Search Engine Optimization 101 Tips
SEO Tips to Boost Page Rank in the SERPs
- Research Your Keyword Phrases
Do research - what do people type into the search engines when looking for services or products in your industry? Never assume you know which keywords the specific terms used by person to search for something on the internet to target unless you do the research to prove it. Finding a keyword or phrase you didn’t realize was being searched for can earn new visitors to your website. There are tools you can use, such as the Google Keyword Tool, Keyword Discovery or WordTracker
to find out what keywords and phrases are best to target in your particular industry.
- Write Unique Page Titles
Your Page Title is the text that appears at the very top of the browser window (often in a tab). It is critical that every web page on your site have a different and unique title. Every page title should clearly communicate the contents of the page. Your Home Page should also have the name of your organization in the Page Title.
Yahoo! will index up to 120 characters in a Page Title, but Google will ignore anything beyond 66 characters (including spaces), so make sure the most important keywords are in the beginning of your Page Titles.
Don't use meaningless "stop words" like the, and, etc. that only waste space. You can replace "and" with "&" etc. to conserve character space. Use title case in your Page Titles and the headings on your website.
- Page Description
Below your Page Title meta tag in the head tag of the HTML code is the Page Description meta tag. This should be a more expanded version of your page title, using more "natural" flowing text which can include stop words. Like your page title, it should be keyword-rich and precisely explain the contents of the page it is placed on. - Keyword Meta Tag
Don't bother — Google has openly published that the Keyword Meta Tag is now ignored. There may be some search engines that still consider them, no one knows for sure. The keyword meta tag has become so abused that they became worthless. I guess it can't hurt anything to list keywords in a meta tag, but it is probably a total waste of your time. - Write Focused Content
Each web page should relate to one ONE main topic, theme or subject.
The search engines like focused content to index the substance of the web page. - Insert Keywords
Make sure your page content if full of the same keywords you carefully listed in your Page Title. Always write for humans in natural, flowing text, but keep the search engines in mind. Sprinkle your keywords & keyword phrases throughout your page, especially in your headings and the first and last paragraphs. - Build Keyword-Rich Links
Strategic link building is vital for high ranking success of your website. Links from other websites essentially count as votes. If everyone is "voting" for a particular website, then the website is deemed important by the search engines. Quality links from sites with authority (popular and trusted sites) carry the most weight. One link from an important site can be worth a hundred from low-quality sites. - Links-Backs & Linking Schemes
There are numerous linking schemes which promise higher ranking by sending hundreds of links to your site. The search engines will LOWER your rank substantially if you try to enact this technique. Also avoid link trading: where you link to some site in a trade to link back to your site. This used to work, but the search engines now will downgrade your site for this technique. - Give people a reason to link to your website.
This can be accomplished in a many ways: free tools, teaching, etc.,
— offering something of value. If you do, other websites will give you their "vote" by linking to your site, raising your popularity and thus your search engine results. Choosing the right text to link to your site is also very important. If possible, request any links pointing to your website contain your keywords & phrases somewhere in the links — NOT just your web address or company name. - No "Black Hat" Methods
Use only ethical SEO techniques. Do not let anyone institute ANY changes to your website that Google considers a deceptive practice. Knowing and following the Google Webmaster Guidelines can save you from getting you page-rank lowered or even a total ban of your website. - Link Count
Google recommends keeping the number of links on a given page to under 100.
File Names & Hierarchy
- File Names & Keywords
No one knows for sure if Google considers keywords within file names, but we do know they are bolded in the SERPs when that keyword was used on the search. - File Names & Spaces
Don't use spaces in the filenames, as may browsers will display the space as %20
"my page name.html" displays as "my%20page%20name.html"
Many webmasters use my_file_name.html instead, but the overall consensus
in the SEO world favors that using my-file-name.html
is the proper, SEO-friendly way to name the file. - Nested Folders
It is best to keep all of your webpages at "root" level, avoiding nested folders. It appears that Google considers webpages within a folder as less important than webpages in the main directory.
Many of these SEO tips are included in our Website Planning Worksheet, which can be downloaded below:
Website Planning & SEO Optimization Worksheet
Download a Printable PDF Document
Increasing your page rank on major search engines isn’t a secret, but it does take time and effort. If you want to improve your website ranking, begin by implementing the SEO techniques from this article.
Graphic Connection is a freelance Search Engine Optimization and website design studio based in Lee's Summit, Missouri. You can contact Graphic Connection for a free, no-obligation consultation about search engine optimization.
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