Archive for Search Engine Spiders
Do It Yourself SEO: Ten Search Engine Optimization Tips
Posted by: | CommentsUsing a professional search engine optimization service can sometimes be expensive. However, if your budget is tíght and you have a basic understanding of web page construction it is possible to optimize your own website without hiring an SEO specialist. For those who would like to give it a try, here are ten “Do it yourself” search engine optimization tips:
1. Think about SEO right from the start.
Many people plan, design and build their websites without giving any thought as to whether their site is search engine friendly or whether it will be capable of attracting traffíc in organic search engine results. At the last minute, after most of the site has been built, they try to optimize their site, not realizing that this work should have been done throughout the planning and building process.
It is far better to think about search engine optimization in the earliest stages of the project. For example, if it is at all possible, choose a domain name that will allow you to include your most important keyword or search term in your URL. If you are selling bicycles then you would do well have to a domain name like www.xyzbicycles.com . And don’t stop with the domain name; include your keywords in your file names as well. For example, a sub-page of this hypothetical site might be www.xyzbicycles.com/road-bikes.html
2. Design your site with both search engines and users in mind.
Your site should be easy for your human readers to understand, but it should also be easy for search engine robots as well. If you want to see what a search engine robot will “see” then view your site in a notepad document or use the html view of the popular web editing programs.
If you have used gif images to represent your headlines or other important text, then this text will not be picked up by the search engine robots. In addition, if you have designed a site that is entirely in a flash format, you will not be providing the search engine spiders with much “food,” or searchable text.
Furthermore, if you have long strings of java scrípt and complex style instructions in the head section of your html page it is better to put the java scrípt in an external file and the style instructions in a separate CSS (cascading style sheet) file, in order to give prominence to the actual text of your web page.
3. Write individual title tags for each and every page of your website.
From the standpoint of search engine optimization, the single most important sentence on any web page is the title tag. The title tag gives the search engine a good indication as to what your page is all about. Incorporate your main keywords or search phrases into your title tag, and keep them at the very front of the sentence. These keywords are more important than your company name (unless it is Coca Cola!). So our XYZ Bicycle Company might have a title tag that looks like this <title> Bicycles: Racing Bikes, Mountain Bikes, Road Bikes, Bicycle Accessories from the XYZ Bicycle Company</title>.
The title tags of each of the sub-pages of the site should reflect the main content of those pages. Nevër use the same title tag for all the pages of the site.
4. Write a concise description tag for each of your web pages.
Just as the title tag is the most important sentence or phrase on any page, the description tag is the most important paragraph on any page. Summarize the gist of your page in two or three sentences, again incorporating the keywords and search phrases for which you think people will use when searching for your site. A description tag for the home page of the XYZ Bicycle Company could look like this: “The EXZ Bicycle Company manufactures mountain bikes, racing bicycles, road bikes and bicycle accessories. Our bicycles are distributed and sold around the world.”
5. Put your keywords into headers and headlines on your page.
Your human readers and search engines alike need prominent headlines in order to understand what your page is all about. While a human reader only needs to see the headline in a large bold text, search engines distinguish the headlines, which they regard as important indicators of the page, by noting which phrases are encased in header tags such as <H1>, <H2>, <H3>, etc. H1 is considered most important and your first headline should be labeled with this tag. If the header tags make your copy look too big, then you can change the size of the headers by creating style instructions that will render the headlines into sizes that are consistent with the look and feel of your site.
6. Write copy that includes your keyword and search phrases at the beginning, middle and end.
If you want to write website copy that is search engine optimized, then you only have to follow good writing and presentation procedure. State clearly what you want to say in the opening paragraph, elaborate on your basic ideas in the middle section of your text and at the end summarize what you have said, reminding your readers with text that is similar to the opening paragraph. Be natural; don’t try to stuff your page with the keywords. If you read the page out loud and it sounds funny, then you have overdone the repetition of your search phrases and keywords. A density of 2% is considered to be OK. Thus in a 400 word page of text your keyword might be repeated eight times.
7. Place your keywords and phrases in the link text of your web pages.
So far we have placed the keywords in the strategic places of the web page: the title, the description, the headlines and the body text. Now we have to see that the keywords are included in clickable link text on the page. Whenever you are linking to sub pages or other pages of your site, make sure that your keywords are included in the clickable portions of the links. Thus, instead of making a link that says “clíck here” for more information about bicycle accessories, it would be better to write: clíck here for more information about “bicycle accessories,” with the keywords “bicycle accessories” being the anchor (clickable) text.
8. Install a navigation system that can be easily followed by search engines.
One of the most important steps in getting more traffíc to your site is to ensure that all of the site’s web pages are included in the search engine indices. Normally a search engine robot will visit the main page of a site and follow links to the other pages. If your navigation system is based on java scrípt, or on images, there is a possibility that some search engine robots will not be able to follow the links and thus they will not pick up the interior pages of your site. One simple remedy for this problem is to build an additional text-link navigation bar and place it at the bottom of the page. This additional navigation bar will serve multiple purposes:
a. Help the search engines to reach the interior pages.
b. Put your keywords in link “anchor text”.
c. Remind the user to go deeper into the site by repeating the navigation options again.
9. Build a site map page or use the Google sitemap option.
Getting all of your pages indexed is so important, that it is also prudent to take another step that will ensure that all of your pages are visited by search engine robots. A site map is a page that has text links to all of the pages of your site. As with a text link navigation bar, a site map serves multiple purposes:
1. It helps users to find what they are looking for on the site by providing an outline summary of all of your pages.
2. It helps search engine robots to land on the interior pages.
After you build your site map page, be sure to make a link to it from your home page and the other important pages of your website.
In addition to a normal site map page, you can also make an XML site map, upload it to the server and then register it with the Google site map tool. You can use a free online utility to create your XML site map at: http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/ and visit http://www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps for more information. This process is easy to accomplish, and registration with the Google sitemap program will supply you with important statistical information from Google as well as help to get all of your pages indexed.
10. Once your website is up and running concentrate on off-site optimization.
So far all the steps that I have outlined are concerned with on-page factors, the parts of your website that are under your control. But your ranking in Google and other search engines will also be heavily dependent on off-page factors such as how many high quality sites link to your site. Unless you obtain a good amount of high quality links to your site you will not be able to compete in highly competitive search categories.
By far the best way to get links to your site is to build a site that has valuable content. You should endeavor to build a site that is so “cool” or so unique, that other people will link to you without even asking you. Of course this is easier said than done, but it should be what you are striving for.
The next best way to get high quality back links to a website is to write informative articles and get them published on other websites with a link back to your site. This process is known as article marketing and it not only helps to build incoming links, but it also builds your online reputation as an expert in your field.
Other common methods of increasing incoming links include submissions to important directories, participation in forums and careful trading of links with respected websites.
If you follow the ten “do-it-yourself” search engine optimization tips that I have described in this article, you will have taken a big step towards guaranteeing the success of your online enterprise.
About The Author
Donald Nelson is a search engine optimization specialist. His company, A1-Optimization.com offers affordable search engine optimization, website copywriting, article writing and link building services.
Google Webmaster Guidelines You May Be Overlooking
Posted by: | CommentsMost webmasters have visited Google’s Webmaster Help Center. Many of the suggestions are obvious: Don’t use frames; Don’t employ cloaking techniques or scripts designed to trick search engines; Create a search engine-friendly site map; Get incoming links from other quality web sites. But us webmasters can be a cocky bunch and will let our own pre-conceived notions get the better of us sometimes.
This refresher is for all you (ie. us) webmasters and search engine optimizers who have a set method of designing and/or promoting web sites and who consider yourselves experts in your field. Experts you may be, but it is nevër a bad idea to review the basics from time to time.
- Make sure your pages have less than 100 links. This won’t be too difficult unless you display product lists without breaking them up into separate pages (which should be done for your visitors let alone search engines!) or have a link partners page or a site map. If you have more than 100 outbound links, you may want to review your linking practices unless you have compiled a comprehensive list of high quality and relevant resources for your visitors.
- Dynamically-generated content can create session IDs and URLs that contain a “?” character. Chëck your database administration settings to make sure that you aren’t forcing search engine spiders to begin a new session each time they visit your site. Note: Preventing spiders from starting a session on your site may have negative effects if you use a third party for web site credít card processing. Always chëck with these services before making any changes of this nature.
- Web designers still utilize images as a way of displaying headings or other important areas of text instead of simple HTML simply because they think the Book Antiqua font with a drop shadow improves the aesthetics of the site. While branding and clarity are always paramount, keep in mind that multiple fonts used on the same page can have a negative impact on readability. And the more text written in HTML that can be read by search engine spiders, the better. CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) also provide a way of attaining the look you want while keeping the code clean and in search engine-readable format.
- “Make sure that your TITLE and ALT tags are descriptive and accurate.” Most webmasters assume that by using keywords in the page title that are relevant to the page’s topic, that they are adhering to the rules. But that last word in quotes is the most important: Accuracy. It is standard practice for search engine optimizers to make sure that if a word is used in a page title, that it also shows up in the main body of the page as well. Not doing this means that Google may be interpreting your page titles as inaccurate or at worst, trying to manipulate its algorithm.
- Use 301 redirects to let visitors know if a URL has changed. Many people still use the “meta refresh” command. This is an outdated command that has been utilized in the past for unethical purposes. While visitors can be directed to the new page the same way with either method, Google specifically mentions using a 301 redirect. More information on how to implement this redirect can be read at http://knowledge.freshpromo.ca/seo-tools/301-redirect.php.
- Google suggests you submit your site to the Yahoo! directory. Why would Google urge its users to pay a direct competitor of theirs $299 USD a year? It is safe to say that web sites included in the Yahoo! directory are not trying black hat SEO techniques such as free-for-all link exchanges, cloaking, multiple domains showing duplicate content, and so on. Companies that spend monëy promoting their web site should receive a vote of legitimacy from search engines. As difficult as it might be for some small business owners to bite the bullet with Yahoo’s yearly cost, having Google recognize that you have paid for directory listings will increase the chances that your site will rank well.
- “You should nevër have to link to an SEO.” If you are hiring a search engine optimizer to help you with your site’s rankings, be careful they do not insist on linking your site to theirs. The only reason for this is to help the SEO’s own link popularity. If anything, it will detract from the SEO efforts. Not the most brilliant suggestion from a company claiming to help you, is it?
It is recommended that you read Google’s entire webmaster guidelines if you are developing a new site. The above points are ones that a lot of webmasters may have overlooked, and if you’re included in that group don’t worry: just fix the issues and remember them for next time you work on a web site.
About The Author
An expert at organic SEO, John Metzler has held executive positions in the search engine marketing industry since 2001. He is the President of FreshPromo, a Canadian-based SEO firm.
