The Basic Things You Need to Know About Search Engine Optimization
In this modern world, the growth of technology is indescribably rapid and the internet is no exception. Technology has made it possible for businesses to progress – and even compete – online.
The search engines (Google, Yahoo! Search, MSN, etc.) is the described as the online free market for websites and the general buying, researching, or “surfing”, online public. As the public types in keywords for a search, the competition begins for the top spots in the results. As a web player, you would want to be included in the first two pages of the search results, at the least. This is where search engine optimization comes into play.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing the volume and quality of traffic to a particular website from search engines through organic search results. SEO targets different kinds of search like image search, local search, and industry–specific search. Since the first websites listed in the search results tend to get more views, SEO as a web marketing strategy considers how search engines work and what people look for. SEO entails editing website content and HTML coding to strengthen the website’s connection to specific keywords and remove elements that would interfere with the indexing activities of search engines. SEO is divided into two categories:
· White Hat SEO – This type of SEO follows the guidelines of search engines. Web developers who practice White Hat SEO create good quality contents for the sake of the users instead of search engines, editing their contents so that they are more accessible to spiders instead of tricking the algorithm just to get a higher ranking.
· Black Hat SEO – This type of SEO uses deception to improve rankings. Search engines penalize companies who make use of Black Hat methods by giving them a lower ranking or eliminating them from the listings.
Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Land and writer of 1996 Webmaster’s Guide to Search Engines, shared the following SEO tips during the KDMC News Entrepreneur Boot Camp at USC:
1. Use Google AdWords’ keyword tool to find the most popular keywords that correspond to the nature of your website. Find out what keywords and phrases users make use of when they are looking for content like yours. Keyword tools save you the time and trouble in doing that. In Google Adwords’ case, it shows you the approximate number of searches conducted on Google for words and phrases you enter or associated with the URL you chose. With such tool’s help, you would be able to have a good idea on which keywords would drive more traffic to your website.
2. Use those keywords in your HTML title tag. The <title> tag defines the title of any HTML document. It defines a title the browser toolbar and provides a title for the page when it is added to favorites. Note that search engines place an important amount of emphasis on the title tag of your pages.
3. Write compelling meta description tags for each page of your site. Sites that have an engaging blurb below the website title attract the attention of the viewers. The keywords and phrases you use in your Meta description tag don’t affect your page’s ranking in the search engines (for the most part), but this tag can still come in handy in your overall SEO campaigns.
4. Use SEO style instead of AP style on references. The rigid rules of the AP style do not aid you in keyword repetition and density. Move away from rigid AP style rules on second references and place names to more SEO-friendly use of full names on some (but not all) subsequent references within a story.
5. Use keywords in your URLs. Keywords are not just for domains. You could use keywords for file names and directory paths as well.
6. Never publish the same article under two or more URLs. Posting an article on multiple pages of your website interferes with its position in the results page because Google ranks a page based on the amount and quality of links to that individual page.
7. Design standing pages as linkbait for popular present issues. Instead of posting the same article on multiple pages, it would be better to index all those links in one page to keep your content more organized and get a better ranking in SERP (Search Engine Results Page).
8. Never change your URL without providing a 301 redirect. A “404” or “page not found” is a response that turns people away. It is not only common courtesy to provide a 301 direct; it also maintains your good position in SERP.
9. Use URL shorteners that provide 301 redirects and click stats. When you make use of URL shorteners, make sure your site gets the search engine credit for that link instead of the URL shortener.
10. Link good websites and invite them to link you. Promotional skills and good relationship with your contacts still go a long way. Other sites linking to you would help move your site up in SERP.
Creative and smart marketing strategies like Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are classic, which means that they are not likely to go out of style. It would make more sense to say that other techniques would become more effective as time passes. As long as more information keeps getting published online, there would be a higher demand for good quality search engines. Therefore, as long as there is a need for search engines, SEO is necessary. For one thing, the problem with search engines is that they cannot guarantee to give you the exact results you are looking for. If the keywords a user puts in are not specific enough, the search engine would also come up with results that are too general and would make it harder for the user to find the exact information he is looking for. This just leads to the fact that even search engines need SEO because it helps companies to follow the guidelines of search engines and provide users with clean, reliable, and powerful content. Of course, it is also possible that SEO techniques would evolve and might even slow down as technology continues to progress. However, as of now, there are still a massive number of web pages, links, and search engines that are not going to disappear anytime soon so you would still need to do a lot of optimization.
Somni Creative, Inc., rich media marketing professionals from Los Angeles, California, specialize in providing search engine optimization. We value our customers, both old and new. We welcome the challenge of getting you ahead in the corporate race. Call us at (310) 6973199 or visit www.somnicreative.com.
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References:
When Will SEO Become Obsolete?
Top 10 Search Engine Optimization Tips for Online News Start-ups