Rather than write a big introduction, let’s get to the meat of the matter. The
best, consistently highly-ranked websites have the following things in common:
1. Links Matter: You need to have links to and (more importantly) from
other respected sites. This means that you need to give people a reason
to want to visit your pages. Either be an authority in your market or
offer unique and compelling content. Preferably, do both. The best way to do this is Basically, you need to build a network of high quality inbound links pointing to your site. By “high quality” I mean, from sites that have a Google PageRank of 4 or more AND place well in major search terms for that industry (PageRank is not as important as it used to be-more on this in a later article). If you use a good browser, like Firefox, there are several tools that will show you PageRank (and more) for you.
The best ways to get these links are to:
· Write articles establishing your authority in the subject of your website. Submit these to well-respected article and content sites like Associated Content-places with a PR of 4 or more)
· List your site on industry-specific directories, and DMOZ.org
· Participate in forums that are popular with your target market and be sure to include a link to your site in your signature
· Do NOT buy links-you WILL get penalized, and once that happens, you’re out of luck
Also, Google is looking for hyperlinks that use actual phrases (as opposed to URLs). For example, if you have a copyright software site, Google will give more weight to a hyperlink that’s attached to a phrase like, "Incredible Copyright Software" than a link that’s attached to: www.bestcopyrightsoftware.com.
Here’s what a properly optimized link looks like:
Incredible Copyright Software
2. Write good, fresh content that flows naturally for HUMAN readers
(forget about the searchbots, and how they read your pages. Write naturally in order to convert your visitors, which will never happen if your page is poorly written using boring terminology. Speak personally TO people to give them a sense of interaction- lose the corporate speak. Some Search Engines (SE’s) even penalize pages that have a high rate of visitors using their “back” button to return to results. Some SEO “experts” will tell you to stuff your pages with your keywords, but this is, at best, a short-term strategy. Eventually, you will get penalized in the rankings. Give people a reason to return to your site again and again.
(See #15 for more on this)
3. Valid Code Matters. It just does. Take the time to correct your code using W3c.org’s HTML Validator.
4. Keywords and Description Meta-Tags: Meta-Tags matter very little any more, despite what you may read. The only exception would be the Keywords tag, which is a good place to put common misspellings of your keywords/phrases, since you don’t want that in your actual copy. The Description tag is important, not for rankings, but b/c it is what searchers will read about your site. Take the time to make unique ones for each page of your site.
5. Have a physical address and a privacy policy on your website. These are important factors, as SE’s look for these things in determining the legitimacy of an organization.
6. HTML Styling: Use Bolds, italics sparingly to emphasize important points. Use ONE H1 tag with your keywords and phrases. Bulleted lists, and other tags should have related key words, and ensure the first text paragraph is written well (but talk TO the reader, not from a distant place, lose the “corporate speak”) and interspersed with(but not dominated by) your key words/phrases.
7. Find a niche. Begin by going after smaller markets, and moving up-not
vice versa. You will convert more visitors if you think about your
products and services and ask yourself what you would type to find it.
Stats show that longer phrases show more buying intent and focus. Stick to your niche. I’ve seen websites that try to sell everything. For example, I had a client who was going in the mechanic business, who was also interested in selling necklaces that he made in his spare time, and he wanted to lump the two together. It took lots of convincing to get him to separate the two, but how many people looking for a mechanic on the internet might also decide to buy a necklace from that same mechanic (even though his necklaces were unique and otherwise good)? Not many. It’s better to focus on one thing and do each one well.
8. Have a custom 404 error page, and make your site navigation easy.
9. Submissions to Search Engines: They will find you naturally, without submitting, but if you decide to submit, submit to the major Search Engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN) and try to get a listing in DMOZ.org (Major Directory). Submit ONCE, and forget it. Avoid scammy Submission software that targets the smaller players in the SE industry. The quickest way to get listed is by making posts or submitting articles on highly trusted sites within your market, and the best way to do that without getting banned for spamming is to write valuable content (articles, posts) and subtly slip your name and website in your signature. In any event, you should:
10. Use a sitemap in XML form. Update it as needed to reflect additions and subtractions to your site’s pages and include a link to it on your 404 page. I also make an html sitemap that I put on my 404 error page (example: http://netsdesign.net/404.php)
11. Title EACH page appropriately, and try to include key phrases describing
the content of the page, with the site name at the END of the Title, except for the index/home page. If your company name is “ABC Lumber Company” your Title page might be: “Premium Lumber – Fir, Oak, Redwood, Maple :: ABC Lumber, Dallas, Texas” Notice that you would have included 4 of your specialty products (types of lumber), included the phrase “premium lumber” (change this for the key phrase you are targeting), got your company name in there, and your location.
So, this should set you up well to get included in the following searches:
· Premium lumber
· Premium lumber oak
· Premium lumber fir
· Premium lumber redwood
· Premium lumber maple
· Any of the above plus location
· ABC Lumber
· The above plus location
· Etc (you should get the picture by now)
12. Contextual/Navigation Links: Place links in your content as well as your navigation. Make them authoritative links.
13. Avoid questionable practices. There is no such thing as quick rankings
that last. If you are in it for the long-haul, and follow honest best
practices, you will eventually rank high longer. There are tons of scammy and spammy SEO services that will try to sell you on top rankings. Your first giveaway that it’s probably a scam is anyone who guarantees “top results.”
First of all, that’s a pretty vague phrase. “Top results” in an over-saturated market might be within the first 20 pages of SERP’s (SE Results Pages), and, more importantly-given the dynamic nature of the business-it is virtually impossible to live up to that claim consistently.
14. Register your domain name for AT LEAST 3 years: SE’s look for this as a sign of legitimacy, as they figure if you are confident in your own long-term success, you will invest even this small amount of money- unlike the scammy/spammy companies that pop in and out of existence looking to make a quick buck. Remember, Google values content, and wants to deliver results that people find useful-not necessarily results that allow someone (not the user) to make a lot of money on.
15. Write captivating headlines: This really isn’t so much SEO as it is just plain common sense marketing, but statistics show that you have about 10 seconds to do this before the user is on to the next site. Basically, your headlines need to state the problem or need that you are going to solve for the reader, and paint a picture of the reader living out that solution ( use vivid and graphic words that portray them doing so.) Keep them short (never more than 2-3 sentences, and make sure your first one (h1 tag) includes some targeted key phrases.)
That being said, if you do the suggestions above, you are well on your way to not only getting decent rankings, but to (more importantly) driving traffic that you will be able to monetize. There are many other important factors to consider, and I will address those in the near future, but you are well ahead of the majority of websites if you follow the above best practices.
Rogers McInnis
NetsDesign.Net Founder
http://netsdesign.net
Article Source: http://www.orbitaloc.com/
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