INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Sending out a search party for your website
By Derrek Sigler
In a presentation given at the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Ga., in January, Kyle Hensel from the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center talked about Google and search engine optimization (SEO) for farmers and farm marketers.
If you have ever searched for your farm or your website and not had it come up with relative ease, you need to look into getting your name and site to the top of the results page. Getting to the top depends on several things. SEO is a phrase often heard but often misunderstood, Hensel said. One key element is choosing keywords that are highlighted in your website listing that are picked up in queries. This is different for each operating system, so it depends on your website and how it was built.
"Common keywords for SEO would include your farm's name, produce that you sell, your location and more," Hensel said.
But it isn't just the keywords that make up SEO, Hensel said. Google rates your webpage based on several factors. The higher the rating, the closer your page gets to the top. Fresh content is a major factor.
"Traffic goes up 200 percent if you update your website just four times a month," he said. "Blogs are great for this."
Links from other websites also are important. The more active links you have with other sites, the better. It also helps to make all of your content linkable, which can drive traffic to your site. Other tips include using email and social media for communication and promoting your website anywhere you can. It is important to note that SEO doesn't happen overnight, Hensel said. It takes time, but it works.
Look for more about what Google has to offer farmers in an upcoming issue of FGN.
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