Archive for: April 2009

You probably know that part of the secret to ranking well in search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo isn’t really such a secret – it’s a matter of finding the right keywords for your site, right? Well, that’s partially true; you have to select keywords that people are truly using when they search (and not just the keywords YOU think they use when they search), and then use those keywords appropriately through out your web pages. So what’s the best way to do that? Here are some tips to help you focus on finding the best keywords for your web site, and then using them effectively on the pages of your web site:

• Research your keywords – don’t just guess. There is often a big difference between what you think your customers would use to search for your products and services, and what users actually use to perform searches. Try using the Google Adwords Keyword tool (www.google.adwords.com) or other free keyword tools like SEO Book (www.tools.seobook.com/keyword-tools/seobook) to do a little research before deciding on your keyword list.
• Select the best keywords. The three most important considerations in selecting keywords are: 1) choosing the most descriptive keyword or phrases, with 2) the most searches performed, and 3) the least number of competing web pages. When you find keywords that fit all of these criteria, use them.
• Select the keyword terms that are likely to bring qualified traffic. Once you know how competitive each keyword is, select the keywords or phrases that are relevant and specific to your content. For instance, highly competitive keywords and keywords that are too general are not good choices, and “long tail” or uncompetitive terms typically don’t need to be optimized for (since no other sites are using these terms anyway). It’s best to stick with the keywords that are specific to your content, yet still general enough to bring in good traffic.
• Start with a strong foundation. Before you begin adding keywords to your web site, you must make sure you have clean, search engine friendly code that can be read and indexed by the search engine spiders (or robots) that visit your site. Without this, you really have no hope of competing in the search engines, regardless of how great your keywords might be.
• Use only a few keywords per page. Don’t put all of your keywords on every single page on your web site. Instead, select 3 to 5 keywords (or keyword phrases) that match the content of each page, then optimize for those.
• Optimize for behind-the-scenes code and on-page content. Be sure that your keywords are used correctly in the Meta data tags in your HTML code (Title, Description, and Keywords), and also in the first paragraph of text on the page. Also sprinkle the keywords appropriately through out the rest of the text on the page as well.
• Use keywords as anchor text. Anchor text is the text that appears as a link on the page, typically displayed as blue, underlined text. Using your keywords as anchor text signifies to the search engines that the term is important, and is relevant to the content on the rest of your web site.
• Use keywords to describe images. Use your keywords in the image alt tags in your html code. Image alt tags are required for all images in order for the code to be WC3 compliant. Image alt tags are intended to provide information to visually impaired visitors, or users who have images turned off in their browser settings. This is a great place to use your keywords.
• Use keywords in headlines and titles. Another great place to use your keywords is in the titles, headings, and sub heads that appear on the page. Always use appropriate header tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) or bold formatting, since these elements typically signify importance to the search engine spiders.
• Have a presence elsewhere on the web. Google has adopted a Universal Search model, where it now returns search results from a variety of web sources and not just from web sites, and other search engines are following suit. To take advantage of this, you should always use your keywords in press releases, video tags, blog postings, social networking profiles, etc., since these are all used as sources from which the search engine pull results.

Finding the right keywords for your web site is the first step in getting good search engine rankings, but it is just as important that you use them correctly on your web site. Keywords and keyword phrases must be used accurately in the behind-the-scenes web code that visitors don’t see, and also used appropriately in the on-page text and elements that visitors do see. By incorporating some or all of these 10 tips, your web site stands a much better chance of meeting the search engine criteria that determines the order of search results, and getting your site listed at the top!

Just like building a new house, your web site must have a solid foundation before anything else can be built on top of it. However, small businesses can sometimes get too caught up in what THEY think should be on their web sites that they forget (or worse, ignore) what knowledge, research, and experience have shown; and that is unless you get the basics right, you run the risk of having problems in the future.

So what exactly are the basics? The basics are the elements shared by most, if not all, web sites today; elements that must be developed correctly in order for a site to be successful. It is important to remember that when a site’s foundation is built correctly, the site performs well for the users, the search engines, and the business it was built to promote. A solid foundation also allows for future site development and enhancements as technology changes and improves. Here are some essential standards and common-sense practices that are not only basic, but should also be included when building any web site’s foundation:

• Follow standard web conventions such as blue underlined text for links, navigation across the top of the page or down the left side, and a logo at the top of each page that links back to the home page.
• Don’t use pre-designed templates for a business site – use a custom designed layout and architecture that matches your branding, gives a professional impression of your business, and gives you full control and ownership of your individual web files.
• Keep navigation consistent across all pages in your site; from the home page through all subpages.
• Use text-based or CSS-based navigation, and don’t use images as navigation elements.
• Use tables-based or CSS-based page layouts, and don’t ever use pages that consist of one big image (or many smaller ones, for that matter).
• Include an XML sitemap in your site’s root directory to ensure that the search engines can find and crawl every page in your site.
• Include a robots.txt file in your site’s root directory to provide the search engines with instructions on how to index the pages on your site (which directories to index, which ones to skip, etc.)
• Use actual text on your pages, not images of text.
• Keep subpages within two clicks of the home page; make it easy for users to find a page and get back to where they came from.
• Use standard, sans-serif web fonts (Arial, Helvetica, Verdana) for readability and visual clarity of text content.
• Include a Contact Us page with information on how to reach your company, including physical address, phone numbers, email addresses, map links, and comment form so visitors can ask questions if necessary.
• Don’t build your entire site using Flash. It’s invisible to the search engines, often annoying to users, not compliant with accessibility standards, and nearly impossible for you to update or maintain in-house.
• Keep visitor counters off your web site and use your server-based web stats instead.
• Keep your most important information above the fold, such as your navigation, company logo, value proposition, etc.

Web sites that are built on solid foundations are easy and useful for visitors, meaning users can find what they are looking for, and are more likely to return for a repeat visit or pass the site on to friends and colleagues. A solid foundation is also essential for success in the search engines, since search engines must be able to read and index a site’s pages before including the data in their databases or any search results. Ignoring the basics can often block or prevent the search engines from even knowing about your web site. So before you become overly focused on what you THINK users and the search engines want to see, why not take advantage of what research has taught us – and build a strong foundation first.