Just as in the old saying, “The early bird gets the worm,” in the same sense the high-visibility website gets the business. A great way to make your business website shine is to use Internet search engines.

You probably already know how easily search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, AOL Search, MSN and Ask.com can be in locating products, services and information. So why not tap into that same power for your small business?

Central Maine SCORE mentor Jack Tetreault advises, “A good place to start is to understand the process of search engine optimization (SEO). This requires you to:

1. Create just the right keywords to describe what you offer.

2. Organize each page on your site properly to capture search engine attention.

3. Periodically submit updated information on your site and your business to search engines and online directories.

You can do much of this yourself or you can seek help from search engine submission services catering to small business. Don’t expect search engines and online directories to find you. Submit your site to them.

The best way to do this is through a paid submission service. Most such services are effective and inexpensive. Your Web designer or hosting service can also help you with SEO and submission needs.

The content of your website can also help improve your chances of being spotted by a search engine. Your most important content should appear first, while titles and descriptions should be clear, factual and relevant to your target base. Incorporate terms your prospective customers are likely to use in searching for businesses such as yours (e.g. specialties, geographic location, etc.).

Tetreault also suggests that if your ad budget allows, “Consider investing in search engine marketing (SEM), which is essentially paid ads that show up as ‘sponsored links’ or ‘sponsor results’ on result pages when someone searches for a keyword/phrase that your company has bid on.”

Approach SEM like any other advertising opportunity — start with a small campaign, judge the results and build from there. You can change anything on your website at any time, so it is easy to make adjustments along the way based on your results.

For more tips on operating your small business, contact SCORE, a nonprofit nationwide organization of more than 12,000 volunteer business mentors who provide free confidential counseling and low-cost training workshops. In the Lewiston-Auburn area, call Central Maine SCORE at 782-3708 for information and an appointment; in Rumford-Mexico call 364-3123; in Oxford Hills call 743-0499. Or contact SCORE at www.SCOREMaine.org.