SEO
A query on a crawler-based search engine often turns up thousands or even millions of matching web pages. In many cases, only the ten 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. Accordingly, these 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’s HTML title tag is most important. Failure to put target keywords in the title tag is the main reason why perfectly relevant web pages may be poorly ranked.
Build your titles around the top two or three phrases that you would like the page to be found for. The titles should be relatively short and attractive. Think of newspaper headlines. With a few words, they make you want to read a story. Similarly, your page titles are like headlines for your pages. They appear in search engine listings, and a short, attractive title may help encourage users to click through to your site.
Search engines also like pages where keywords appear “high” on the page, as described more fully on the Search Engine Ranking 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 such a 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 Collecting
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 is no easy way around this, other than to simplifying your table structure. 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 effect 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.
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