Search Engine Optimization Effective SEO improves the likelihood your submitted page will obtain a Top 10 to 20 ranking position for your Specific Keyword on a Search Engine’s results page. The higher the ranking, the better are your chances that a surfer will see your listing and click over to visit your site!Please follow these recommendations but be careful not to go overboard. Some online marketers fall into the trap of constantly experimenting with on-page criteria in order to obtain better rankings. There are so many criteria factored into
the search engine's ranking algorithms that such efforts are extremely low-yield. The key is to build your pages properly the first time, and then focus on the content. SEO is comprised of two elements…
- On-page ranking criteria -- This refers to ranking elements occurring directly on the Web page you are creating. For example, the Title of your article as it appears on the <TITLE> tag of your page is an on-page criterion.
- Off-page ranking criteria -- This refers to ranking elements that do not occur on this page but yet affect its ability to rank well and obtain listings. Off-page ranking criteria are important indicators of human behavior. Visitor reaction reflects the quality of a page.
An example of such a criterion would be an in-pointing link (i.e., another site has your URL on its site). While your first priority will be to create and optimize your pages, obtaining a few credible in-pointing links should be a close second.
This is known as building link popularity. To rank well at the SEs, your page’s Specific Keyword must be integrated in all the right places. Where, exactly?... 1) TITLE tag
2) META keyword tag
3) META description tag
4) H1 and other header tags
5) Body copy
6) Link tags
7) File name/domain name
8) Image ALT tag and name of image
Let’s look at a few of these “on-page” criteria. The rest can be found in the FREE eBOOK Affiliate Masters Course located in the Free eBooks section of this site which requires free registration. 1) TITLE tag = WORLD’S BEST Fashion Factory Outlet Stores, The Cream of Cyber Discount Fashions - Must contain your Specific Keyword at least once, no more than twice, and with some kind of variation or synonym. Try to include your most important General Keyword, too.
- Use up to 70, even 80 characters. Get your most important message in, right at the beginning. If the engine cuts your title off at 60 characters in its listing, you would have been able to fire your “big gun.” Meanwhile, some engines will show up to 90 or so characters.
- Remember, the title appears as the link in Search Engine listings. It must “get the click” -- so make sure it’s attractive, without being misleading. Getting your Title right for both your reader and engine is the single most important thing you can do.
- The TITLE tag is the key on-page elements. Make sure every single one of your pages (yes, even your TIER 3 pages) contains a relevant, keyword-rich TITLE tag.
- In general, it's a good idea to position your Specific Keyword near the beginning of your page elements… TITLE, META description, headline, body copy, etc. Search Engines give greater prominence to keywords that appear closer to the beginning, rather than the end.
2) META keyword tag = <META name= “KEYWORDS” content=”factory outlet stores”>
- Consider adding a common synonym that has a nearly exact meaning (ex.,”outlet malls”) but don’t dilute your META tag with a million synonyms
- You could add a few General Keywords that people might add when they search (ex., “discounts, shopping”).
If you do put more than one keyword in this META tag (separated by commas), always put your most important one, the one that this page focuses upon, first.
Here’s an example of an expanded META keyword tag: <META name=“KEYWORDS” content=“factory outlet stores, outlet malls, shopping, discounts, mall”>
Don’t lose sleep fretting over your META keyword tag. It is rarely factored into ranking algorithms these days. Just include your most important keywords and a couple of variations, and move on. 3) META description tag = <META name=“DESCRIPTION” content=“Ever been on the road, far from home, when what do you see? A mall jammed with fashion outlet stores! Nirvana, right? Welcome! Take this cyber-off ramp to “Outlet Heaven.”>
- The META description often comprises a portion of what searchers see in the Search Engine’s listings (SEs display their results slightly differently). So, like the Title tag, make sure it’s attractive, without being misleading. Your goal is to entice the prospective visitor to click through to your site. A gentle, good-natured tease, like the above, will do well. As with the META keywords tag, most SEs do not place much ranking weight on the text inside META description tags. So focus on getting the click through, and don’t worry too much about just the “right” blend of keywords for this tag.
- Use 150-200 characters. Some engines cut off the Title listing at as little as 140 characters. So again, make sure you get your “#1 benefit statement” up front. Remember, a “benefit statement” does not have to be “in your face” -- read the META tag above.
- Should contain your Specific Keyword at least once (try twice if it fits and see how it ranks). Include one or two of your most important General Keywords. Also, use common synonyms 2-3 times more (ex., “outlet” and “mall”). (Synonyms will work better and better as engines become more and more sophisticated. But your first priority is to place sufficient focus on your Specific Keyword.)
- Remember, do not repeat the TITLE in this tag. The reader will just see the same phrase twice in the Search Engine’s listing, once in the Title and then again in the description. That’s wasting valuable “word real estate.”
4) H1 and other header tags = Fashion Outlet Stores Nirvana. The headlines are more important than your regular body copy. That’s true for both human readers and for the engines. As far as ranking criteria goes, it is likely that the <H1> tag is second only to the <TITLE> tag in importance. Please keep in mind that some engines don’t use the META description tag to form the second part of their listings (i.e., after the Title) in their search results. In those cases, they will usually use the first words on the page -- your H1 tag (first headline), and the first words in the body copy after that.
Here are the key “musts” for your H1 tag... - Contains your Specific Keyword at least once. Try to include an important General Keyword, too (different from the one you used in your Title).
- Does not exceed 80 characters, 40 is better. Long headlines feel rather “hypey.”
- Helps to “get the click” -- so make sure it’s attractive, without being misleading.
- Does not contain your Title. Otherwise, if the engine uses your H1 tag, your listing and H1 tag will both say the same thing... needless repetition. Consider this strategy…
Take your META description tag and chop it into two pieces -- one part for the headline and one part for the opening paragraph of your body copy. If a single discussion warrants more than a single headline, use a smaller headline (<H2><H3>) containing variations of your page’s most important keywords. Special Note… Every single content page must contain a <H1> or <H2> tag for maximum ranking relevancy. If you are not using these tags, you are missing out on free Search Engine traffic! For more SEO information grab the FREE eBook available to our registered members. Registration is also FREE.
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