Truth be told, Google and partners have done pretty well with the initiative to help Nigerian businesses get online. In case you have not heard about GNBO then I suggest you visit www.gnbo.com.ng right away. You can also read an article here titled Google GNBO Initiative in Nigeria and on my blog titled get a free site through Google now.
What is GNBO?
Get Nigerian Businesses Online is a Google-led initiative to help drive the economic success of small and medium businesses in Nigeria by enabling them to tap into the online marketplace. – FAQ on www.gnbo.com.ng
Personally, I am happy about this development and my hope is that SMEs will seize this opportunity and have a presence online. It is not just OK to own a business, you need a website because it helps your brand in many ways including getting new leads who might become customers.
One question a Small Business Owner might be asking after a GNBO website, then what?
I’ll tell you what, the next step is marketing. It’s not enough to just have a website, you need to also maximize all available marketing opportunities. I want to share 3 strategies that you can apply to help your GNBO website rank higher on the search engines.
3 strategies that can help your GNBO website rank higher
1. Select the Right Keywords
Choosing the right keywords is key to your success online. To succeed online you should not just develop content for the sake of it, so when developing content for your GNBO website you should do proper keyword research.
For example, if you are in the cake making industry, the tendency is for you to develop your content based entirely on “cakes” which is not a bad idea but a better strategy would be to do a good keyword research and find out what other words or phrases people are searching for that is related to “cakes”, you may find out that people are also searching with the phrase “types of cakes” and then you develop content based on this.
If you properly apply this strategy, then you have a good chance to rank higher on the search engines. Top tool to use for your keyword research is Google keywords tool.
2. Use unique Images
The easy way out is for you to go to Google images and use any free image you find but if you want to give your website a fighting chance on the search engines then a better strategy would be to create and use your own images.
Use a digital camera or smart phone to create your own unique images (I move around with a camera to create images). After you have created your images, do the following with the windows gallery tool or any other photo editing software;
- Rename the images the keywords you want to rank for.
- Add tags to the images (multiple keywords related to your business that can help you get found online).
- Add an “ALT tag” to the image (this is a bit technical but very important).
3. Use a Keyword Rich Domain Name
For example, if your business name is ogbongeedeeeeeee Ent. and your decide to use a domain name that goes with the name – www.ogbongeedeeeeeee.com.ng then know that you will almost never pop-up in the search engines except you do serious offline marketing as well as on-page and off page Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
But, assuming your business name is long and you produce pure water, you could use a keyword related to your industry in this case “water”. An example of a keyword rich domain name for the water industry would be www.bestwater.com.ng - this is much better and will help you rank faster on the search engines.
Quick Note
There are many other SEO strategies that can be implemented. I have chosen these because they are elementary and won’t need you cracking your head during implementation but again they are optional, depending on your choice.
I hope this helps your GNBO website rank higher on the search engines.
Loading tweets...
RSS Feeds
28 comments
1 ping
werner says:
October 25, 2011 at 11:07 pm (UTC 0 )
Some excellent tips here and I wish that more African countries would start the same initiatives!
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 1, 2011 at 7:54 pm (UTC 0 )
Thank you for kind words Werner. I believe it will catch up in other parts of Africa but the question is do people really value free things?
lucky says:
November 2, 2011 at 7:11 pm (UTC 0 )
Thanks,I hope a whole lot more persons will see this
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 12, 2011 at 12:07 pm (UTC 0 )
I hope so too Lucky and also take action after seeing……..
onyemaechi john ugwoke says:
November 5, 2011 at 12:52 am (UTC 0 )
What I started with enthusiasm at the beginning of my seminar on 1st of November turned out for me unhappily as my website is hanging till now
my instructors misguided me by not being able to create my website successfully.
I was even re-invited on Friday for remedy and at the end of friday,s last session ,no body attended to my problem till now.
Initially ,after t5he creation of my website,the site was reading http://www.databrainbox.gnbo.com.ng instead of http://www.databrainbox.com.ng,my instructor could not remove the gnbo inscription.
on 2nd of November he called me on the phone and told me to send him my website name,pin number,admin pin number,my email and pass word , I sent him all that he requested because I was anxious for him to repair my website.
I later became suspicious of him collecting all my wed secret information and didn,t help me out till now .later when I browsed with my black berry,I found the website http://www.databrainbox.gnbo,com.ng but using my desktop ,I could not find it.
Kindly help me to put my website to order because I have suffered a lot to have it through you
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 12, 2011 at 12:06 pm (UTC 0 )
Hi John,
Has the issue been resolved now?
I don’t think this is a major issue.
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 12, 2011 at 1:55 pm (UTC 0 )
Hi John!
I might be able to help out.
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 12, 2011 at 2:16 pm (UTC 0 )
I love that. Experience remains the greatest teacher
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 6, 2011 at 11:29 pm (UTC 0 )
I attended the GNBO seminar in Ikeja on Thursday last week.
It was rather an experience……very hands-on and DIY approach.
Matter-of-fact, i registered my domain, created my 5-page website and got on Google Apps ALL BY MYSELF(with a little help from the presentation by the facilitator and support staff, of course) within 2 hours.
I launched my site and made it public. I sent my website address to about 10 people and they were able to view it.
About half an hour later though, i got a ping from a friend saying she didn’t find anything at the address i gave her.
I went online and confirmed same.
I was assured by the facilitator that the situation was no reason to panic and that the website would be up and running smoothly in a few hours.
Well, it’s 72hours now and there is still nothing at my domain address- http://www.bellezzadesigns.com.ng
That’s my experience.
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 7, 2011 at 10:46 am (UTC 0 )
Hi Tosin,
I quite understand how you feel but I want you to know that this can be sorted out. I am sure it is a minor issue.
Have you tried to contact the guys at Decasio or google for help?
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 12, 2011 at 1:48 pm (UTC 0 )
Thanks, Chukwuemeka.
It has been sorted out. I called Abdul-Salam -the facilitator for my class- and he put me through the troubleshooting. It was surprisingly easy…….but then again, “what you don’t know, you just don’t know”. The solution was staring me right in the face, i just didn’t “see” it.
So, my website is up and running now. Yaaaaayyyy!!!!
bellezzadesigns.com.ng
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 12, 2011 at 1:52 pm (UTC 0 )
Ok, i forgot to add: my website is still a “work-in-progress”.
Still needs a few touches here and there…….thought i’d add that so that expectations are not too high, oh!
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 12, 2011 at 2:15 pm (UTC 0 )
Life is W-I-P so it’s fine if you site is that way.
Infact from an SEO standpoint it’s even better, so that each search engine bots come around they find something new to index.
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 12, 2011 at 1:56 pm (UTC 0 )
Congrats Tosin. I am happy this has been resolved. Now you have a website, it’s time to promote the heck out of it!
Good luck!!!
Bode Osanaiye says:
November 15, 2011 at 8:57 am (UTC 0 )
I did my gnbo account myself and it was really a worthwhile experience for me.It was very easy and my colleagues in the UK were able to access my site in seconds while I was on phone.What even gladdens my heart most is that I can now sell my intellectual property products directly from my site http://www.goldrushafrica.gnbo.com.ng, which is about investment opportunities available in Nigeria.I don’t intend to change my site to .com.ng because gnbo.com.ng is growing so popular and so fast among our clients that I think in a few months it would become a phenomenon in this part of the world
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 20, 2011 at 10:54 am (UTC 0 )
Congratulations Bode
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 15, 2011 at 6:38 pm (UTC 0 )
Thanks, Chukwuemeka!!!!
I’m happy you mentioned the “promotion” part……as well as the SEO. I take it SEO means “Search Engine Optimization”?
I have done quite a bit of research in this regard….i have gone as far as using “Webmaster Tools” and “asking Google to crawl my site”.
I however know that a techie like you will be able to let me in on more tricks to get more traffic to my site. I want my site to rank high up there on the results page when anybody types “makeup artists in lagos/nigeria” in Google search.
Also, my website looks beautiful (for a total amateu, at least!) if i may say so myself. Sadly however, it only looks good on a computer screen.
On my Blackberry, it is soooo BLAND and LACK-LUSTRE.
in place of the images i have there……what comes up is “click here to view image”, so you can imagine have 30 lines of that in place of 30 images.
I am a make-up artist and i aim ,primarily, to appeal to the sight sense of my site visitors.
This is why i use a lot of visuals.
The people that constitute my target demographic are mostly Blackberry and Android users. The essence of creating a website is therefore totally lost if i am unable to reach these people effectively.
Now, i know this is not your “cup-of-tea” but i’ll appreciate any help you are able to render. My contact person at Decasio has been unreachable.
BTW, i’ll be at Terra Kulture tomorrow for the conference…. i hope it”s worth my hard-earned money, lol!
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 15, 2011 at 10:09 pm (UTC 0 )
Hi Tosin,
Kudos for you are discovering challenges others might never take seriously.
Let me start by assuring you that the atmosphere will be apt to connect. If i attend a grea event and i dont network then the event becomes a waste or rather useless, so come with a mindset of meeting new people.
While all you have done is cool, that is actually a tip of the iceberg to what needs to be done. You need to get involved with Social Media, blogging, seo etc. A combination of these and other factors can get you high up on the SERPs.
Lastly, your site is not optimized for mobile that is why it appears that way on BB. I am not sure if GNBO supports móbile, you need to find out om your contact
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 15, 2011 at 10:12 pm (UTC 0 )
I forgot to add see you at the event tomorrow
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 20, 2011 at 10:58 am (UTC 0 )
Hi Tosin, I looked out for you at the SME Toolkit event. Where you there? How is your GNBO website doing?
Regards
Dallas Dog Groomer says:
November 16, 2011 at 8:03 am (UTC 0 )
Nice to know that Google are finding ways in helping the Nigerian business to go online. Now business is more appreciated in online because a lot of people are using internet and they search online for possible business proposals.
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. says:
November 20, 2011 at 10:55 am (UTC 0 )
Yes Dallas, Google is really doing so much in Nigeria because she has a large and growing internet population
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 23, 2011 at 5:44 pm (UTC 0 )
Hmmmm, Chukwuemeka!!
I was there, oh!
I paid, so I had to attend….it was worth my while.
Thoroughly enjoyed all the sessions- the very vocal Ibo guy, the Madam from Uyo etcand yes, I enjoyed the lunch and cocktails too.
Seriously though, you say you looked for me……..how?
I didn’t hear my name announced, neither did I see anyone carrying a placard with my name emblazoned across, =))º°˚˚˚°ºнaĦaнaº°˚˚˚°º=)),
Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr. "CFA" says:
November 24, 2011 at 7:13 pm (UTC 0 )
Hmmnnnn Tosino! Glad to hear you had a blast!
I thought you were going to reach out since we have already met online and you know moi.
I just docked over @ your website, is that the beautiful Tosin on the homepage?
Tosin Oketunji says:
November 25, 2011 at 7:45 am (UTC 0 )
Ok, ohhhhh!
And yes, that’s the “beautiful Tosin”……with an amount of make-up, =))º°˚˚˚°ºнaĦaнaº°˚˚˚°º=))
Guess we’ll meet at your next event.
I’ll reach out then.
blessed says:
January 27, 2012 at 1:29 am (UTC 0 )
mc’dave investment !!! . … their payouts are realistic. in the midst of world financial crises, we all need to stay afloat, I’ve come across a number of ONLINE INVESTMENT WEBSITES who seems to make lots rosy, unrealistic returns/Payouts on our money invested … but how do you know u wont throw away the money you invested? These is one of investors fear … but the issue is not to allow the fear deter you from investing … i have seen http://mcdaveinvestment.com/ and invested with them. This international company is really paying out.
DONT MISS OUT
Theophilus uno says:
April 25, 2012 at 7:49 am (UTC 0 )
I need free browsing
CENTRESTAGE NOLLYWOOD says:
May 1, 2012 at 7:38 am (UTC 0 )
Project CENTRESTAGE_nollywood is a creative channel design to help aspiring movie makers to fully explore and express their talent in acting and movie production by giving them the exposure needed to shoot them up to fame in the industry. Intrested applicants will be given the opportunity to participate in a reality TV show which will run for a period of 13 weeks. The last man standing will get 2m NGN and a Kia Rio. Three runner ups will get 1m NGN and a Kia Rio each, while other interns will get 0.25m NGN. Interested participants are to send a synopsis/excerpts of their script or any other movie which will make them qualify for auditions. Successful participants will be given scholarship for a short duration internship in any of the following courses;
*Acting for film,
*Screen writing,
*3D animation,
*digital editing and
*Script writing.
In addition to the scholarship which will be in any Film Academy of their choice including the prestigious London Film School, London Academy of Film and Media, and New York Film Academy. The project will be giving scholarship opportunity to 50 successful applicants. It is intended to develop their creative ability by nurturing it and directing their energy to a more productive expression of talents. Participants will also be given roles to act in three nollywood block buster movies and the final five will get endorsement from major sponsors.
4 Ways to brand yourself as a Motivational Speaker | Online Coach with mentoring programs to help you become Conditioned for Accomplishments says:
November 5, 2011 at 1:18 pm (UTC 0 )
[...] You can now get a free site, thanks to Google and partners for the Get Nigerian Businesses online initiative (read my article on the SME toolkit how to make your GNBO site rank high). [...]