1. Learn basic HTML. Many search engine optimisation techniques involve editing the behind the scenes HTML code. Your high rankings can depend on knowing which codes are necessary, and which aren't - the following bullets will explain how.
2. Choose keywords wisely. The keywords you think might be perfect for your site may not be what people are actually searching for. To find the optimal keywords for your site, use tools such as WordTracker. Choose two or three highly targeted phrases for each page of your site. Never shoot for general keywords such as "travel" or "exhibition" ** You must also ensure that it has good content relevancy ** Content relevancy is a search engine's measure of how well a particular Web page accurately matches a searching question. For example, a query for car insurance would list pages that were on the topic of car insurance above pages that were just about insurance, generally, or cars, generally, because the pages about car insurance would be much more relevant. 3. Write at least 200 - 250 words of visible text copy based on your chosen keywords. This is a crucial component to high rankings and a successful Web site. The search engines need to "read" keyword rich copy on your pages so they can successfully classify your site. Use each keyword phrase numerous times within your copy for best results - you would be surprised just how many of our sites do not add Meta tags/keywords and for those that do you will no doubt see needless repetition of words and phrases. 4. Create a killer Title tag. HTML title tags are critical because they're given a lot of weight with all of the search engines. You must put your keywords into this tag and not waste space with extra words. Do not use the Title tag to display your company name or to say "Home Page." Think of it more as a "Title Keyword Tag" and create it accordingly. Add your company name to the END of this tag, if you must use it. 5. Create good meaty meta tags. Meta tags can be valuable, but they are not a magic bullet. Create a Meta Description tag that uses your keywords and also describes your site. The information in this tag often appears under your Title in the search engine results pages. The Meta Keyword tag isn't quite as important as the Meta Description tag. Contrary to popular belief, what you place in the keyword tag will have very little bearing on what keywords your site is actually found under, and it's not given any consideration whatsoever by Google. Use this tag, but do not obsess over. 6. Use extra "goodies" to boost rankings. Things like headlines, image alt tags, header tags <H1><H2>, etc.), links from other pages (this is very very important - you should ensure your pages and links within your site all link together), keywords in file names, and keywords in hyperlinks can cumulatively boost search engine rankings. Use any or all of these where they make sense for your site. 7. Don't expect quick results. Getting high rankings takes time; there's no getting around that fact. Once your site is added to a search engine or directory, its ranking may start out low and then slowly work its way up the ladder. Some search engines measure "click-through popularity," i.e., the more people that click on a particular site, the higher its ranking will go. Be patient and give your site time to mature. 8. Don't constantly "tweak" your site for better results. It's best not to make changes to your optimization for at least three-to-six months after submission. It often takes the engines at least that long to add your optimized pages to their databases. Submit it, and then forget about it for a while! 9. Do not use excessive repetition of a keyword in a page, optimizing a page for a keyword which is unrelated to the contents of the site, using invisible text, etc. Most search engines will penalize a page which uses this technique - it is called spamdexing. 10. Link Popularity: The number of sites which link to a particular site. Many search engines use link popularity as a factor in determining the search engine ranking of a web site. 11. Alt Tags and HREF Title tags: The alternative text that the browser displays when the surfer does not want to or cannot see the pictures present in a web page. Using alt / title tags containing keywords can improve the search engine ranking of the page for those keywords. If you've followed these tips and still can't find your site in the engines, the first place to "tweak" would be your page copy. If you added less than 250 words of visible text on your pages, this is probably your culprit. Also, double check your keyword density, and make sure that you only targeted two or three phrases per page. In a nutshell if you use he following: Relevant anchor text, domain name, page title tags and relevant content and headings you will get better rankings. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 23 February 2005 16:31 To: CF-Talk Subject: A Little OT I was just curious what everyone does for search engine submission and optimization. I know the obvious stuff like alt tags, keywords, proper html syntax, titles, text instead of images, ect.... Are there any tricks that any of you have learned over time? What software do you use and what software is considered the industries best? 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