Want to get a top listing for your local Internet webpage? Here are seven changes that you can implement today that can make a big difference on your search engine rankings. Some of you may have
working knowledge to make these HTML changes, others of you may need a little help. These tips will help make your website search engine friendly. I live in Ventura County in Southern California. I've spent many hours looking at hundreds of local websites for Real Estate, Chiropractic, and Dentist clients. It is very important for them to show up on search engines for local search terms. I'm going to use my local Chiropractor listings as examples in this HTML tutorial. I looked up websites using Keywords like, "Chiropractor in Ventura County," "Chiropractor in Thousand Oaks," and "Chiropractor offices in Ventura County." I want you to know that with a few minor adjustments to your HTML you can gain a distinctive advantage over other local websites that could mean more business to you in coming months. Who isn't interested in some new business in today's economy?
Let's examine what top ranked Chiropractor sites are doing to gain Keyword relevancy on search engines. You can look at your competition's HTML tags by going to your browser of choice, clicking "View" in upper left hand corner of your browser (Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator), and then scrolling down to word "Source". It will open another browser window with HTML language for you to look at.
1. USE YOUR KEYWORDS IN YOUR TITLE TAG
Several search engines use Keywords in Title tag as part of their algorithms. Algorithms are rules that search engines use to calculate a ranking of a website. Each engine uses different algorithms. Using a Title tag like;
John Q. Smith Chiropractor is wasted text unless you think that people are going to be using name (John Q. Smith) as search term. If you want to attract visitors who are looking for Chiropractor in Ventura County" you may want to use Keyword phrase, "Chiropractor in Ventura County" in your Title tag.
Here is how you may want to put Keywords in your Title tag.
Chiropractor in Ventura County, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake California, Chiropractor office in Ventura County.It doesn't matter what order you place tags in HEAD area, although some experts recommended that you include TITLE tag first on page, before listing any other tags.
2. USE KEYWORDS IN YOUR META TAGS
There's a continuing debate about whether to separate each Keyword in Meta tag by a comma, or to group related words (i.e, phrases) by commas, or to list all words in one long string separating each word only by a spaces.
Which method is better? The most common method is separating each word or phrase by a comma. However, many experts contend that search engines ignore commas. Their thought is that by eliminating them, you can include more words in tag. My position is that it won't likely affect your rankings either way.
Caution: Be careful not to repeat same Keyword more than two or three times in Meta tag. NEVER repeat same word twice in a row or you may trigger a search engine's "spam filter." Never include Keywords that do not apply to content of your page.
Here's what your Meta tag may look like for "Chiropractor in Ventura County".
3. USE KEYWORDS IN YOUR META DESCRIPTION TAGS
Each engine that supports Meta description tag will shrink it down to 150 to 350 characters depending on engine. Therefore, include best portion of your description in first 150 characters, but go ahead and add additional text to fill it out to about 350 characters.
Here's what your Meta Description tag may look like for "Chiropractor in Ventura County".
best service in Ventura County.">
4. USE KEYWORDS IN THE BODY OF YOUR TEXT
Many engines look at your first paragraph for Keyword relevance. By carefully wording text in your first paragraph, you can add to your Keyword relevancy. My suggestion is not to use your Keywords more than five times on any page in body of your text.
Here is an example of using Keywords in body of your text. Keywords = " Chiropractor in Ventura County."
When you're looking to purchase Chiropractor in Ventura County you want someone who is an expert in buying and selling Chiropractor in Ventura County. We are here to help. Located in Thousand Oaks/ Westlake Village area in Ventura County. Our Chiropractor office is here to focus on you and your personal needs.
Some engines will also check last paragraph of body of your text. One local Chiropractor uses this text at bottom of his homepage to gain added Keyword relevancy for his website.
"ABC Chiropractic proudly serves following areas of Ventura County: Conejo Valley, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Camarillo, Lake Sherwood, Moorpark, Newbury Park, North Ranch, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Westlake Village."
