THE ABCs OF SEO - Search Engine Optimization

---

If you want to be found in the search engines, it is importantthat you add search engine optimization to your action list.
Ina nutshell, search engine optimization--or SEO for short--is theprocess of ... If you want to be found in the search engines, it is importantthat you add search engine optimization to your action list.
Ina nutshell, search engine optimization--or SEO for short--is theprocess of making your web pages "search engine friendly."SEO is a relatively new marketing industry. Although there aremany purported experts, most of us who call ourselves SEOspecialists are learning.
The search engines are constantlyin flux, so SEO techniques that worked yesterday may notnecessarily work tomorrow. As a result, it is exceedinglyimportant to keep up with the fervent pace of the Internet, andthe search engines in particular.One of the frustrations of search engine placement is that yourrankings are constantly fluctuating.
The key to a successfulsearch engine optimization campaign is creativity, perseveranceand practice, practice, practice. Do not try to fool the searchengines by "tricking" them with unsavory techniques (e.g.,keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text) because you will riskhaving your web site lose favor with the search engines, orworse, getting banned altogether.If you are developing a new web site or redesigning an old one,now is a good time to think about search engine optimization.This article will describe the process of optimizing your webpages for the search engines, as well as highlight some of theother components that are important for a successful searchengine marketing campaign.WRITING KEYWORD-RICH WEB COPYI'm sure you've heard the old cliché: Content is king.
Well,you know what, it is! Although the Internet is graphic-rich, itis a text-based medium. Information is what your visitors areseeking.
If you web site doesn't present the information theywant, don't forget your competitor's web site is only one mouseclick away.Search engines need copy to know what your web site's theme isand how your site should be indexed in their directory. If yourhome page consists solely of a Flash movie or an image map,there will be nothing for the search engines to index.
Flash iscool, but it is not so cool when your web site doesn't come upin search engine results.So, how do you write keyword-rich copy?The first thing you need to do is identify the keyword phrasesthat are important and relevant to your web site. For instance,how would you describe your company, products and services? Moreimportantly, how would your visitors describe your company,products and services? Although the answer may seem like a no-brainer, it really isn't, because you need to think outside ofthe box.
You need to get into your visitor's head and think likeyour visitor. What search terms would they use to find your website?A good place to start your keyword research is by looking atyour log files.
What search terms are your visitors using tofind you? Armed with this information, you can begin researchingthe popularity of those terms. Researching your keywords is avery important task, because if you target the wrong terms, yourtraffic will suffer.
Although your site may rank number one forsome obscure term, if no one is searching for that term, yoursite will not be found in the search engines.There are a number of handy tools available online to help youbegin building your list of relevant keywords. Overture(formerly Goto.com) offers a Search Term Suggestion Tool on itsweb site that will not only tell you how many times a particularkeyword phrase was queried in the past month, it'll also presentyou with a list of alternative terms to consider for your searchengine optimization campaign.http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/In addition to utilizing keyword suggestion tools to researchyour keywords, I highly recommend brainstorming keywords withyour co-workers, employees, friends and family members.
Betteryet, ask your clients and customers what terms they would use tosearch for your web site. Brainstorming keywords will teach youa lot about how others think and use the Internet to findinformation.Once you have identified your keywords, you will need tointegrate them into the body of your web page.
Your sentencesneed to be intelligible and grammatically correct. Don't forget:Your web copy will be read by human beings, as well as thesearch engines.
If your web copy doesn't make sense, yourvisitors will hit their back button never to return again. Badweb copy will defeat the whole purpose of your search engineoptimization campaign.WRITING YOUR META TAGSThe most important tag in the header section of your web pageis the title tag.
The title tag is displayed in the bar at thetop of your browser window--above the toolbar. Many webmastersdo not use the title tag properly.
For example, their page willbe titled "Home" or "Welcome," or worse yet "untitled," becausethey don't include a title at all. The search engines place alot of relevance on the words contained within the title tag, sobe sure to include your targeted keyword phrases when writingyour title tag.
This tag is generally limited to 60 characters,so choose your words with care.The next important tag in the header section is the descriptionmeta tag. This tag is used to describe your web page.
Like thetitle tag, many of the search engines will extrapolate thisinformation to summarize your web site. Again, be sure toinclude your targeted keyword phrases.The third and least important tag in the header section is thekeywords meta tag.
Because of abuse by unscrupulous webmasters,the keywords tag is ignored by many of the search engines. Evenso, some do use it, so it doesn't hurt to include it.
Like yourtitle and description tag, choose your keywords carefully. Donot include keywords that are not included in the body of yourweb copy or irrelevant to the theme of your site.LINK POPULARITYMuch is said about link popularity, but what is it exactly?A few years ago, people were joining "link farms" to increasetheir link popularity, but today that is frowned upon and canactually be detrimental to your quest for higher rankings in thesearch engines.
Now the emphasis is more on the quality of thelinks pointing to your web site versus the quantity.Many of the major search engines use link popularity to gaugethe relevancy of your site in its search results. Plus, linksare what makes the web go-round.
Many webmasters have the notionthat links are bad because they are sending visitors off oftheir web site. Although this is true, links to and from websites that complement yours helps to build credibility and setsthe stage for making your web site an authority in your field.Much is written about the importance of getting links fromdirectories like Yahoo!, Looksmart and the Open DirectoryProject, because they are reviewed by human beings.
If you wanta link in the first two, however, it will cost you money. Alisting in Yahoo! and Looksmart is considered "paid inclusion."Your marketing dollars will be well spent, though, becauselistings here will not only generate increased traffic, it willadd greatly to your web site's link popularity.SUBMITTING TO THE SEARCH ENGINESOnce your web page is fully optimized, it is time to submit itto the search engines.
Although there are hundreds of searchengines on the Internet, only a handful are truly important.Recent statistics show the top three search engines as:#1 MSN#2 Yahoo!#3 GoogleAlthough there are automated services that promise to get youlisted on thousands of search engines, it is recommended thatyou manually submit your site to the top search engines. Some ofthe search engines view automated submissions as spam and willnot list your site.
Others put a higher priority on manualsubmissions. And others--such as Inktomi--required an annual feeto list your site.
It can take weeks (sometimes even months!) toget listed, so again, be patient. The search engines areimportant to the success of your web site, so treat them withthe respect they deserve.
Most of all, do not over-submit!For more information about search engine submissions, request acopy of my article "Web Site Promotion 101" atmailto:[email protected] REPORTING AND ANALYSISOnce you have allowed an appropriate amount of time to lapse (Iusually wait six weeks), it is time to generate some reports toconfirm the success of your search engine optimization campaign.Search engine positioning reports provide a wealth ofinformation, such as your site's position in the major searchengines, how you rank on your targeted keyword terms andphrases, which sites rank above and below you, where you'vedeclined in rankings, and so on.To automate the process of generating your search enginepositioning reports, download a free trial of 1stPlaceSoftware's highly-acclaimed WebPosition Gold athttp://www.webposition.com/In addition to your search engine positioning reports, be sureto regularly check your traffic logs. Is your trafficincreasing? Are people finding your site with the search termsyou targeted? Which of the search engines are referring visitorsto your site?There are many variables that affect rankings, including: 1.
Keyword density 2. Link popularity 3.
Click popularity 4. Keywords in the title 5.
Keywords in the description tag 6. Keywords in the keywords tag 7.
Keywords in the names of linked pages and in the linkedwords 8. Keywords in the alt tags 9.
Keywords in names of images10. Paying for ranks11.
Listing in online directoriesSource: Search Engine Optimization and Placement: An InternetMarketing Course for Webmasters by Renee Kennedy and Terry Kent.http://www.thewritemarket.com/seo-book.shtmlCASE STUDY OF GRIEF LOSS & RECOVERYIn October 2001, my web site, Grief Loss & Recovery(http://www.grieflossrecovery.com), was averaging 98 visitors aday and 573 page views. Reviewing my traffic logs, I noted thatthe most popular search term for my site was "grief poems," so Idecided to optimize my site for that phrase.Since October, my traffic has steadily climbed the charts.In March 2002, my daily unique visitors averaged 325 and mypage views 1962, an increase of 69 percent and 70 percent,respectively.With regard to my rankings in the search engines, they havealso improved considerably.
For example, for the search phrase"grief poems" in Google, my site ranks number one out of 102,000results; and for the search term "grief," my site ranks 15 outof 1,690,000.As for traffic referred by the search engines, Google farexceeds all other search engines in driving traffic to my sitewith 2,953 referrals in March, followed by Yahoo at 1,428. (Incomparison, my October 2001 numbers showed Yahoo referring 535visitors and Google 423.)All-in-all, I am pleased with the results of my first attemptat optimizing Grief Loss & Recovery and am beginning to notesimilar results with some of the other web sites I have recentlyoptimized.When playing the search engine optimization game, patience isimportant, because results do not happen overnight.CONCLUSIONTo be competitive online, your web site needs to be searchengine friendly.
Search engine optimization is a function ofInternet marketing and is the most cost-effective means ofmarketing to your target audience. With an estimated 84 percentof web users turning to the search engines to find informationonline, it is important that your site rank within the top 30results if you want to be found.
A successful search engineoptimization campaign will not only boost your rankings in thesearch engines, it will bring qualified customers and prospectsto your web site who are already on the web searching for yourproducts and services.For more information about search engine optimization andpositioning, visit:Search Engine Watchhttp://www.searchenginewatch.com/Search Engine Worldhttp://www.searchengineworld.com/index.htmAcademy of Web Specialistshttp://www.academywebspecialists.com/Spider Foodhttp://www.spider-food.net/Plus be sure to subscribe to:Adventive I-Searchhttp://www.adventive.com/lists/isearch/summary.html Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com .