Implementing Search Engine Optimization(SEO)?
In the first part of "What is Search Optimization?" we discussed how a search engine works. The point of search engine optimization is to make your website more relevant and competent increasing your chances of putting your site in front of potential customers. It is not enough to simply add Meta Tags and submit your site. It is important to follow a well-designed path to developing your websites adverting plan. This second portion of the article will discuss the nuts and bolts of how to successfully SEO your website.
Selecting keywords is the starting point to proper SEO. You should develop a list of 25 to 75 keywords that are relevant to your website. Think of yourself as the searcher and use how you search for a product as a guide. The selected key words will act as a launching point for a more refined search. A plethora of SEO analytical tools exist on the web, both free and private, to review the quantitative usage of the selected keywords. You can also search the words in various combinations on various search engines making note of the top results. The resultant websites should be relevant to your own website. Time should be taken in selecting quality key words as they are the cornerstone of search engine optimization for your website.
In developing your list of keywords the order of the words is important. It is here you can implement "long tail search queries" to increase your websites marketability. Sort the keyword list your have in order of importance. Several search engines and sites offer SEO utilities to accomplish this task. Test the keywords and phrases to ensure they are viable and used in searches. Pair down you listing to as few as 10 or as many as 30 keywords.
Another addition to your keyword vocabulary can be found by researching competitor's websites for the use of their keywords. You can simply find your competitor's webpage, review their source code and identify keywords. This can be particularly rewarding by reviewing the pages that are already showing up in the top search selections. Various SEO tool allow you to review the content and identify the keywords. Remember you want your website to be the least imperfect of all the websites you are competing against.
After your keyword search it is time to integrate those words effectively in your website design. Meta Tags placement is the first and easiest part of integrating your wisely chosen keywords to your website. The TITLE of your webpage is a prime spot to apply your most important keywords. The description Meta Tag is another good place to use your keywords. The keywords Meta Tag has lost much of its once valued importance and while most website do not place very much, if any page ranking value, I think it is important to populate the field. It allows the web developer a continual reminder of the keywords that are to be developed and enhanced throughout the webpage. It also allows continuity as a new web administer can take over a website with a clear definition of the vision the previous admistrator had in creation of the webpage. In our opinion, even if the search engines ignore the Meta Tags now, they may not in the future. It will never, ever hurt to include the Meta Tags for your website but it may be more difficult to return and add them later in your website's life.
The Achilles heel of almost every website's search engine optimization is the content. Besides the Meta Tags it is vitally important to have standard text and content that echoes the keywords for each webpage. Brainstorm Media and most other SEO experts recommend a minimum of 250 to 300 words per page. In these pages should exist key wording supporting the Meta Tags. It is unforgivable not to include your best keywords in a clean, concise, and clear manner within the body of your website's text. It is the most important portion of correctly implementing SEO with your website design.
Balanced content is the key for your WebPages. You need to ensure that your website design includes an adequate amount of text for proper search engine indexing. You need to make sure that text is in an HTML or XHTML format. Your images should have your keywords within the alt tag. Your Flash, XML, and Java scripts should be appropriate for you website but standard search engine indexing content should not be sacrificed. When interviewing a potential web developer for your website be sure they understand implementing proper SEO procedures. It is much more beneficial if your content is developed with the Search Engine Optimization in mind.
Once you are prepared and your website is finished proper submission would be your final step. You need to prepare your sitemap and robot.txt prior to submission. Evaluate your website once more to ensure all Meta Tags, Keywords, Alt Tags, and content is acceptable. You need to submit your website to Google, Yahoo, and MSN separately. It may take 2 to 4 weeks until your website is shown within the searches. If you do not see your website in a month, resubmit to that search engine. It is not uncommon to need to submit your website more than once to a search engine. If you continue to be "lost" in the quest for search engine positioning it may be necessary to review keywords and coding. Brainstorm Media continually updates your sitemap and handles resubmissions as part of our hosting maintenance package.
The above is a basic overview of the requirements for creating a site with proper search engine optimization. Brainstorm Media includes the above in conjunction with more advanced Search Engine Optimization techniques such as link building, search engine marketing, anchoring and evaluation of community engagement. We review each organization for their unique marketing needs developing successful keywords, coding, and search engine optimization.
Contact us for a free evaluation of your existing website.
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