your site will be ranked in the search engine results. That’s the basics of getting your site ranked. There a few other elements that go into it too.
Not just Popular, but relevant!
Let’s say that we have two sites about local contractors in the Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex. They are both plumbers. Then let’s say the 2 sites had the same amount of back links coming in (let’s say 50 backlinks). The first plumber has been researching SEO and has worked to post links to his sites on plumbing forums, local DFW sites and other plumbing related sites. The second plumber just talked to his all his friends at the local zoo (where he does a lot of plumbing work) to link to his site.
The first plumber’s got 50 backlinks relating to plumbing and the DFW metroplex and the second has 50 backlinks relating to pengiuns, elephants, lions, tigers and bears (Oh My! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. LOL 
).
Here’s the simple question: Which one do you think that Google is going to rank higher for someone looking for a plumber in Dallas? Yep, you are right! The first one. Here’s the next (and more important, in my humble opinion) question: Which of the two is going to get more leads, customers and ultimately make more money? Yep, you guessed it again - The first plumber.
So What do we need: Popularity or Relevancy?
The short answer is that you need both! That’s what Swanson SEO does. We ensure that the information on your website is relevant and targeted, we get you backlinks (make you popular) and we make sure that the backlinks we get you are relevant to your website (relavancy). When you combine those two, then you really have a powerful weapon to getting your site ranked!
Search Engine Optimization Dallas? Oh yeah, we do that. We’ll get your business ranked and get you traffic. Not just traffic though, We’ll get you targeted traffic, which is much more valuable to your business.
- Got more questions?
- Want a quote?
- Want more traffic?
Awesome, because that is exactly what we do.
Go to the Swanson SEO Services Contact page and fill it out. We’ll get back to you right away.
Getting you Ranked!
~Nick Swanson~
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