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| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics - Page 2 |
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Search Engine Optimization Considerations
Google indicates that their algorithms review over 100 aspects of every Site they spider. They also re-spider frequently in an attempt to maintain cutting edge SERP quality. The Webmaster Community works together on many Forums, Search Engine Conventions and in close contact with each other around the world to uncover the closely guarded proprietary algorithms nature and changes as they occur. It would take volumes to cover the topic of SEO but this page is dedicated primarily to Site Owners that need a basic understanding of SEO. It is ultimately the responsibility of the Site owner to make sure that the proper SEO for their Site is being administered. We don't want to get too technical here, so we will review some of the most important known SEO factors in the simplest terms possible, providing quick information for Site Owners. Later on we will present a more comprehensive review of SEO in our Webmaster Resources Section: SEO Component Overview Although they are a little behind in modifying their SEO Component rankings for recent updates, (In My Opinion) they remain the best source on the Internet for reviewing and getting a good idea of these individual SEO components that are primary and known by the Webmaster Community: "Search Engine Ranking Factors". There are: 36+ In-Document (on-page text and code) Factors Affecting Ranking Let's review a few of these SEO factors and toss in some of our own: In Document Factors Affecting Ranking The Title Tag The Title Tag seems to be one of the most important code features determining how the SEs view and list your content. It is a key element in that the storage bin of information contained on that page is labeled and reviewed for, and compared to similar content on other Sites under that category. This is the first link in a logic chain that the logic machines (Search Engines) must find relevant when reviewing on page content. In our opinion, there are elements that can supercede this one in importance for the Site overall such as relevant or misleading keywords in the URL and of course, notorious "Black Hat" SEO practices. The Title Tag is every bit as important, being the first link in the "logic chain" as a title on a book cover. THere must be a unique, brief and primary topic relative Title for each and every individual page on a website! Page Content Page content must be relevant and informative. It is important to use the targeted keywords and keyphrases toward the top of the page and often enough where the SEs understand that they clearly indicate primary page emphasis. It's also important to provide original content in a well written journalistic style. Similar terms and synonyms can help keyword emphasis while supporting an interesting writing style. Content freshness is also an important Site feature. It is a good idea to update a Site with new pages, new information, additional verbiage, new product introductions frequently. Keeping it fresh increases both Search Engine and visiter traffic. One common way to add good content is to write original relevant articles and include them on your Site. Make sure and try to stay on one or two topics per page max when possible. That makes it easier for the SEs to determine that the page is relevant. Keep the logic chain simple to follow. Every page should have it's own set of Title Tag and unique metatags logically aligned with the page content to help the SEs follow the desired logic chain. Some industry leaders prefer to have a good journalist at the helm of their Site design. Always compose for the visitor first and the SE second, both content and code. If you republish articles by other authors it is a good idea to add enough unique commentary so that the page isn't just a replication of content already published on the Internet. That added uniqueness can help with SERP listings when republishing. Sometimes that approach will land higher SERP than the original author. The Description Metatag This is also an element that is code based and not seen on the page by visitors. GOOGLE recently reemphasized the importance of the Description Metatag by using it for SERP descriptions more frequently, where it's found to be relevant and accurate in conveying a description of content on the page. In my opinion, it is the second link in the "logic chain" which should be in place for every page. The Description Metatag should be brief and to the point. We normally try and limit the page description to around 12-13 words max, while including the primary and a secondary keyword and phrase. Most of the time it is not a good idea to use your company name in the Title Tag or Description tag. Your company name will most likely be on every page of the site and/or in the URL. The Search Engines usually don't have a problem picking up a Company name associated with a Site. Most targeted visitors, including potential customers or clients will find you by the products or services you present, not by company name. You are simply wasting prime realestate there if that is your approach. Internal Site Navigation Internal Site navigation and on site page links play a big part in the success of a Site for both Search Engines and visitors. Here are a few navigation rules that help: Provide a consistent and intuitive navigation system. Provide interactive features. "Textural" links are still preferred by the SEs over graphical. Note; "CSS" (Cascading Style Sheet) navigation methods are this authors' favorite choice. Observe the 2-3 click rule – When visitors find what they are looking for fast and easy, they will read more pages and visit longer. Visitor behavior monitoring is said to be becoming more important in some SE algorithms. When providing internal site links to important pages, make sure and use in-text relevant links and pay attention to the surrounding text as well. Clean Code There are a number of advantages in providing clean code that isn't bloated. Clean code almost always helps with faster page loading and lower bandwidth requirements from your host. At the same time you run a much lower risk of pages not being properly viewed in different browsers. We recommend W3C validated markup with the proper Document Type Declaration (DTD) . DTDs are essential in instructing a Search Engine in how to parse your Site and for cross-browser compatibility. You certainly don't want your page falling apart in different browsers. The current trend is moving toward design without tables, using CSS only. In our opinion there are different issues that need to be resolved there still so we choose to design using tables for page element placement and try to commit everything else to CSS. What ever your style is, and whether you use CSS on page or in a different file, it is a good idea to validate your CSS code. Some webmasters believe that the SEs may favor Sites that present a higher percentage of on page information per code. This is referred to as the; "Signal to Noise Ratio" of a page. Outbound Links (OBLs) It's being reported and generally accepted by the SEO community that the Outbound Links presented on a site are playing a larger role in overall page and Site relevancy for GOOGLE after the "Bourbon" and Jagger" updates. Inbound Links (IBLs) are covered on our SEM page. It's best to provide "Relevant" Page and then Site relevant links to other sites referenced from any given Site. One way to help establish the relevancy of OBLs is to provide the link in the page text, utilizing appropriate and relevant anchor text, as we have on this page. Again, text surrounding the "anchor text" is called "surrounding text" and also seems to play a credibility role. It's best to provide outbound links that are not only relevant, but those that are to "authoritive" Sites. To keep visitors on your Site longer, we recommend that OBLs open in a new browser, making it easier for the visitor to come back and follow up with your Site's presentation, just where they left off on the tangent you provided. Many Site owners feel that providing Outbound Links detract from their Site, but the SEs seem to favor websites that contribute to the Internet Community more, as opposed to those that are just digital brochures. Note that it is important to not have broken links in your website. Here is a good Link Check Tool. Sitemaps for visitors and the SEs In our opinion every effort should be made to provide Sitemaps for visitors and the Search Engines. This is particularly important for larger Sites but has relevance down to 10 or 20 pages of content. Many visitors prefer the use of a Sitemap for access to faster information, bypassing channeled navigation systems. There are two basic kinds of Sitemaps. One is designed for visitors so that they can find anything on your Site within one click from the Sitemap page. The other isn't seen by visitors, it's specifically designed by GOOGLE for accurate and complete GOOGLE spidering, although since it is an open and known technology, it wouldn't surprise us if other SEs pick up on it's usage, if they haven't already. GOOGLE recently (2005) added their Sitemap Tool to webmaster's SEO arsenals. The purpose of GOOGLE Sitemaps is to provide webmasters with the capability to list complete sites in an XML format specifically designed for enhanced Site spidering by GOOGLE. If your site is large, uses "secondary" code like "Flash" primarily, or dynamically generates pages, then it comes highly recommended. Webmasters everywhere are reporting good results using GOOGLE Sitemaps. The Keyword Metatag The keyword metatag has been dismissed as currently irrelevant to the Search Engines by a large contingent of webmasters and SEO types. The history behind this devaluation is that the more unscrupulous keyed in on this metatag and started keyword stuffing practices to gain an unfair advantage, when the SEs accredited more value to this tag. Our recommendation is to continue it's use, making sure that not only is every term used on page, is relevant and sequenced in presentation by order of priority. Every word or phrase used should be on that particular page. The lesser SEs and certain Directories seem to still use keyword metatags to some extent. The Major SEs are busy revising algorithms with Artificial Intelligence components in the quest for relevancy. Today and probably more so in the future they are developing and will develop more precise techniques for determining relevancy of on and off page components. We recommend the continued use of unique keyword metatags for each page in the meantime. After all, it doesn't take much time to throw that link into the logic chain.
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