A query on a crawler-based
search engine often turns up thousands or even millions of matching web
pages. In many cases, only the 10 most "relevant" matches are displayed
on the first page.
Naturally, anyone who runs a
web site wants to be in the "top ten" results. This is because most
users will find a result they like in the top ten. Being listed 11 or
beyond means that many people may miss your web site.
The tips below will help you
come closer to this goal, both for the keywords you think are important
and for phrases you may not even be anticipating.
Pick Your Target Keywords
How do you think people will
search for your web page? The words you imagine them typing into the
search box are your target keywords.
For example, say you have a
page devoted to stamp collecting. Anytime someone types "stamp
collecting," you want your page to be in the top ten results. Then those
are your target keywords for that page.
Each page in your web site
will have different target keywords that reflect the page's content. For
example, say you have another page about the history of stamps. Then
"stamp history" might be your keywords for that page.
Your target keywords should
always be at least two or more words long. Usually, too many sites will
be relevant for a single word, such as "stamps." This "competition"
means your odds of success are lower. Don't waste your time fighting the
odds. Pick phrases of two or more words, and you'll have a better shot
at success.
Position Your Keywords
Make sure your target
keywords appear in the crucial locations on your web pages. The page
title is most important. Failure to put target keywords in the page
title is the main reason why perfectly relevant web pages may be poorly
ranked.
Search engines also like
pages where keywords appear "high" on the page. To accommodate them, use
your target keywords for your page headline, if possible. Have them also
appear in the first paragraphs of your web page.
Keep in mind that tables can
"push" your text further down the page, making keywords less relevant
because they appear lower on the page. This is because tables break
apart when search engines read them. For example, picture a typical
two-column page, where the first column has navigational links, while
the second column has the keyword loaded text. Humans see that page like
this:
Home Stamp Collecting
Page 1
Page 2 Stamp collection is worldwide experience.
Page 3 Thousands enjoy it everyday, and millions
Page 4 can be made from this hobby/business.
Search engines (and those
with old browsers) see the page like this:
Home
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Stamp collection is worldwide experience.
Thousands enjoy it everyday, and millions
can be made from this hobby/business.
See how the keywords have moved down the
page? There's no easy way around this, except to use meta tags. That
helps for the search engines that use them. For the others, it may not
be that big a problem. Consider how tables might affect your page, but
don't necessarily stop using them. I like tables, and I'll continue to
use them.
Large sections of JavaScript can also
have the same affect as tables. The search engine reads this information
first, which causes the normal HTML text to appear lower on the page.
Place your script further down on the page, if possible. As with tables,
the use of meta tags can also help.
Have Relevant Content
Changing your page titles
and adding meta tags is not necessarily going to help your page do well
for your target keywords if the page has nothing to do with the topic.
Your keywords need to be reflected in the page's content.
In particular, that means
you need HTML text on your page. Sometimes sites present large sections
of copy via graphics. It looks pretty, but search engines can't read
those graphics. That means they miss out on text that might make your
site more relevant. Some of the search engines will index ALT text and
comment information, along with meta tags. But to be safe, use HTML text
whenever possible. Some of your human visitors will appreciate it, also.
Be sure that your HTML text
is "visible." Some designers try to spam search engines by repeating
keywords in a tiny font or in the same color at the background color to
make the text invisible to browsers. Search engines are catching on to
these and other tricks. Expect that if the text is not visible in a
browser, then it won't be indexed by a search engine.
Finally, consider
"expanding" your text references, where appropriate. For example, a
stamp collecting page might have references to "collectors" and
"collecting." Expanding these references to "stamp collectors" and
"stamp collecting" reinforces your strategic keywords in a legitimate
and natural manner. Your page really is about stamp collecting, but
edits may have reduced its relevancy unintentionally.
An excellent resource for
more about writing copy that naturally pleases search engines is the
free Rank
Write newsletter. Consider signing up
for it.
Avoid Search Engine Stumbling Blocks
Some search engines see the
web the way someone using a very old browser might. They may not read
image maps. They may not read frames. You need to anticipate these
problems, or a search engine may not index any or all your web pages.
Have HTML links
Often, designers create only
image map links from the home page to inside pages. A search engine that
can't follow these links won't be able to get "inside" the site.
Unfortunately, the most descriptive, relevant pages are often inside
pages rather than the home page.
Solve this problem by adding
some HTML hyperlinks to the home page that lead to major inside pages or
sections of your web site. This is something that will help some of your
human visitors, also. Put them down at the bottom of the page. The
search engine will find them and follow them.
Also consider making a site
map page with text links to everything in your web site. You can submit
this page, which will help the search engines locate pages within your
web site.
Finally, be sure you do a
good job of linking internally between your pages. If you naturally
point to different pages from within your site, you increase the odds
that search engines will follow links and find more of your web site.
Use Meta Tags
As mentioned above, meta
tags can help you overcome problems with tables, frames and other
trouble areas. Meta tags will also help you control your site's
description in engines that support them. You should use meta tags, but
keep in mind that they are NOT a guarantee that your site will appear
first. Adding some meta tag code is not a magic bullet that cures your
site of dismal rankings.
Just Say No To Search
Engine Spamming
For one thing, spamming
doesn't always work with search engines. It can also backfire. Search
engines may detect your spamming attempt and penalize or ban your page
from their listings.
Also, search engine spamming
attempts usually center around being top ranked for extremely popular
keywords. You can try and fight that battle against other sites, but
then be prepared to spend a lot of time each week, if not each day,
defending your ranking. That effort usually would be better spent on
networking and alternative forms of publicity, described below.
If those practical reasons
aren't enough, how about some ethical ones? The content of most web
pages ought to be enough for search engines to determine relevancy
without webmasters having to resort to repeating keywords for no reason
other than to try and "beat" other web pages. The stakes will simply
keep rising, and users will also begin to hate sites that undertake
these measures.
Consider search engine
spamming against spam mail. No one likes spam mail, and sites that use
spam mail services often face a backlash from those on the receiving
end. Sites that spam search engines degrade the value of search engine
listings. As the problem grows, these sites may face the same backlash
that spam mail generates.
Submit Your Key Pages
Most search engines will
index the other pages from your web site by following links from a page
you submit to them. But sometimes they miss, so it's good to submit the
top two or three pages that best summarize your web site.
Don't trust the submission
process to automated programs and services. Some of them are excellent,
but the major search engines are too important. There aren't that many,
so submit manually, so that you can see if there are any problems
reported.
Also, don't bother
submitting more than the top two or three pages. It doesn't speed up the
process. Submitting alternative pages is only insurance. In case the
search engine has trouble reaching one of the pages, you've covered
yourself by giving it another page from which to begin its crawl of your
site.
Be patient. It can take up
to a month to two months for your "non-submitted" pages to appear in a
search engine, and some search engines may not list every page from your
site.
Beyond Search Engines
It's worth taking the time
to make your site more search engine friendly, because some simple
changes may pay off with big results. Even if you don't come up in the
top ten for your target keywords, you may find an improvement for target
keywords you aren't anticipating. The addition of just one extra word
can suddenly make a site appear more relevant, and it can be impossible
to guess what that word will be.
Also, remember that while
search engines are a primary way people look for web sites, but
they are not the only way. People also find sites through
word-of-mouth, traditional advertising, the traditional media, newsgroup
postings, web directories and links from other sites. Many times, these
alternative forms are far more effective draws than are search engines.
Finally, know when it's time
to call it quits. A few changes may be enough to make you tops in one or
two search engines. But that's not enough for some people, and they will
invest days creating special pages and changing their sites to try and
do better. This time could usually be put to better use pursuing
non-search engine publicity methods.
Don't obsess over your
ranking. Even if you follow every tip and find no improvement, you still
have gained something. You will know that search engines are not the way
you'll be attracting traffic. You can concentrate your efforts in more
productive areas, rather than wasting your valuable time.
