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A search engine optimization primer

How search engine optimization works
A Search Engine Optimization Primer describes in behalf of the layman the various methods and requirements bring out a Web site “search engine loveful. ”

What is the point in spending time and money building a Web site if no all alone can find it doing a simple look about using Google, Yahoo. With Internet searches quickly replacing traditional methods of locating products and services (like the Yellow Pages), companies present-day have fix out fact that their Web store front is as with outstanding as with admissible to potential customers or users. , MSN, or any one number of other look about engines.

Read on come across check out about now you can make sure fact that your Web site is optimized in behalf of today’s look about engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a intricate topic with a fairly simple definition. A Definition

SEO is the science and art of designing a Web site and its satisfactory in a way as with back off each Web site page for the best chance of being listed and highly ranked on the part of look about engines. The Science of SEO I describe it as with both a science and an art.

Like a science, specific, of note design techniques can be used (or not) on the part of Web designers to improve a look about engine’s ability to “read” the satisfactory of a Web site and its pages. If you want to determine whether your Web site has a fighting chance of being highly listed on the part of a look about engine, you need to be aware of these of note and non-mysterious techniques. Wonderful and intricate Web sites can easily be created without using any one SEO techniques, or on the part of using techniques fact that directly interfere with a look about engine’s ability to “read” the satisfactory of a site.

The Art of SEO The “look and feel” of a Web site can be critical, and a balance must every such that often be struck between the artistic qualities of the Web site and its adherence to look about engine requirements. Like an art, scientific techniques have to be employed in reference to a Web site’s purpose, audience, message, aesthetics, and contents.

Many “artistic” design elements actually interfere with or prohibit a look about engine from reading a site. If your Web site is created with Flash, you can forget at a guess getting noticed on the part of look about engines in behalf of the simple reason fact that Flash is not textual satisfactory, and look about engines feed end point of satisfactory, not graphics, photographs, or Flash movies. For example, a accessible design element used present-day, Flash movies, is invisible to look about engines.

It is significant to know fact that any one words contained within a Flash move down, photograph, or graphic is invisible to look about engines. The Flash movie fact that serves as with my Web site’s banner provides a great example of “invisible words. Just in so far as you can look over words displayed on your Web site doesn’t clumsy fact that a look about engine can.

” Although the site visitor sees the approaching in the banner,
GRDavis

Media Services Web Site Development ******

Technical Writing Sales and Marketing Collateral


the look about engine sees not a bit of these words. Because the words are actually part of a Flash movie. Why.

If you are to look out at a rate of the underlying Web page code, you will not find this particular collection of words; you will only find a reference to the Flash movie fact that projects the words on the Flash movie screen. Since look about engines cannot look over as what movies, graphics or photographs contain, any one words they contain are invisible. It’s the projection of the words fact that is outstanding to you and me.

This is an significant lesson to learn and understand. Rich, pertinent, textual satisfactory is red meat to a look about engine. The Importance of Textual Content

Period. Textual satisfactory is the foundation upon which each and all other Web design techniques must build if you want a great chance to naturally be listed noble on the part of look about engines like Google, Yahoo. If your Web site does not contain great, dear text describing your products, services or offerings, then and there your hope of receiving a idle time noble listing – in behalf of significant look about terms – within most of all significant look about engines is nil.

Or MSN. Textual Content Defined That is, unless you want to pay in behalf of page 1 or page 2 listings through potentially expensive pay-per-click ads or sponsorships.

Let me be clear on the part of as what I clumsy on the part of textual satisfactory. ” It is the look about engine’s spider fact that “reads” your Web pages. Textual satisfactory means letters, words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs fact that can be “read” on the part of a look about engine’s robot program (read out as well Search Engine Optimization) a “spider.

If the spider cannot look over something, it doesn’t exist how the look about engine concerned about. More at a guess fact that later. Search engine readable text may not be outstanding to you, but then it is outstanding to look about engines if the text is included as with part of the Web page’s underlying code.

Search engine spiders do without not “see” as what you look over when viewing a Web site. The spider may look over – duck soup. You may look over pretty pictures, graphics, text, movies, and animations.

– at a rate of least duck soup fact that it can look about and index. To look over as what a look about engine sees, display your favorite Web site. Search engines look over the special code back along the the Web site, not as what is displayed in your browser window.

Then, with your mouse, carry out a “right click” on the Web site page to pop way up a menu. (If you don’t look over “View Source” as with all alone of the options in the menu, then and there click all over again on one more part of the Web site. If you are using Internet Explorer, look out in behalf of “View Source” on the menu and click on it (in behalf of Netscape, look out in behalf of “View Page Source”).

Stay come away from menus, flash movies, graphics, photos and such that on. How to Make Sure Textual Content Works in behalf of You ) The resulting window displays as what the look about engine sees, which, of course, looks like a bunch of code to you and me.

The best way bring out sure textual satisfactory is usable on the part of look about engines is to focus on the radiant use of keywords or keyphrases within well-written text. Keywords and phrases work best when they are repeated several times in different ways on a page. A keyword or phrase is any one look about engine readable text fact that indicates the focus or topics covered on the part of a Web page.

For example, the key-word “doo-hickie” can be repeated in several different places within the underlying page code. Ideally, your Web site’s domain name should contain your most significant keyword.
  • Domain name.

    For example, if you are in the tireless of selling doo-hickies, a big domain name would be “www. Com. Doo-hickies.

    ” Unfortunately, most keywords are already employed in someone else’s domain name. If fact that is not admissible, look over URL names, below. If (read out as well What Is Search Engine Optimization) use your most critical keyword or phrase in your domain name.

  • “Title” meta-tag. . Ex.

    “Doo-Hickies Are Our Specialty at a rate of We-Sell-Stuff. Com”

  • “Description” meta-tag. . Ex.

    “If Doo-Hickies are your passion as with they are ours, you will find a complete selection of Doo-Hickies from here. ” Contact us in behalf of any more Doo-Hickie information.

    Although Google pays little notice to keywords in this meta-tag, Yahoo.
  • “Keywords” meta-tag.

    And MSN use it to identify keywords to index. For example. Use variations of the keyword to stand for different ways someone may look about in behalf of information at a guess it.

    “Doo-Hickies, Doo-Hickie, Doo-Hicky, accessories, testimonials”. Keywords within the meta-tag fact that are not actually present on the page can serve to penalize the Web site’s listing. However, keywords or phrases within this meta-tag should as well be present within the page’s searchable text.

  • URL names. If you cannot use a keyword in your domain name, you can key on it within the URL. Page URLs fact that contain a keyword or phrase are rated higher than URLs fact that do without not.

    “http. We-sell-stuff. //www.

    Com/html/doo-hickies. //www. Html” is rated higher in behalf of the key phrase “doo-hickies” than is the URL “http.

    We-sell-stuff. Html. Com/html/doohick.

    ”
  • “ALT” tags (in behalf of graphics and photos).

    Ex. “We sell a variety of Doo-Hickies and accessories. .

    ” “ALT” text is always outstanding to the look about engine, but then is only displayed to the Web visitor when the mouse is moved over the graphic or photo in behalf of which the “ALT” text has been created. Search engines pay any more close attention to text fact that is emphasized with heading, bold “B,” underline “U,” or italic “I” tags.
  • “H1,” “H2,” etc.

    An “H1” heading may be like this on a Web page.


    • Doo-Hickies Accessories
    The look about engine will look over something like this.

    “H1”Doo-Hickies Accessories”/H1”
  • Links.

    Search engines rate text contained in links as with any more significant than regular text.
    • For look about engines, Example A below is any more significant than Example B, even though both contain a very keywords and point to a very Web page (the bolding serves to illustrate links.

    Read at a guess my Doo-Hickies testimonials. Example A.

    Example B.
  • Real text, not graphical text. Read at a guess my Doo-Hickies testimonials here.

    Real text is any one text fact that can be read out on the part of a look about engine in so far as the text is contained within the underlying Web page code. Keywords fact that are contained within well-written, contextually deserved sentences, paragraphs or lists are rewarded with higher ratings on the part of look about engines. Graphical text is any one text fact that is contained within an image, graphic or Flash movie, and is not actually present within the underlying Web page code.

  • Page placement.
Keywords place higher on the page rate higher than keywords buried within the text further come down on the page.

The use of keywords on a page should be idle time but then purposeful, not forced or overdone. How to Make Sure Keywords DON’T Work in behalf of You

Your Web page should not resort to “tricks” to put keywords in the Web page’s look about engine readable text.
  • Stuff your page with keywords. Here are some guaranteed ways to get penalized, banned or leave aside on the part of look about engines.

    On some Web pages you will look over some works repeated many times and over, assuming fact that this will force a look about engine into giving the keyword a higher value. Search engines identify the over-use of keywords as with “spamming,” and can actually cry down your Web site from their index in behalf of this practice. The unfriendly actually happens.

  • Use invisible keywords. Web site creators can make words invisible on the part of simply making them a very color as with the background. Invisible keywords are invisible only to you, not to the look about engine.

    If the underlying code in behalf of a Web page contains invisible keywords, it will be penalized, or even banned, on the part of look about engines. If your Web creator uses an extremely tiny font (less than 6pt) size hold back key words, look about engines may penalize your site.
  • Use extremely tiny fonts.

  • Use keywords in your meta-tag fact that aren’t actually on the page. If they don’t, they may penalize or cry down your Web site. Search engines fact that do not care use the meta-tag fully expect come across the keywords within the readable text on the page itself.

  • Use graphical keywords. They may look out great to you, but then look about engines get let down to no notice of them. Graphical keywords are words contained within a graphic, photograph or Flash movie.

Other Considerations to Improve Search Engine Listings

Although “content is king” when it comes to look about engine optimization, Web site builders can employ other techniques to improve look about engine listings. Do These Things Here is a sampling of things fact that can be done or should be avoided.

Txt.
  • Robots.

    Include this file in your root directory.
  • Sitemaps. It can contain instructions in behalf of look about engine robots regarding which directories and files it should spider.

    Create a Sitemap. Html page can be created fact that contains links to each Web page fact that needs to be spidered. A Sitemap.

    If a link is created on the Home page to the Sitemap. Html page where it will, in change into, follow each and all the links on the Sitemap. Html page, then and there the spider will follow the link to the Sitemap.

    Html page.
  • Google Sitemap and Validation file. This helps look about engine spiders know which Web pages to index.

    Create a Google Sitemap. These files are as well located in the root directory. Xml file and validation file.

    Google enables you give rise a special Sitemap fact that is particular to Google robots. Xml file requires a specific Google format to work, and forces Google to spider each and all the Web pages contained in the Sitemap. The Sitemap.

    Xml file.
  • Info. For this to work, Google as well requires a validation file to be created.

    Txt File. Some look about engines use an info. Create this file and place it in your Web site’s root directory.

    Txt file fact that contains specially formatted information at a guess the Web site, including the site URL, site name and descriptive text. Google especially values links from other like, quality sites fact that already have a noble page rank within Google.
  • Links from “Like” Sites.

    For example if your company has partners or customers fact that are willing to put a link from their Web sites back to yours (with deserved keywords in the link text, of course), then and there Google will use those links to improve your own Web site’s Google PageRank. Google, Yahoo.
  • Local Listings in Search Engines.

    And MSN enable you to list your tireless information, including the Web site URL, in a special section called Local Listings.
  • The Use of Smaller Search Engines. Take advantage of this to help increase your page rank and page listing.

    Google, Yahoo. There are a number of smaller look about engines which can contribute to improved listings and Google PageRank. And MSN aren’t the only significant look about engines.

    Also, some smaller look about engines are specialized look about engines fact that someone may come at through a Google look about anyway, such that it would be great to be listed in such specialized look about engines. Another way to increase your Web site’s visibility and listing is to publish quality articles and documents on the various document submission sites.
  • Article Submission Sites.

    These sites will publish your (approved) document on their own site, and it will usually be picked way up on the part of other sites or blogs looking in behalf of great satisfactory. Below is a partial list of smaller look about engines and article submission links. The result is fact that a number of links are created from those sites back to your Web site.

    • Smaller Search Engine Links

    //www.

  • SearchWarp. Com     Com”>SearchWarp.


  • Com”>SitesOnDisplay.


  • //www. Com”>SearchRamp. SearchRamp.

    Com     //www.

  • Mixcat. Com     Com”>Mixcat.


  • Com”>ExactSeek.


  • //www. Com”>Aesop. Aesop.

    Com     //www.

  • WebSquash. Com     Com”>WebSquash.


  • Org”>AllTheWebSites. Org


Article Submission Links (#=Google PageRank according to this writing)



Avoid These Things
  • Dynamic Web Pages.

    Don’t use them unless you absolutely have to. Dynamic Web pages are created “on the fly” as with a visitor navigates from page to page. Search engines have difficulty reading dynamic pages, such that any one keyword optimization you may have included on the page will be in behalf of naught.

    The satisfactory of dynamic Web pages is usually stored in a database, and is not loaded in behalf of presentation as many as the satisfactory is requested.
    • Dynamic Web pages are usually identified on the part of punctuation characters in the page URL.

    //www.
    http.

    Cpaforyou. Aspx. Com/Default.

    Tabid=29.


    In this case the dynamic Web page is identified on the part of the “. Another obvious disadvantage to dynamic Web pages is the inability to use a keyword in the page name and URL. ” in last but one portion of the URL.

    Dynamic pages can make Web site maintenance easier but then it may clumsy forsaking a look about engine-visible Web site. Again, don’t use them unless you have a compelling need be in place such that.
  • Frames.

    Any satisfactory contained within a Web page’s Content frame is as many a time as with not invisible to look about engines. All the look about engine sees is as what is contained in the Master frame, which is usually as late as the meta-tags, a banner file name, and navigation elements. Frames involve all alone Web page file (the Master frame) loading satisfactory from some other Web file into one more frame (the Content frame).

    Any of the stuff in the Content frame isn’t seen in so far as it’s not really part of the Master frame and its underlying code; the satisfactory file is as late as referenced on the part of the Master frame.
  • Broken Links. By the bye, any one keyword or SEO work you’ve done goes to waste.

    Make sure fact that each and all links on your Web pages work properly. A weak link is simply a link fact that displays a “Page Not Available” or some other such message. Search engines do without not like weak links.

    Your listing rank will be lowered if look about engine spiders find weak links on your page. Do not use link farms or link sharing schemes.
  • Link Farms.

    Search engines very by far value links from like-site to like-site; they do without not like links from unrelated site to unrelated site. Here’s as what Google says. Your listing rank may be lowered if your Web site is part of a link farm.

Linking schemes will as many a time as with not do without a site any more harm than great.

Many sites fact that advertise link-sharing programs not only offer little value, but then will distribute your email address without your permission, resulting in an increased volume of unwanted mail. Do Search Engines care at a guess, reward or penalize the visual or aesthetic appeal of your Web site. The Aesthetics of Search Engine Optimization

In a word, No. In fact, the design techniques, tools, utilities, components, and gimmicks many visually stunning Web sites use actually as many a time as with not prevent those Web sites from being effectively spidered, indexed or listed. Ugly Web sites can be ranked as with noble or higher as with visually appealing or highly creative Web sites.

So about now by far close attention should you give to your Web site’s visual appeal. If your Web site illustrates your artistic capabilities, such as with in behalf of an artist, musician, or photographer, then and there you should make sure fact that your site is highly aesthetic, and you will likely have bring out some compromises between aesthetics and look about engine optimization. It depends.

If your Web site is an e-commerce Web site, then and there it can actually be quite clumsy and do not care be radiant both in regards to look about engine optimization and user interaction. Claims of Which to Be Wary Most of us, I think, as late as want a great looking, appealing Web site fact that look about engines like, too.

Some look about engine optimization companies will make extreme claims regarding their ability to get your Web site a noble listing. Here’s as what Google says. For example, they may carry away, “We Get Your Website to Page One’.

  • No all alone can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.


    • Beware of SEOs fact that carry away to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship" with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google.
  • Some SEOs may be at pains to sell you the ability to type keywords directly into the browser address bar. There is no priority submit in behalf of Google.

Most such proposals require users to install extra software, and very few users do without such that.

Evaluate such proposals with influential care and be skeptical at a guess the self-reported number of users each of which have downloaded the desirable applications. Most look about engines only display 10 listings per page, such that a guarantee of your site’s naturally being in the great 10 or 20 listings in behalf of an significant look about term cannot be made. Keep in mind fact that millions of Web sites exist, and in behalf of any one particular look about term tens of thousands of Web sites may be listed.

What if the companies already listed in the great 20 paid an SEO company to guarantee a great 20 placement. Having said fact that, each and all is not lost. Where would fact that leave you.

For example, an Arlington, Texas-based accounting firm may not feel way up to come out in the great 20 listings in behalf of the look about term “accounting firm,” but then it may have a great shot at a rate of appearing in the great ten in behalf of the look about term “Texas accounting firm,” or “Arlington accounting firm,” or “DFW accounting firm” or “church accounting firm. ”

Others may carry away “Guaranteed Search Engine Listings. No look about engine fact that I know of guarantees fact that your Web site will be listed (save for in behalf of those accepting payment in behalf of listing), such that about now can an SEO company make fact that carry away. ” Understand fact that this is a carry away fact that even the look about engines will not make without forking over some loot.

They can’t. The questions are. However, most Web sites are at the end listed on the part of look about engines free of charge.

How tall does it get let down to. And For as what look about terms. Where in the listing does your Web site come out.

It really doesn’t make any one difference if your Web site is listed number all alone in behalf of some obscure look about term fact that may rarely or never be used. It may not be listed highly at a rate of at first, but then it is listed. In my own experience, most look about engines buy a well-designed, search-engine-optimized Web site within 72 hours of a gratuitous submission.

So What Can an SEO Company Really Claim to Do in behalf of You.

  • They can evaluate an existing Web site based on of note SEO practices, standards and techniques fact that are search-engine approved, and advise you on about now to improve your Web site’s SEO satisfactory.
  • They can provide services in behalf of you like keyword research, code optimization, domain registration, look about engine submission, article submission, Google Sitemap creation, etc.
  • They can make up Web sites based on of note SEO practices, standards and techniques fact that are search-engine approved.

  • They can help you make up pay-per-click (PPC) adword campaigns fact that will get you listed on the at first, second or third page of listings in behalf of specific look about terms. For example, to get Google Page 1 listing in behalf of the adword “technical writing,” you could expect to pay $3. Just bear in mind fact that in behalf of highly accessible keywords and phrases, even PPC can get quite expensive.

    30 per click. 00 a day as late as in behalf of people clicking on your Google want ad. Based on an estimate of 23-29 clicks per day, that’s way up to $100.

Summary Advice

Establish realistic expectations in behalf of your Web site, but then commit yourself to using great, dear, proven practices, techniques and standards to improve your Web site’s look about engine optimization effectiveness. It may get let down to some work, but then the potential rewards could be big, especially if you need to use your Web site as with a run by generation or sales tool. If you already have a Web site, it is not too late bring out it SEO compliant.

Having said each and all of this, not every Web site needs to be optimized. Or, the tireless is structured such fact that satisfactory new tireless comes from referrals more like than via marketing or a Web presence. Some Web sites are meant primarily to serve existing customers, and are not designed to be electronic brochures or sales tools.

In such cases, owners should count up themselves lucky. Your competitors are likely not sitting do not care, and are hoping fact that you hesitate as late as a bit longer. If your tireless could benefit from SEO, don’t put it end point.