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Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings
The 7 Points of
Do-It-Yourself Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings
Ever wondered how to go about optimizing
your own website without the expense of paying
professional Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings fees? This article spells it out in 7
easy points, written by a professional practitioner who
specialises in Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings and Internet marketing for small
businesses.
internet marketing for small
businesses, applied web marketing, search engine
ranking, web promotion, search engine optimization,
keyword density, web marketing, search engine
optimisation, website promotion, search engine ranking,
website marketing, Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation,
Search Rankings.
Ever felt intimidated at
the convoluted, jargon-ridden information about Internet
marketing for small businesses available on the Net?
Ever been horrified by the huge fees the experts charge,
putting search engine optimization beyond your own
means? Ever thought: What exactly is search engine
optimization anyway, and can I do it myself?
The
answer is: Yes, you can! The basics of search engine
optimisation in applied web marketing are simple. It's
all to do with the keyword content of your text copy,
and can be summarised in seven points.
1.
Register a good domain name which reflects what your
site is about. Even if you are an established business,
don't register www.FredJones.com if you make widgets.
Rather, you want to register something like
www.BestWidgets.com because that would inspire
confidence in people looking for quality widgets who
would not necessarily have heard of Fred Jones the
widget-maker.
2. Name your page URLs based on
reasons similar to the above for your web promotion,
except now you can be more specific. Search engines like
to know what your page is about. Name a page after a
product (BigYellowWidgets.htm) or a service or action
(Buy-Widgets-by-Post.htm) on one of the sales pages.
3. The text in the title tag is crucial in letting
search engines know what each page is about. Put your
important keywords in your title tags, using both the
singular and plural versions (people will search for
both) and make these tags different and specific for
each page. For example, "Widgets and After Sales Widget
Services". Whatever you do, don't call the home page
"Index", but treat it almost as a mini-description.
4. The other tags (at the top of the html page)
between the two "HEAD" tags are not as important as the
title tag, but the description tag is still used by some
search engines in displaying what you would like web
users to see when they scroll down a page of search
results. Some search engines don't use the description
tag at all; others, like Google, sometimes use part of
it together with part of the main body text surrounding
prominent keywords on your page. So you may as well
treat the description tag seriously; make it brief
(about 25 to 30 words) and as comprehensive as possible
in the short space allowed. Make sure you have your
popular keywords included within your description tag.
The ALT tag is used for a very short description of an
image or graphic file, and is what is displayed if you
allow your mouse pointer to hover above a graphic. These
days it is not considered important for search engines.
The COMMENT tag is never displayed on the body page, and
is used by coders and designers as an instruction or
reminder to themselves about what that section of html
coding should be doing; in the past, some webmasters in
their quest for website promotion and search engine
ranking used to stuff keywords in the comments tags, but
now it is generally acknowledged that the main search
engines pay little or no attention to these.
5.
Keyword density. Each search engine has its own
preference as to how many times a keyword phrase appears
on the page in order to signify the relevance of that
keyword phrase (in other words, in order to help the
search engine understand what the page is about). Around
5 to 8 per cent is a rough guide as to the optimal
level. Don't overdo it, otherwise it will be seen as
spam or keyword-stuffing. Also use your keywords in the
headings tags H1 and H2. There is an H3 tag as well, but
it is doubtful whether search engines bother with that,
as it is perceived as less prominent on the page,
therefore less relevant to what the page is about.
6. Don't forget good linking in your website
marketing. Search engines will judge the importance of
your web pages to some extent on the number and quality
of incoming links from other sites. Ask other webmasters
with sites on similar themes to yours for a link, in
exchange for a link back. These sites should not be in
competition with yours, but should be similarly themed.
You may occasionally be asked by other webmasters if
they can link to your site. If this is so then have a
look at their site; make sure that their site is
relevant, that it has at least some Page Rank, and that
it just "feels" good, and has no nasty surprises like
redirects or unexpected popups. You don't want to be
associated with a "bad neighborhood"!
7. Make
sure that important keywords are included in the anchor
text within inbound links from other sites. This is
crucial to search engines when they try to figure out
the relevance and importance of your pages. The inbound
link from the other site should take the form of
something like this (I'm using normal brackets instead
of angle brackets so as not to use compromising html):
(A HREF="http://www.Yoursite.com") your important
keywords included here(/A). You should definitely avoid
something like (A HREF="http://www.Yoursite.com")click
here(/A), which tells search engines nothing except that
your site is about "click here". Be careful!
Do-It-Yourself Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings
Does the whole idea of Internet marketing
intimidate you? Are you thinking of hiring a
professional? Well, we’ve got great news for you. It’s
really not difficult to do search engine optimization
(Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings) yourself – you can save hundreds of dollars, and
get the same results as the professionals do. You will
probably get better results from highly qualified
professionals, but you should definitely perform these
do-it-yourself actions first. Once you’ve done some of
this kind of w...
search engine
optimization,Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings,search engine optimisation,search
engine marketing,se marketing
Does the whole idea
of Internet marketing intimidate you? Are you thinking
of hiring a professional? Well, we’ve got great news for
you. It’s really not difficult to do search engine
optimization (Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings) yourself – you can save hundreds of
dollars, and get the same results as the professionals
do. You will probably get better results from highly
qualified professionals, but you should definitely
perform these do-it-yourself actions first. Once you’ve
done some of this kind of work it will be easier to
determine if a professional is worth his/her salt.
Basic Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings is very simple and easy – all it takes is
the willingness to put in the work. Once you know the
ropes, it’s not that difficult though it can be time
consuming. The content of your website the focus of what
Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings is all about. Here are the top points to think about
when you’re doing it yourself.
1. You will start
by registering a domain name, which should reflect what
your site about. Keep it short, as long as it’s somehow
related to your site. Being more specific can help. You
could choose to name the page after one of your products
or services, for example. Another method is to get a sub
domain of a popular domain. This will generally help you
get indexed more quickly though it will not appear quite
as professional to your visitors. There is a trade of
here, sub domains are quicker (and generally cheaper),
but domain names are more memorable, and, in the long
run, better for your indexing.
2. The next thing
you should look at is your page’s title (i.e. the HTML
title tag), which is critical in letting search engines
see what the page is about, and is the first item looked
at by search engines to determine your relevance. You
should put your most important keywords in your title
tags – you don’t need to worry about singular or plural
forms as search engines account for these changes in
most cases. Whatever you do, don't call your home page
‘Home’ – make the title a mini-description of the page.
3. The two primary meta tags aren’t as important as
they used to be, but the description tag is still used
by some search engines to display information about your
website to users and help them decide whether they’ve
found what they are looking for. Not all search engines
bother with this, though most will put some bearing on
it (even if it is minuscule).
For very short
descriptions the alt tag can be used. Alt tags let you
describe an image or graphic file – they’re the pop-up
descriptions that appear when you hover your mouse over
a graphic, or when the graphic can’t be downloaded for
whatever reason.
Text within comment tags is
never displayed on the page – it is used by coders and
designers to remind them of what that part of the page
is for. Some coders used to put lots of keywords in the
comment tags, so that they would be seen by search
engines but not users, but search engines have now
stopped paying attention to any text that isn’t seen by
the user. Keep this in mind when trying to post
invisible text (i.e. white text on a white background).
This kind of behavior can get you banned from a search
engine.
4. Having keyword density in all of your
content is good, but keep in mind that each search
engine has its own requirements when it comes to how
many times that a keyword or phrase should be in the
content for the page to be relevant. Somewhere between 5
and 8 percent is a roughly optimal level – but this
isn’t always possible, and you shouldn’t force it. Don’t
overdo it, or the search engines might mark you down.
5. Many search engines judge web page importance on
the number and quality of incoming links from other
sites. You should link to some related sites, but not
too many. Don’t overdo incoming links either, and keep
them related your site’s content. It’s also good to get
sites to use your keywords as the text of these links.
If you follow the advice above, you can do it
yourself and do fine. Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation,
Search Rankings, if done right, can keep you
on top for as long as you want to be.
Do-it-Yourself Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings
for Beginners
Are you new to Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation,
Search Rankings and want to do-it-yourself but
don't know how to get started? Find two options for
doing Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings yourself here.
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You may
want to perform Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings services on your website by yourself
but do not know how to get started. You probably have
always wanted to get involved more with Seo, Search,
Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings but simply
do not have the time. Unfortunately this is usually
caused by the misconception that Seo, Search, Engine
Optimisation, Search Rankings is easy to
implement and does not take a lot of experience. Even
though Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings does require experience and time there are
several options out there to start doing Seo, Search,
Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings on your own
and be successful.
Option 1: Become an Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings Expert
This is the hardest path to take to implement Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings on
your website while yielding the greatest personal
satisfaction. You will want to start by spending lots of
time reading books and online articles to catch up on
the latest Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings trends, practices, and methods. Next you
should start experimenting with different methods you
learn about, analyze the results, and change your
website again. This is the continual learning process of
search engine optimization and takes a great amount of
time, energy, patience, and resources. However after
several months when you start to realize the benefits of
your work it will yield a great deal of satisfaction.
This option is recommended for those if you want
to start offering Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation,
Search Rankings services as a part of your
business or if you have multiple websites that you
manage. If you only have one website and do not plan on
providing Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings services to others this route is probably
not ideal considering the time involved to make it
successful.
Option 2: Find a Professional Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings
Guide
This is the ideal option for most people who
want to start internet marketing on their own, learn
more about the industry, and yet not invest a
considerable amount of time in the project. There are
several Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings consultants who would be happy to guide you
along the way and assist you in creating a successful
online campaign. With this option you will not have to
learn everything on your own but will have an
experienced professional at your side to assist you in
creating a successful campaign. The most difficult
aspects of Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation, Search
Rankings could be handled by your consultant while
you could manage Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation,
Search Rankings implementation.
For example
your consultant could assist you in developing a keyword
phrase list, sample methods of finding link partners,
guidelines for using title, alt, heading, bold, internal
link, and meta tags. After you have finished working on
a few key pages you could request your consultant review
your work and give you further suggestions. At first you
will probably rely heavily on your consultant for advice
but as time goes on your reliance on your consultant
will diminish as you become more affluent in Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings
practices and techniques. Another important service your
consultant should provide is monthly or weekly progress
reports. They will most likely have access to software
that will enable them to generate reports such as
rankings, keyword phrases, incoming link, and others.
Consultants can usually provide other valuable insights
to help your business succeed online on subjects such as
PPC, conversion, usability, professional image, email
campaigns, banner advertising, and other online
marketing options.
Although this method will
require some investment on your end it is far less
expensive than a full-service Seo, Search, Engine
Optimisation, Search Rankings package and over time
the cost will diminish as you become adept at Seo,
Search, Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings
yourself.
How to Decide which Option is Best
When deciding between these two options the most
relevant question to ask yourself is how much time do
you have to invest in Seo, Search, Engine Optimisation,
Search Rankings. Through experience I would
estimate that having an Seo, Search, Engine
Optimisation, Search Rankings consultant at your side will
reduce the time you need to invest in your Seo, Search,
Engine Optimisation, Search Rankings project
by about 50-75%. You must also determine how competitive
your industry is. The difference between a national web
hosting company and a local pest control company can
play a huge factor in how much time will be required to
be successful. Whichever path you choose as long as you
are dedicated and determined you will succeed!