Getting good SERP for an ASP

Application Service Provider, not a dynamic web page of Microsoft origin!

[dmorison]

Hi all,

Picked up some great tips from Webmaster World so far, but here's the conundrum i'm in.

I've started an ASP (Application Service Provider), offering an online solution to "Problem X".

Trouble is, I do not have pages and pages of content. Sure, I have a description of "Problem X" and product information regarding my service, but the solution is so straight forward that even that does not amount to much.

"Problem X" is, however, a much talked about problem, and there are numerous consultants about who do have pages and pages of content on "Problem X". These people market themselves to businesses as a "Problem X Consultant", and the web pages with leading SERP for this industry are so full of white papers, essays and other perfect Google fodder that I don't really stand a chance.

Any thoughts? I'm not accusing these guys of foul play, the information published is not spammy, it is perfectly legitimate material and worthy of a good SERP. Trouble is, I don't know where to start in trying to compete.

By the way i'm getting good results through Adwords, so i'm not out in the cold, and i'm in talks with the industry portals that rank #2 and #3 ish in SERP for my keywords, and should start advertising with them shortly.

Cheers.

[HagenArnold]

dmorison,
In the scheme of things you have several tactics that help improve your SERPs. One of those is adding additional content which you seem to be ruling out. I urge you to consider this again. Even if you only a add a few pages a month and do everything else that means in a year from now you will have 40-50 pages.

Second, try to increase your external links. This will not only drive more traffic but helps in Google rankings, which is where I get 98% of my search engine traffic. (Google and google partners/customers drive 70% of my total traffic and the other 30% is from external links. My goal is to keep getting links to not only help drive SE traffic, but also to insulate me from fluctuations in SERPs.

I would suggest developing a reciprocal link strategy. This is hard but it pays off. I went from "not ranked" to top 10 for most of my keywords in 10 months. One option here to consider is an affiliate marketing program if you are selling something. This will get you links, but it will also drive new business.

The last thing is to optimize the few pages you do have. I am sure if you hang aroung here you have learned all the basics. I lurked here for 8 months soaking it up before I even posted.
Bottom line is that high SERPS for any competitive keyword phrase is tough and will take time and energy. Good luck!

Cheers,
Hagen