The exclusive information this article contains is,
- Alt Tags
- Hypertext Links
- Domain Name and File Names
- Body Text—Header Tags and Page Copy
- Headings—<H1>Header Tags</H1>
- Page Copy
Alt Tags
Some search engines use the information within Alt tags when forming a description
and determining the ranking for your site. Alt tags are used to display a description of the graphic they are associated with if the graphic cannot be displayed, such as in text-only browsers. Alt tags appear after an image tag and contain a phrase that is associated with the image.
Ensure that your Alt tags contain the keywords assigned to the particular page wherever you can. This gives your page a better chance of being ranked higher in the search engines. For example: <image src=“images/logo.gif” height=“50” width =“50”
alt=“Best Western Hotel Orlando”>
You do not want your Alt tags to look something like “Best Western” or “Company Logo” because this does not include any keywords. Be sure you apply proper Alt tags to all images on your site to achieve best results. Keep in mind that users who browse with graphics disabled must be able to navigate your site, and proper use of Alt tags assists them in doing so.
Hypertext Links
A hypertext link consists of the description of a link placed between anchor tags. Here is an example of an absolute link, where the link includes the total path to where the document can be found:
<a href=“http://www.DomainName.com/HotelOrlando”>. This is the anchor text for the sample link</A>.
<a href=“http://www.DomainName.com/HotelOrlando”>. This is the anchor text for the sample link</A>.
The text inside a hyperlink, or anchor text, is increasingly important for search engine optimization. The major search engines have points available for including the keyword phrase being searched on in the text around the link pointing to your Web site. There is a strong relevancy pattern.
Good places to use links include the primary and subnavigation aspects of a Web site, as well as links to external resources from within the page copy. Likewise, if links on other Web sites pointing to your Web site include the same string of keywords, your site’s relevancy gets a boost. When you encourage other Web sites to link to yours, be sure to provide them with the link text they should use, and make sure you get the keyword phrase you have assigned to that particular page in the text around the link. Similarly, when you submit your Web site to directories and other link sources, provide the comparable link
Good places to use links include the primary and subnavigation aspects of a Web site, as well as links to external resources from within the page copy. Likewise, if links on other Web sites pointing to your Web site include the same string of keywords, your site’s relevancy gets a boost. When you encourage other Web sites to link to yours, be sure to provide them with the link text they should use, and make sure you get the keyword phrase you have assigned to that particular page in the text around the link. Similarly, when you submit your Web site to directories and other link sources, provide the comparable link
or title text.
Domain Name and File Names
Use of keywords within your domain name and file names can help with search engine positioning. Some professionals argue that including dashes to separate keywords makes it easier for search engines to distinguish keywords, which can help boost your rankings. Personal experience leads me to believe that if it actually does make a difference, the difference is so small that you are better off spending your time optimizing your Web site in areas that really count. This also applies to file names.
Examples of domain names are:
1. www.thisisadomainname.com
2. www.this-is-also-a-domain-name.com.
Examples of file names are:
1. www.thisisadomainname.com/samplepage.html
2. www.thisisadomainname.com/sample-page.html.
It does not take much effort to give your images and file names meaningful names—names that include the keyword phrase you have assigned to that page— so take the time to do it. For example, instead of a car dealership, say Chrysler, using http://www.chrysler.com/index.html for a page that is focusing on their trucks, it would be much better to use http://www.chrysler.com/trucks.
Body Text—Header Tags and Page Copy
Body Text—Header Tags and Page Copy
The body text of a Web page consists of all the visible text between the <body>
and </body> tag, such as headings and the page copy encased in paragraphs.
Along with page titles, body text is the next important area on which to focus
your search engine optimization efforts. Body text is where you want to spend
the bulk of your time.
Headings—<H1>Header Tags</H1>
Use your HTML <H1> header tags effectively to indicate the subject and content
of a particular page. Most people use them only as a method of creating
large fonts. Some search engines, including Google, use the content included
within the header text in their relevancy scoring. The H1 tag is the most important,
followed by H2. Include your most important keywords in your header
tags. If you can, work a couple of H2 tags into your page and get the keyword
phrase you’ve assigned to that page within the header tag.
Page Copy
You want to ensure that the keyword you have assigned to a specific page appears
as close to the beginning of that page as possible, and certainly within the first 200 characters. The higher up on a page, the greater the keyword prominence. Search engines tend to lend more weight to page content above the fold. The fold is where your browser window ends and where vertical scrolling begins, if necessary.
The assigned keyword should appear at the beginning of the text on the page, in the middle, and again at the end. You want to build a theme on your page, and to do so you have to spread your keywords throughout the page, not just focus on the first paragraph.
Always have a descriptive paragraph at the top of your Web page that describes what can be found on the page for your target market and for the major search engines. Search engines use this as their source for a site description and keywords on your site. In addition, search engines use the content found within the opening paragraph in influencing the ranking of your site among search results. Again, be sure to use the most important keywords first, preferably within the first two or three sentences. This is enormously important. Make sure that the keywords you use flow naturally within the content of the opening paragraph and relate to the content and purpose of your site. You don’t want
the search engines to think you’re trying to cram in words where they don’t fit.
As you can tell, textual HTML content is extremely important to the search engines, which brings me to my next point. Never create a page with excessive graphics as content. For example, don’t display information as a graphic file that should be displayed in text. I’ve seen this done numerous times. A site may have the best opening statement in the world, but the search engines can’t use it because the information is presented in the form of a graphic. No matter how great it looks, the search engines can’t read text embedded in your graphics for content. Very often I see a site that has the company name used every time in a graphic logo. If someone were to do a search on the company name, they may
not earn enough points to score on the first page of results.
Do not make your home page excessively lengthy. The longer your page is,the less relevant the information on the page becomes to the search engines. I recommend that you keep your home page short and to the point. A page consisting of between 250 and 800 words provides the major search engines with the information they need.
Little things such as how often you update your site can have an effect on how well your site places in search engine results. Spiders can determine how often a page is updated and will revisit your site accordingly. This may lead to higher rankings in some of the major search engines. Fresh content is good for your target market and for search engine rankings. After all, who wants to view stale content?
As a final note, before you submit your site, be sure the content on the page you are submitting is complete. Some of the major search engines will ignore your submission if you have an “under construction” or similar sign on your page.
Do not get too muddled down in the science of search engine optimization. No two search engines’ formulas or algorithms are identical, so if you spend all of your time tailoring your site for just one engine, you may have many missed opportunities on your hands. You generally will do just fine if your application of relevant keywords is related to your page at hand, is tied together with the different optimization elements that make up a Web page, and is used consistently and creatively enough to build a theme. A tool such as Web Position (http://www.webposition.com) can assist you in analyzing your pages for keyword density and relevancy.
Keyword density is the number of times a keyword, or keyword phrase, is used on a Web page, divided by the total number of words on that particular page. Your keyword density should be between 3 percent and 11 percent. If
Keyword density is the number of times a keyword, or keyword phrase, is used on a Web page, divided by the total number of words on that particular page. Your keyword density should be between 3 percent and 11 percent. If
your keyword density is below 3 percent, it is not there often enough to count.
If your keyword density is above 11 percent, it may appear as if you are attempting
to manipulate the search engines.
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