The Basics Of Search Engine Optimization
An important part of developing a successful web site is attracting a steady stream of targeted traffic.
A significant amount of web site traffic originates from the major Search Engines. A Search Engine is a web site that indexes web pages. These sites run software programs called "Spiders" or "Robots" that continuously crawl the Internet in search of new web pages to index.
When you visit a Search Engine and you're looking for something in particular, you type in a few words that best describe what you're looking for. These words are known as keywords. The Search Engine will return a list of web sites that are most relevant to your keywords.
When a Search Engine indexes a web page, it scans the page in search of specific keywords. The pages that rank high when a search is returned are the pages that are most relevant to the search query.
If your page doesn't rank in the top 10 or 20 results when doing a keyword search at the
Search Engines, your target audience won't be able to find you.
When designing your web pages, you must specifically optimize each page of your web site. Each page should target one specific subject and be optimized with keywords that best describe the subject.
When designing your web pages, you must specifically optimize each page of your web site. Each page should target one specific subject and be optimized with keywords that best describe the subject.
Optimizing your web pages will include all of the following:
- Selecting the most relevant keywords for each page
- Placing the META keyword and description tags within the head section of each page
- Using your primary keywords as your page title
- Placing keywords within your image ALT tags
- Placing your primary keywords within heading tags
- Using your primary keywords as image names
- Using your primary keywords as page names for hyperlinks
- Using keywords within your body text
Keywords/Keyword Phrases
A keyword is a word that best describes your web page. For example, if your web page is focusing on dogs, your best keyword will be "dogs."
A keyword phrase is two or more words that best describe your web page. If your web page is focusing on grooming a dog, your best keyword phrase will be "dog grooming." When optimizing your web pages, you should concentrate on just a few keyword phrases for each page. These keyword phrases should directly relate to your subject. Avoid using general one-word keywords, as you definitely won't rank high in the Search Engines.
When you begin optimizing your web pages, each page should be optimized for a different primary keyword phrase. For example, if you're selling dog grooming products, your main page would of course be optimized for dog grooming products. However, you might have another page that targets dog grooming tables. And, another that targets dog grooming kit. And, another that targets dog grooming scissors. See how that works? A highly targeted keyword phrase will attract highly targeted traffic.
The key to ranking high in the Search Engines and driving highly targeted traffic to your site is to select highly targeted, product specific keyword phrases that are less competitive and less generalized. You don't want to target every little possible keyword; you want to focus on your primary keyword phrases for each page.
Your first step towards optimizing your web pages will be to download a great little tool called Good Keywords http://www.goodkeywords.com. This is a free software program that will enable you to type in a specific keyword and it will return a list of keyword phrases.
As the competition for highly popular keywords is fierce, you will significantly increase your chances of receiving a high ranking in the Search Engines by targeting the less popular keyword phrases. And in turn, significantly increase your traffic.
For example, if your web page focuses on grooming a dog, you would type the general keywords "dog grooming" into the Good Keywords search box. The search would return a variety of more targeted keyword phrases. The keyword phrases that should be selected are those that are a little less popular, yet much more targeted.
Selecting the right keyword phrases is the first step towards ranking high in the Search Engines.
How to Get a Top 10 in Google - Guaranteed
This is the introduction of how I acieved a top ten listing at Google.
Friend, If you have a website, You need traffic. Especially if you are in e-commerce. No matter if your selling appliances, T-Shirts or a multi-level marketing program.
Stay tuned through to Day 8 of our ecourse because I'm going to give you a very special gift worth over $200 and may very well be worth more than that to you because I'm going to give you permission to resell them.
Go to (http://www.google.com) right now and type in "Bosch Tools" (Make sure you include the quotation marks). At number 3 you will wee my website. It looks like this:
Bosch Tools and Skil Tools at Discount Prices ... We carry Skil Tools Bosch Tools. ... Price - We sell bosch Tools and Skil Tools at deep discount prices because we don't have a lot of overhead expenses. ... shop.store.yahoo.com/boschpowertoolsource/ - 21k - Jan. 22, 2003 - Cached - Similar pages
Even if you type Bosch Tools with no quotation marks, my site is listed at number 5. If you do the search terms "skil Tools", I'm number 3.
I have high ranking on many search terms. The other search terms that I have high rankings on are the name of some of my products. That's a really good thing.
This ranking fluctuates from time to time. A couple of times I ven seen my website disappear for 2 or 3 days and them come back with even better ranking.
Try not to let this roller coaster ride concern you too much. There is not alot you can do about this other than tweek your website a little at a time. If you do let it upset you, you may be upset alot, especially in the beginning of your campaign.
Google and it's partners get approximately 290 million searches a day or 90% of all internet searches (according to Wordtracker).
In addition more than 86% of all people find out about new web sites by using search engines (according to the recent survey by the Georgia Institute of Technology).
Also, according to a recent study by Penn State University, fully 70% of searchers never look past the first two pages of results. That means your Web site needs to appear in these pages to get real traffic.
What can we glean from these studies? That there is a significant amount of traffic to be gained by being in the top twenty ranking at Google. Even better if you have a top ten in Google, which is our topic in this ecourse.
Actually I have a better response from high ranking than being listed in the Pay-per-Click sponsored listings to the right of the page.
I believe that is because people really believe that they have found your site rather than you finding them. People have gotten used to the idea that pay-per-click ads are just a sales ad.
This sets up a closed mind mentality in the customer and you end up having lower conversion rates. Not to mention the fact that this can be very expensive. Especially when you consider the effect of click fraud.
Notice though, at the top of the page it tells you how many websites are competing for that keyword. In the case of "Bosch Tools" it's 9,100. Now that is competitive!
So what sets mine out from the rest of the crowd? Well, If you will stay tuned, I will show you over the course of 1 week; tips, tricks and hints to help you get there WITHOUT spamming the search engine.
For a free ecourse on this topic cut and paste this URL in your browser: (http://adtrack.trafficwave.net/t.pl/4202/27503)
Your Marketing Friend, Kevin Dixon kevindixon@houston.rr.com
PS - If you subscribe from this ezine your first message will be the same as this article. I apologize for this but on the next day you will start receiving your free ecourse.
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About the Author
Kevin Dixon is the owner of Bosch-Power-Tool-Source.com and is a certified Industrial and Biomedical Electronic Technician. He has 4 children and a wife. They live in Dickinson Texas.
Web Page Optimization
Selecting the right keyword phrases for each page of your web site is the first step towards ranking high in the Search Engines. However, it is only the first step.
In addition to selecting targeted keyword phrases, you must also strategically optimize your page including:
- META description tag
- META keyword tag
- Title
- Image ALT tags
- Image names
- Heading tags
- Hyperlinks
- Body text
<META>
The META description tag will contain a description of your site. This description will be visible in some of the Search Engines when your site is returned in a search.
Your description should include your site's most important keyword phrases. Example:
<META name="DESCRIPTION" content="Providing dog grooming tips, supplies and training.">
The META Keywords tag will contain a list of your keyword phrases separated with a comma. Your primary keyword phrase should be first, followed by one or two secondary keyword phrases.
Example:
<META name="KEYWORDS" content="dog grooming tips, dog grooming supplies, dog grooming training">
<TITLE> Tag
Just as you must place your keyword phrases within your META description and keyword tags, you must also use your primary keyword phrase as your web page title. Nothing more should appear between the <TITLE> and </TITLE> tags except your primary keyword phrase.
<IMG ALT>
An image Alt tag follows your graphic address or URL in your HTML code. These words will be displayed in place of your graphics through an older browser or when your visitors have their graphics turned off.
To fully optimize your graphics, insert your keyword phrases within the Alt tags of your graphics. At a bare minimum, make sure you use enough images to display all of your keyword phrases. Remember...your primary keyword phrase should always come first. Example Images (Notice the images are named using the three primary keyword phrases):
dog_grooming_tips.jpg dog_grooming_supplies.jpg dog_grooming_training.jpg
Example:
<IMG SRC="WIDTH="80" HEIGHT="105" dog_grooming_tips.jpg ALT="dog grooming tips">
<IMG SRC="WIDTH="80" HEIGHT="105" dog_grooming_supplies.jpg ALT="dog grooming supplies">
<IMG SRC="WIDTH="80" HEIGHT="105" dog_grooming_training.jpg ALT="dog grooming training">
<H?> Tag
Heading tags are used to separate topics and range from <H1> being very large and bold to <H6> which is very small and bold. Some Search Engines place relevance on text displayed within the heading tags. Top priority is placed on the highest listed heading tag.
Your keyword phrases should each be used as a heading for sections within your web page (placed in the same order as your keyword phrases within your META keywords tag) and placed within an appropriate heading tag. These headings should be followed by some descriptive text.
Your headings should look something like this:
Dog Grooming Tips
Your descriptive content containing your keyword phrase. Dog Grooming Supplies Your descriptive content containing your keyword phrase. Dog Grooming Training Your descriptive content containing your keyword phrase.
<A HREF> Tag
When creating links on your web page, your links should be displayed together with a small image in front of each link. This image might be a graphic bullet, arrow, or whatever you'd like. These images will not only enhance your web page, but they will also enable you to place your keyword phrases within the Alt tags.
When you begin creating your links, make sure the page name, image name and page description text all contain your keyword phrases.
Your HTML code might look something like this:
<img src="dog_grooming_tips.gif" alt="dog grooming tips"><a href="dog_grooming_tips.htm">Dog Grooming Tips</a>
<img src="dog_grooming_supplies.gif" alt="dog grooming supplies"><a href="dog_grooming_supplies.htm">Dog Grooming Supplies</a>
<img src="dog_grooming_training.gif" alt="dog grooming training"><a href="dog_grooming_training.htm">Dog Grooming Training</a>
<BODY>Text</BODY>
Optimizing your text is another important step towards ranking higher in the Search Engines. Your web page should contain plenty of text and should contain each of your keywords and keyword phrases used in different variations. If all of your keyword phrases you've listed within your META tags aren't found within your text, the Search Engines will simply ignore them.
Note: Web Design Mastery provides you with a complete step by step Search Engine optimization tutorial that will assist you in ranking high in the Search Engines.
Search Engine Submissions
Once you've optimized your web pages and uploaded them to your server, your next step will be to submit your main pages to the Search Engines. However, don't submit your pages to Google. Your pages will rank much higher if you allow this Search Engine to find your pages on its own.
You may want to consider creating a site map for your site and submit this page to Google instead. A site map is a page that outlines how your pages are set up and linked together. If you design a site map with links to all of your pages, the Search Engine robots can easily spider and index them.
Taking the time to optimize each of your web pages is the most important step you can take towards ranking high in the Search Engines and driving your more traffic to your web site.
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