4 Things You Should Know about Search Engine Optimization
By Wayne van Elsen
If you’ve been trying to build up your online business, you’ve probably already heard about the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). You can’t simply make money just by placing advertising all over your website and/or selling products or services. You need to have the actual traffic coming to your website first. Search engine optimization is all about enhancing your website in such a way that the search engines are more likely to properly index content and get it appearing in the first page of results. Most hits ultimately come from a search engine, so it’s important that you focus on this market. Here are some important factors that will help you get started with search engine optimization.
1 – Key Words and Phrases
Key words and phrases are those which the search engine bots will attempt to distinguish when they scan over your website. This will associate your website with those key words and phrases that people type into Google and other search engines. The most important rule of SEO is making it clear to the search engines what your site is about. This also makes the advertisements which appear on your site more suitable for the content.
Of course, key words and phrases need to be relevant to your content. You should also try to avoid words and phrases which already have a lot of competition. One of the most useful tools for helping you to choose optimal keywords is the Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
2 – Keyword Density
Appropriate words and phrases should be used in all of the relevant content of your site. They should appear in every page of content multiple times as well as in titles, summaries and the main body of the text. However, it is also essential to avoid keyword spam. Google tells web designers to write content for people and not for the search engines – and they are right. When you optimize your website, your key words and phrases should blend in with the content and sound natural. Use your chosen keywords only when they fit in. The exact keyword density that you choose depends on the way you use your keywords and their length. In general, your key word or phrase should appear once in the title, once or twice in the meta description, once or twice in the first paragraph of the main body of the text and, ideally, every paragraph thereafter.
3 – Each Page of Your Site is Separate
Although it will help, it is relatively ineffectual if you only work on optimizing the home page of your site. Every page of your site is, for the most part, a separate thing as far as the search engines are concerned. Some areas of your site may also have completely different content from one another. In this case, you’ll want different key words and phrases for that content.
4 – Page Titles and Meta Tags
Although most people realize the importance of titles catching the attention of the reader from the very beginning, it is also important to consider the search engines. Search engines love titles and you should always try to include the key word or phrase for that page of content in your title.
Key words and phrases should also be used in the title and meta tags of your website’s code. HTML, the language which most websites are programmed in, also provides meta tags. The meta description is the text which appears in the search engine list under the link and title of the website. This should contain a description of the page that catches the attention of potential readers. It should also include the key word or phrase at least once. Don’t forget that you should edit the meta tags and descriptions for every page of your site.