SEO Expert Tips
Check for Spam
Before optimization begins it is crucial that your page is
devoid of any ‘tricks’ that a search engine may construe as
spam. You may not even know they are there! Some web designers
with out-of-date information add hidden text because they
think it will help your rankings. This is entirely untrue
and can cause extreme problems for your search engine visibility.
To check for hidden text just hold down the left button on
your mouse at the very top of your page and drag it down to
the bottom. If there is any hidden text (normally text that
matches the color of your page background) it will appear
as it is highlighted. Second, you will want to search for
unnecessary repetition of keywords on your page. Do you see
instances of 5 or 6 keywords being repeated in a row anywhere
on the page? If so, remove this.
For more information on other types of spam that may be affecting
your search engine ranking, view our resource article: "Inspecting
your Web Site for Spam"
Check for Relevancy
It is very important for your site to be focused. For example,
if your web site is supposed to be devoted to ‘BMW car sales’
then a link or information on real estate sales is entirely
unnecessary. Keep in mind that most of the top search engines
will rank your site depending upon the topic they determine
you are offering. This determination is largely made based
upon the text within your web site. Don’t give them any reason
to get ‘confused’.
Polish & Optimize Text
The text on your home page is crucial to maintaining the
attention of fresh viewers. In fact, copy is so important
that many companies prefer to have a professional copy writer
create the content. Since this is not an option, you have
to keep your text engaging as well as smartly optimized to
present an obvious topic to the visiting search engine spiders
or visitors. To do this, keep your mind focused on the keyword(s)
that you have chosen to target on the search engines while
you write the content for the page. Implement the keywords
within the text without sacrificing the true intent of the
information – to engage and retain your viewers.
Important Note: Often the first 25-30 words of your home
page are what the each search engine will use for the description
of your web site. Try to utilize your target keyword/s within
this area but be certain the resulting sentence is legible
and descriptive.
Optimize the Title
The title of the home page can be optimized quite simply
by placing the keyword or keyword phrase that you have chosen
to target first and then finish with the name of your company
or web site. For example:
" BMW Car Sales – MyBMW.com"
The search engines place a great deal of weight in the title
of your home page and the keywords within your title will
likely be chosen as the title of your listing on the search
engines. The title also plays a huge role in the relevance
of your site. The topic denoted within your title will be
compared to the content within the body of the page, if the
topic and content match, you will have a much better chance
of obtaining higher targeted placements.
META Tags
The META tags located within the invisible source of your
web page. They were originally designed to provide the details
of your web site to visiting search engine spiders and they
still do, to a degree. Since this part of your web page is
invisible, META tags were increasingly used to misinform the
search engines of the content of a web site – spamming. As
a result, META tags play a lesser role but they should still
be properly optimized so that they contribute to the topical
relevance of your web site.
META tags are basically composed of the Description and Keyword
tags. The description tag should provide the same or similar
25-30 word description of your web site that you created earlier
for the first text within your visible page. The description
is occasionally used as your description within the search
engines but it is unpredictable. The Keyword tag should include
the keywords/phrases that you are targeting in order of importance.
Start with the most important and then proceed to less important
but still relevant keywords. It is extremely important that
you do not repeat any word more than 3 times within the Keyword
tag. This includes words within target sentences. Also do
not place repeated keywords close together.
Navigation -s Provide Clear Paths
Is the navigation within your site entirely graphical or programming
oriented? In this case I recommend that you create a textual
link menu at the bottom of your page. For added punch (and
this is a big hit) you should make each link count by using
the keyword/phrase that best describes the target page. For
example:
BMW Accessories | Used BMW for Sale | More About MyBMW.com
versus these less powerful links:
Accessories | Used Cars | About Us
Test and Spell-Check
Preview the page and spell check it then oce you are certain
everything is properly balanced, upload it to your server.
Hurry Up and Wait
What happens now is entirely up to the history of your web
site and your marketing budget. There are many search engines
that offer paid submission for the regular or prompt indexing
of your new page/web site. If you have paid for prompt indexing
then you may see the fruits of your labor within a couple
of days depending on the search engine.
In this case I am going to assume that you have a non-existent
search engine budget. If your site has already been submitted
to the search engines then you can simply wait until a spider
returns to check for new content, at which time your new it
will be found and processed accordingly. If you wish this
process to proceed post-haste or your site has not yet been
submitted, then you may submit your newly revised page to
the search engines for what may be a faster response time.
Be sure to read the rules that each search engine carefully
defines before submitting or resubmitting your web page.
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