Optimizing Your
Website For the Search Engines
Once your site is completed, your main goal from then on is to get as much traffic as possible to your site. By performing the following website optimization you can help ensure that not only will you attract visitors to your site you will attract the search engines as well.
The search engines look for quality in a
website. This would be defined as providing
useful, fresh content in a website that is easy
to navigate. Different search engines define
these qualities in different ways but generally
speaking if you can provide good content and
follow the guidelines below for a well
optimized website you'll gain search engine
recognition and fairly
fast.
1. Keep
your Pages Tightly Focused
A common mistake that most webmasters make is to combine unrelated products on a single page. We often see this practice on home pages in particular. Your home page should be an introduction to the rest of your website. It should accurately describe what your site is about and what visitors can expect to find. Allow your visitors to use your navigation bar as a way for them to find exactly what they are looking for. Hint: Good organization within your navigation is important.
2. Keyword Research
Do your keyword research! Use a keyword tool that will help you find precisely the keywords that people use to find your web pages. A good keyword research tool will tell you exactly what keywords surfers are using to find your information and products.
Strive to find descriptive keyword phrases or long tail keywords as opposed to single words. This will bring you more targeted visitors, the ones that are the most likely to buy.
Stay away from single keywords. They are too
general and much harder to get ranked well for.
It's also hard to get to the meat of what your
site is about with just one word.
The keyword phrase you use is important because
you're going to use it in the Title,
description and keyword tags.
3. Optimize your Title and Description Tags
Your title tag should accurately describe your page's topic. It should also contain your best keyword phrase for that specific page.
Your page description should also contain your title's main keyword phrase; however expand the description to include a concise and comprehensive summary of what the page is actually about. Keep in mind that some search engines use your description when listing your page.
Since this is most likely what viewers will be reading to decide if your page is what they are looking for, make sure it is not only accurate but compelling so as to encourage a click.
4. Your first Paragraph is important
The first paragraph of our site should also
contain your main keyword phrase. Put it in the
first sentence.
For example, getting back to our pet supplies
site, you would have a h1 header tag that said
'Pet Supplies'. Immediately after it you would
begin your paragraph with something like 'We've
brought you the best pet supplies on the
web...'
In summary, select the keyword phrase for each
page of your web site that best describes that
page.
Use that keyword phrase in your Title,
Description and keywords tags.
Also include that phrase in your H1 and Img src
'Alt' tags and include it again in the first
paragraph of your page.
Don't attempt to 'stuff' the rest of our page
with the keywords. Use the keyword a few times
throughout the page but don't sacrifice good
content for nonsense. The search engines don't
look for your keywords in the content as much
as they look for relevant, unique content.
That's why personal product reviews, personal
experiences and unique ideas do so well with
the search engines.
5. Use Your Keyword Phrase in your Page Name
When creating a page on your website, title it with your page's main keywords. This will give the viewer and the search engines a good idea of what the page is about. A web page about 'scented candles' would most accurately be called:
yoursite.com/scented-candles.html
6. Each Web Page Must have Relevant, Unique, Useful Content
Because search engines are committed to bringing their viewers the most relevant and unique pages, it's in your best interest to create content that is original and useful. Use your creative verbal skills to generate a voice that is uniquely you but also offers information that is interesting and worthwhile.
Try telling stories, portraying experiences, interjecting personal commentary and offering your own individual suggestions. This all goes a long way in helping create the kind of content that generates traffic.
7. Make good use of Headers, Sub Headers and Headline Tags
Place headers on your pages and then use sub-headers below that. Your header should also contain your main keyword phrase and your sub-header should expand on that phrase.
Also when using headers be sure to use header (H1, H2 or H3) Tags. A headline tag is formatted in this way:
Headline (with the number in the tags (h1, h2, h3, h4) corresponding with size of the font)
8. Use synonyms and Word Forms
It can help to use synonyms and word
forms of your main keyword phrases, this can
help the search engines determine the relevancy
of your web pages. For example, synonyms for
the word 'soft' might be 'downy', 'cottony'
'fluffy' or 'mushy'.
Word forms for the word 'soft' would be softly,
soften, softness, softer.
9. Use ALT tags for your graphics
Most web sites have at least one image and this is ok as long as you don't overdo it. Use your main keyword phrase in your graphics alt tag. Search engines can't read graphics so using an alt tag gives them one more piece of information on how relevant your page is.
Don't abuse this strategy by using a lot of graphics and stuffing them with several keyword phrases, the search engines won't tolerate that; however one or two graphics with your main keyword phrase in the alt text will be appropriate.
10. Establishing Quality Links
For every page on your website you should have at least 3 other internal pages that link to it.
Next, get as many sites as you can to link to you home page. Look for sites that rank well with the search engines and are very popular with readers.
There are lots of ways to get links from other quality sites, the two best ways are 1) Simply ask for links from other sites and 2) Write articles with a resource box that contains your site link. The article site will publish your article creating a link and anyone using your article on their site will also create link back.
Well talk more about generating incoming links to your site in our next lesson.
Your Partner In Success,
Elizabeth