| Search Engine Tips |
homebizseo.com
Free Website Content - Search
Engine Tips
By Sharon Housley
Not only do you have just a few seconds to grab the
attention of the web visitor, content developers must
perform well within search engine searches so they are
"found"when web surfers search on related keywords or
phrases. In order to perform well, a website must have
traffic. Decent traffic will result if a website ranks well in
search engines, that is why strong placement in search
engines for critical keywords and phrases is essential.
When struggling with search engine optimization just go
back to the basics. What do search engines want? Search
engines want to return search results, that are relevant
and useful to the searcher. Webmasters can help search
engines discern what keywords or phrases their site
relates to.
Free Website Content - Search
Engine Tips
By Sharon Housley
Not only do you have just a few seconds to grab the
attention of the web visitor, content developers must
perform well within search engine searches so they are
"found"when web surfers search on related keywords or
phrases. In order to perform well, a website must have
traffic. Decent traffic will result if a website ranks well in
search engines, that is why strong placement in search
engines for critical keywords and phrases is essential.
When struggling with search engine optimization just go
back to the basics. What do search engines want? Search
engines want to return search results, that are relevant
and useful to the searcher. Webmasters can help search
engines discern what keywords or phrases their site
relates to.
Search Engine Optimization Dos
1. CSS - Cascading Style Sheets.
Use header tags and cascading style sheets in your website
design. Many search engines value H1 and H2 tags more
than others. The assumption is that header tags are used to
highlight the most important items or themes that appear on
a page. By using header tags, webmasters can bullet those
keywords or phrases they deem to be most important. The
CSS file will help your site load quickly and provide a
consistent look and feel throughout the website.
2. Titles.
A website is the collection of webpages under a single
domain. A webpage refers to a specific page within a
website. Unique page titles throughout a website is
important. Websites typically contain many webpages and
using unique titles on webpages will help highlight different
key phrases while uniting all the website content in a single
theme.
3. Related Links.
Links from related or relevant sites are more important than
generic links from unrelated websites. Links are seen as
"votes" of quality content. Search engines weigh links from
websites that contain related or similar content more
importantly, than links from unrelated websites. Work to
obtain relevant quality links from related or authority websites.
4. Anchor Text.
Vary anchor text. Use a variety of phrases to link to a site.
Using different anchor text to link to a website is seen by
search engines as "natural" linking. Search engines use the
anchor text of a websites incoming link as part of their
algorithm to determine a websites theme.
5. Copy.
A minimum of 200 words of copy is suggested for each web
page. In order to spider a site a search engine must have
sufficient copy to spider. Less does not necessarily mean
more, when it comes to search engine ranking. In general try
to keep copy "above the fold", so that visitors don't have to
scroll. Copy above the fold is usually sufficient to determine
the context of the webpage.
6. Fresh.
Keep it fresh. Search engines take notice of how frequently
content is updated or added. Search engines spider
websites that update content on a frequent basis at regular
intervals. Add new content or webpages daily or weekly to
increase a search engine spider's frequency.
7. Consistent.
Provide quality, consistent, fresh content. Consistent related
content is critical to encouraging both visitors and search
engines to return. Providing consistent quality content
encourages links which will increase a websites popularity.
8. Themed.
Relate the contents of a website by a single theme. Uniting
content using contextual words will help websites rank well
for less critical but very targeted related keywords and
phrases.
Search Engine Optimization Don'ts
1. Keyword Stuffing.
Don't stuff web pages with keywords that is similar to or the
same as the webpages background color. Most search
engines have ways to detect keyword stuffing. Keyword
stuffing will likely result in a search engine ban.
2. Cloaking.
Cloaking is when the website identifies the IP address of a
search engine spider and feeds the spider content that it is
not really on the page. Essentially the search engine sees
optimized content that is not currently on the web page that it
is spidered. It is difficult for search engines to detect cloaking,
but if a site is banned or cloaking it is very difficult to convince
a search engine to relist the content.
3. Don't Sacrifice Quality
Don't sacrifice quality for optimization. While search engine
optimization is important, it is equally important that the
content on a webpage should make sense. Placing well in
search engines at the expense of a quality professional
image with decent web copy, will not usually result in sales. It
is a matter of striking a balance.
4. Spam.
Not much to be said about this one, don't spam. Don't spam
search engines, don't conduct email spam campaigns, and
don't spam forums. Being labeled a spammer is a hard
reputation to shed.
A website is an important part of a business, search engine
optimization is a business investment and requires attention
and effort in order to succeed. Website creation is more than
just pretty images and an attractive design. In order to "sell"
your product or service your information, your site must be
found. Therefore it is imperative that search engine content is
optimized for search engine placement.
1. CSS - Cascading Style Sheets.
Use header tags and cascading style sheets in your website
design. Many search engines value H1 and H2 tags more
than others. The assumption is that header tags are used to
highlight the most important items or themes that appear on
a page. By using header tags, webmasters can bullet those
keywords or phrases they deem to be most important. The
CSS file will help your site load quickly and provide a
consistent look and feel throughout the website.
2. Titles.
A website is the collection of webpages under a single
domain. A webpage refers to a specific page within a
website. Unique page titles throughout a website is
important. Websites typically contain many webpages and
using unique titles on webpages will help highlight different
key phrases while uniting all the website content in a single
theme.
3. Related Links.
Links from related or relevant sites are more important than
generic links from unrelated websites. Links are seen as
"votes" of quality content. Search engines weigh links from
websites that contain related or similar content more
importantly, than links from unrelated websites. Work to
obtain relevant quality links from related or authority websites.
4. Anchor Text.
Vary anchor text. Use a variety of phrases to link to a site.
Using different anchor text to link to a website is seen by
search engines as "natural" linking. Search engines use the
anchor text of a websites incoming link as part of their
algorithm to determine a websites theme.
5. Copy.
A minimum of 200 words of copy is suggested for each web
page. In order to spider a site a search engine must have
sufficient copy to spider. Less does not necessarily mean
more, when it comes to search engine ranking. In general try
to keep copy "above the fold", so that visitors don't have to
scroll. Copy above the fold is usually sufficient to determine
the context of the webpage.
6. Fresh.
Keep it fresh. Search engines take notice of how frequently
content is updated or added. Search engines spider
websites that update content on a frequent basis at regular
intervals. Add new content or webpages daily or weekly to
increase a search engine spider's frequency.
7. Consistent.
Provide quality, consistent, fresh content. Consistent related
content is critical to encouraging both visitors and search
engines to return. Providing consistent quality content
encourages links which will increase a websites popularity.
8. Themed.
Relate the contents of a website by a single theme. Uniting
content using contextual words will help websites rank well
for less critical but very targeted related keywords and
phrases.
Search Engine Optimization Don'ts
1. Keyword Stuffing.
Don't stuff web pages with keywords that is similar to or the
same as the webpages background color. Most search
engines have ways to detect keyword stuffing. Keyword
stuffing will likely result in a search engine ban.
2. Cloaking.
Cloaking is when the website identifies the IP address of a
search engine spider and feeds the spider content that it is
not really on the page. Essentially the search engine sees
optimized content that is not currently on the web page that it
is spidered. It is difficult for search engines to detect cloaking,
but if a site is banned or cloaking it is very difficult to convince
a search engine to relist the content.
3. Don't Sacrifice Quality
Don't sacrifice quality for optimization. While search engine
optimization is important, it is equally important that the
content on a webpage should make sense. Placing well in
search engines at the expense of a quality professional
image with decent web copy, will not usually result in sales. It
is a matter of striking a balance.
4. Spam.
Not much to be said about this one, don't spam. Don't spam
search engines, don't conduct email spam campaigns, and
don't spam forums. Being labeled a spammer is a hard
reputation to shed.
A website is an important part of a business, search engine
optimization is a business investment and requires attention
and effort in order to succeed. Website creation is more than
just pretty images and an attractive design. In order to "sell"
your product or service your information, your site must be
found. Therefore it is imperative that search engine content is
optimized for search engine placement.
|
|
Google SEO 101
