TOPIC:

Hi,
Our club's domain name dynamicdoracreek.org.au recently expired so I would like to use the FTH alias instead.

I have entered dynamicdoracreek into the alias section of the admin console, and can now access dynamicdoracreek.toastmastersclubs.org if I type it into the address bar.

Is there a setting I need to change to make it visible on a google search? Any help you can give on this matter is appreciated.

Thank you for your support, and for providing such a good service to our Toastmasters clubs. I look forward to hearing from you.

Andrew Duncum - VPPR Dynamic Dora Creek Toastmasters - Club 6419.

Put it as part of your keywords....

Thanks Linda. I have updated the admin console to include the following keywords: Dynamic, Dora Creek, DoraCreek, Dora Creek Toastmasters, Dynamic Dora Creek Toastmasters

The google search still isn't finding the website though, is there anything more I can do, or is it just a case of waiting for the update to take effect?

Give it time....Put in the Keywords that you think people would type in Google.

Andrew, unfortunately, your website would make a good case study on how NOT to be found via Google

Google builds website rankings based on the text they find on your website, but your website has very liitle text, aside what is provided by the FTH platform.
Your home page, membership page and history pages look like they have text, but to Google they don't because they are images, and Google (nor any other search engine) cannot "see" text in an image. Not only that, but even in the images, you don't mention Dora Creek

Here's a start:
1-dump those images completely, aside from legit pictures (members, banner, logo, et al). Replace the images with readable text, on *every* page. You can start by using the same text as in your image, but type, or copy/paste, it into FTH.
2-Add text terms to help Google "understand" what your website is about, which is a Toastmasters club in your city and location. Prospective visitors tend to search for terms like "Toastmasters in some_city". Be sure you sprinkle those terms all over the website, every page, in sentences.
For example, try "Dynamic Dora Creek Toastmasters can help you develop your communications skills", and variants.
3-Enable the Meeting Information / Directions page, and again, add info on where you meet, in tyext, not an image. A map is good too
4-If other names for your location, in addition to "Dora Creek" are likely search terms (like a street name, maybe?), add them to the website too - on several pages.
5- I see you have a Facebook page, but it points to your old, now invalid, website. Change the About section to put in the proper link.

Make all these changes, give it a few days, and then see how you do in Google searches.

regards,

George

Thank you George for taking the time to investigate my issue and give me guidance on this. I'll do as you suggest and update the website accordingly. Best regards, Andrew.

Hi, Andrew...

Google also shows a lot more interest in some text than others. On your main page, and for each page you might add, there's space for you to specify a Description. Don't just fill this in with boilerplate. This is the text that appears under the page name in the results for a Google search, and Google looks closely at it. Let the description contain as many useful keywords as you can, and then be sure to use those same keywords in the text of the page, so Google's analysis tools don't think you're trying to fool them.

You're allowed to specify text as part of each of your pictures. Google at least used to look at this as well, and since it's all that a vision-impaired person will be able to discern from the picture, Google approves of your adding a good description there. I try to fill my pictures with keywords in their descriptions as well.

Also, if you add any new pages, you give a name for the page, which is used to make the HTML name that specifies the page. Let that name also include what keywords you can.

Unfortunately, the keywords field that we can also specify has been so abused by (non-Toastmasters) web sites in the past, that Google reportedly doesn't pay it much attention. Never hurts to fill it in, though...

Sometimes it takes a while for Google to get 'round to checking out your page, especially if it doesn't change very often. When you Google your own page and you see the updated Description under your page in the Google search, you'll know that they've been by. If you change the Description a bit every so often, you'll be able to get a feel for how often Google reads your page.

Hope this helps...

Wes B.

Ok, the way to get Google (and Bing) to look at your website sooner is to get set up w/ Webmaster Tools and request a re-crawl.

support.google.com/webmasters/answer/6065812?hl=en
www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en

FreeToastHost directly supports Google and Bing Webmaster Tools, and while Google gets the majority of search traffic, you should not just ignore Bing.