Search engine optimization is one of the most popular topics in Internet Marketing. The reasons are obvious. Search
engines provide highly targeted traffic at a zero or very low cost. There are a lot of myths, debates, and
disagreements over what is good Search Engine Optimization (SEO). We decided to look at 7 principles that you
should definitely follow when optimizing your site for search engines.
Use Meta Tags
You will certainly hear a large number of people tell you that meta tags are not important and are useless. There is
some truth to this, however, it is largely untrue.
Meta tags were first included in web pages primarily for search engines and directories and used as summaries of what
a website was about. Because they were good summaries and a logical way to identify and classify a website, search
engines used meta tags in their ranking algorithms. This method was worked well in the early days of search engines
and the Internet.
Unfortunately, everyone figured out that by "optimizing" meta tags, they could better their rankings. This
optimization quickly turned into sp@m. Search engine technology evolved and soon most search engines were removing
meta tags from their ranking algorithms.
However, meta tags are still extremely important in SEO. Meta tags are still used by spiders to make a quick
assessment as to the nature of a website. Meta tags are also used to identify the author, the company name, to set
various rules for a spider to follow and to provide a general rating for the spider. Examples of meta tags that you
should use are listed below:
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1">
This describes what language and format the site is in. This would be different for an XML document or other formats.
<meta http-equiv="expires" content="0">
Has this site been up for only a short time? If so, let the engine know how long the information is good for.
<meta name="distribution" content="global">
Do you only have regional content, or should the whole world be opened up to see you?
<meta name="author" content="Web Design Company">
Who owns the site, or who designed the site. This WILL help your rankings if someone does a direct search on your
company name.
<meta name="copyright" content="Copyright 2004 MySite.com">
Obvious important copyright information.
<meta name="description" content="Make sure you always use well formed sentences.">
Your description should be one or two sentences. Make them well-formed sentences...don't use sentence fragments. Use
a few of your desired keywords, but do not keyword sp@m the sentences.
<meta name="keywords" content="keywords, my keyword, blah, blah, blah">
Use anywhere between 6-15 keywords or phrases in this section.
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
Tell the search engine robot to follow all of your pages. This doesn't mean that it will, it just gives crawlers
permission.
<meta name="revisit-after" content="1 days">
How often do you change your content? Once a day, once a month? Let the robot know this information, but be truthful!
<meta name="rating" content="general">
Do you have an adult website? Make sure you indicate that here. If it is for the general public, then let them know
that as well.
Meta tags, although not crucial to your ranking, are helpful for search engines. For this reason alone it is good to
employ them on your website.
Use Properly Structured HTML
One of the biggest mistakes people fall into is that they use improper Html on their sites. Html is relatively easy
to code. Good Html is structured clearly and neatly. Poorly structured Html includes open tags, closing tags out of
order, minimal information when forming your tags, and errors that may not show up in a browser.
When a search engine spider visits your website, its task is to ascertain the information on your website and give it
a grade. If you have poorly formed Html on your website, you are making the task of the spider more difficult.
Additionally, if you have poorly formed Html on your website, the search engine may not consider your website to be
the best candidate for your desired keywords since poorly formed Html indicates a lack of professionalism.
You should always follow a few rules when writing your html:
A. Close All of Your Tags
Every html tag has an open and a close tag, with the exception of a line break (<br>). Do not leave tags hanging. For
example:
<p><i>This is my text</i>
The problem with this code is that there is no closing </p> tag. This means that it is still open.
B. Close Your Tags In Order
Although a minor issue, closing your tags in order means better HTML. For example:
<p><i>This is my text</p></i>
These tags are closed out of order. You should always close the last open tag first.
C. Use ALT Tags on Images
A search engine does not know what an image looks like. Most spiders can figure a few things out about an image by
its file name, but an alt tag should tell a spider everything about that image. For example:
<img src=http://www.example.com/image/image.gif width="300" height="150"
alt="Dogs at Poker">
Properly formed HTML will make it easier for search engines to know what your site is about. The faster they can
digest your information, the more they will digest.
Avoid Excessive JavaScript
JavaScript is a great tool to have. It can make your site interactive and provide a better, stronger interface for
your users. However, it should be avoided at all costs when implementing content.
JavaScript is different than most every other technology on the Internet because it is a client-side technology as
opposed to server-side. The difference is simple. When a person views your webpage, if there is JavaScript, the
JavaScript will be downloaded to that person's computer and executed on their computer. If JavaScript were
server-side, then the execution of the code would happen entirely on the server where the website is located.
Because JavaScript is a client-side language, search engine spiders are not able to read what they output. So, if you
are trying to update your content frequently using JavaScript, the search engine will never know the difference.
JavaScript is, however, still a great resource for forms, validation, and other parts of your page that are not
crucial to the meaning of your page.
Avoid Dynamic URL's
A URL such as http://www.anydomain.com/program.php?id=456&p=4 is not search engine friendly. Search engines
have come a long way in their ability to spider URL's such as the one above. In fact, you will probably be included
in an index with that style of url, but it is not a friendly URL.
With the introduction of mod_rewrite, you can easily make dynamic URL's into search engine friendly URLs. Mod_rewrite
gives you the ability to make the above url into something that looks like this:
http://www.anydomain.com/program-456-4.html
Search engines are more inclined to index this type of URL.
Don't "Over-Optimize"
There really is no such thing as over-optimization. Over-optimization is actually search engine sp@m. Search engines
hate it when they are keyword sp@mmed. If you build your webpage around a central topic, you should obtain the perfect
balance of keyword density on that page. If you don't, then you should rethink what your website is really about.
Spending all of your time making sure every Alt tag has your targeted keyword in it, or finding a way to include very
small, or close to, invisible text so that you can sp@m a certain keyword is a sure way to waste your time and ruin
the appearance of your website.
Keep Content Fresh
Search engines LOVE fresh, new content. Constantly add current news to your website, new information, and change your
front page. You do not need to change the look of your website, just the content on the front page.
Search engines are always trying to provide searchers with the most relevant, up-to-date information possible. A page
that hasn't changed since 2000 will not have as relevant content as a page recently published with updated information.
There is also an issue of pride with the search engines. Part of the search engine wars has been to see who can build
the freshest index. As a result, search engines such as Google take note of sites that change frequently. The more
frequently your site changes, the more frequently they will come back and re-index your site.
Don't Rely on SEO
This article has focused on some basics of SEO, but if there is one rule to follow in developing your website it is
this: do not rely solely on search engines. There are many ways to develop a steady stream of traffic to your website
outside of search engines. Link exchanges, purchasing links, advertising, and participating in online communities are
great ways to build your traffic. Don't be afraid to purchase advertising. If you have a great website, people will
refer others to your website.
The lesson in all of this is that good search engine optimization stems from organized development, fresh content,
and generally an attempt to develop a useful website for your visitors. If you do this, you will be surprised at how
SEO really takes care of itself. Search engines are looking for well-developed, content-rich websites. Simply give
them what they are looking for and let them worry about filtering out all the people who are attempting to "trick"
them.
About The Author
Mark Daoust is the owner of Site-Reference.com and
TowerSearch.com. Add your site to TowerSearch to receive a guaranteed Number
One position for frëe!
