The perfect SEO formula is to create relevant content (on-page optimization) and add high ranking inbound links (off-page optimization).
In this post, we talk about On-page optimization which involves usage of Title, Meta tags and modifying keyword frequency in the URL, Headings, Hypertext Links and Body text.
The processes of optimization change over time so keep your self updated with the current search engines’ trends and implement them in the on-going success of your webpage.
Let’s start with the Meta Tags.
Meta Tags are HTML tags describe what the Web page is about. Unlike regular tags, Meta tags do not provide formatting information for the browser. They provide such information as the author, date of creation or latest update for the page, titles, descriptions and keywords (which tell the search engines the subject matter of the page).
For SEO purpose The Only Three Meta Tags - Title, Meta Description and Meta Keywords tags are very important.
The Importance of Meta Tags:
Meta Tags are important for three reasons:
• They help provide the information that is listed in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
• They are part of what influences (albeit only slightly) how well our individual pages rank on the SERPs.
• Meta Description help improve your search engine click-through rate
All major search engines utilize (if only partially) Meta description and title tags in an effort to understand the relevance of the site. They also look at alt tags (important in today’s Blended/Universal search results - which feature video, images, etc.).
The Basics of Meta Elements & Tags:
Meta tags are not something you should spend a lot of time worrying about. But do focus on crafting them so they properly reflect your site and its mission. Demonstrate your value in the Meta Description. The main purpose of Title & Meta Tags is to help search engines understand your Web pages better.
Title Tag:
While no hard and fast rules have been established about title tags (this is actually a Meta element but is often referred to as “Title tag”), it is widely accepted that they are an important part of a Web page. There is a debate on the ideal number of characters to be included in the Title tag. There are a few things that are not really debated and are widely agreed upon.
For example, your Title tag should contain the most important keyword for each specific webpage (and therefore are unique to that page and are not repeated throughout the site).
Title tags should never exceed 65 characters, since this is the point where most search engines will truncate the information. While many sites routinely exceed this character limit, the value of a clear and concise Title tag outweighs any benefit you may obtain from repeating the keyword or including keyword variations.
The placement of the keyword (or key phrase) is equally important to users and search engines. It is the “clickable” portion of a search listing and because search engines do take these keywords into consideration when weighing the value of the page, it’s best to include keywords where they will be found – at the start of the Title tag.
It’s not all about your position on the SERPs (position 1 versus 2, or 5 versus 7) – it’s also about the quality of the listing and if it inspires confidence in your site and tells the user you have what they are looking for.
Description Tag:
The description is one of several Meta elements which assist users in determining whether a resource will be useful to them when conducting queries and viewing the SERPs. Your Description tag conveys the purpose of the page in a clear, objective manner for these users and in some instances (should the search engines not find something better within the copy of your webpage) is used for search engine results.
When you write your Description tag think of your audience and the information you wish to convey. The Description tag is intended to assist users in determining if a listed resource will be useful to them, so stuffing keywords into this element and being “cutesy” or too “hypey” instead of being informative, clear and concise could cause alienation of the potential site visitor.
Typically the first 160 characters (including spaces) of the Description are created for the purpose of display on search engine results pages and should therefore be as concise, coherent and as objective as possible.
Keywords Tag:
The Keyword tag is the least important Meta tag, but it does serve as a guide to the theme of the page, and it tells the engines what words they can expect to find on your web page.
It is important to realize that search engines assign little value to the keyword tag as it has been and is still abused by those attempting to game the search results pages.
How Do I Use Titles & Meta Tags?
ALT Tags:
ALT tags are the alternative text that the browser displays when a Web surfer is unable (or unwilling) to see the images in a web page. ALT Tags to provide search engines alternative information for an image.
You should not stuff your ALT tags with keywords, keep the text short and concise and use the most relevant keyword to that page and the particular image.
Heading Tags (H1, H2, H3 to H6):
Heading structure is important not only to present a clear structure to the web page but also in consideration of those using text readers and the search engines.
Heading tags are used to define the headings in your page. There are 6 available, h1 set of heading tags being the biggest and boldest and the h6 set being the smallest.
And these tags appearance can be changed based on your web site design. You can use CSS to alter the Header tags so the text doesn’t actually look different but you still get the SEO benefit of the tags.
Heading Tags Used for Headings Only
Page/File Names:
Using your keyword in the file name is another way to let the engines know the page is really relevant to those keywords. Such as: http://yourdomain.com/use-keyword.html.
If you use multiple phrases use a hyphen (-) rather than an underscore (_) to separate words. Don’t create a huge run on string (ex: keyword1-keyword2-keyword3- keyword4.htm) Also make sure you name the page according to what it is about, rather than just using it as a place to put random keywords.
Keyword Rich Content:
Content is King! The search engines have one goal - that is to deliver relevant results to a searcher on their site. If they don’t deliver quality, relevant results they are going to lose their following. Google got so popular because they are known for great relevant results. So, it stands to reason that the best thing you can do to show the engines you are relevant to your keywords is to actually use your keywords within your pages.
Tips on Creating Rich Content for the Search Engines:
• When you're writing your content, focus on 1-3 of your most important keyword phrases.
• Emphasize your main keywords in the first paragraph. This is the first thing the search engines "see" so it should include keyword-dense text.
• Aim to keep your page length between 200 - 600 words.
• If you’re struggling on where to put all those keywords, try writing non- optimized copy first and add key phrases later.
• Search for words and phrases like "our product" and "it," and transform them into keyword-filled phrases. Then your text and marketing flow are covered and adding keywords is simply filling in the blanks.
• Read your copy out loud to make sure it doesn’t sound stilted with all those keyword phrases. Strong search engine copywriting maintains a persuasive flow to it even with keyword phrases, and don’t clump keyword phrases in a big text block separated by commas. Search engines read this as spam and your prospects will be unimpressed by your nonsensical text.
• Tighten your copy and keep it focused.
• Write short paragraphs and include sub headlines that integrate keyword-rich bullet points to make it more readable.
Writing for the engines is very similar to conventional copywriting except you structure your text around certain key phrases. With a little keyword phrase research and powerful benefit statements, your copy will sell your products/services in a way that the search engines love.
Interlink pages:
The engines like to follow a path through your site and they like to see your pages interconnected. The best way to explain this concept is to give an excerpt of text. Let’s say your website is about selling tickets to concert. You may have an article about how to get tickets – here’s an excerpt:
Rather than just leaving that text as is, you could chose to add some content on the concert performance cities using some of the keywords and link them to another page within your site. It shows the engines that the site is focused on the “concert tickets” and also relevant information on “about the concert”.
On-page optimization is not a formula based, it’s all about testing while others are simply gut-feelings based on experience. However it does require patience, attention to detail and the ability to work within HTML.
In the next post we will deal with the "Google Webmaster Tools", Step5 of the Complete SEO Process
