Now there are many different ways to increase traffic to one’s website and to discuss all of them in this one article would be exhausting. So to keep it short and simple, I’m just going to talk about one of the basic ways to increase traffic and improve your website’s visibility in the most popular search engine on the Internet.

In my opinion, Google is the most important search engine to focus on when performing search engine optimization (SEO). Why? Well because Google is responsible for almost 50% of all searches performed on the Internet - Yahoo is second, followed by AOL and MSN. So if Google is responsible for 1/2 of all searches, wouldn’t you agree that it make sense to focus on this one first?

Even though Google is one of the best, you will notice that it sometimes takes months to have your new pages and content indexed in their search engine. As a business owner, this can be extremely frustrating especially when adding a new product or service to your site - you want the world to know about it today, not three months from now.

Why does it take so long?

Well, we have to remember that there are billions of pages out there and for the Google crawlers to index your site every few days would not be feasible. Because of this issue, Google has created what they call “Google Sitemaps”. It is a way to tell Google about all the pages on your site. By creating and submitting a Sitemap file, you take control of the first part of the crawling/indexing processes: which is Google’s discovery of the pages. This may be particularly helpful if your site has dynamic content, pages that aren't easily discovered by following links, or if your site is new and has few links referencing it. Google Sitemaps helps speed up the discovery of your pages, which is an important first step in crawling and indexing your website.

Google Sitemaps provides an additional view into your site (just as your home page and HTML site map do). This program does not replace Google’s normal methods of crawling the Web. Google still searches and indexes your site the same way it has done in the past, whether or not you use this program. It’s one of the basic ways to increase your website’s visibility and the rate at which your content is being indexed.

How do I solve this problem?

Hudson Horizons provides automated Google Sitemaps submission for your website for only $15 per month. For this small fee, they will setup your Google Sitemap account, crawl your website, create your Sitemap file and submit it to Google three times a week. This value-added service is one that will provide you with an immediate return on your investment. By using Hudson Horizons automated Google Sitemaps submission, you will notice your content being indexed in days rather than months. You will also notice more of your pages getting indexed, which will increase the traffic to your website. I highly recommend this service as it is one of the most important tools in my SEO toolbox.