Seven Search Engine SimilaritiesWritten by Judith Tramayne-Barth
It's true -- search engines are a royal pain when you try to optimize your web pages for them but you can reduce pain by analyzing their similarities.==> Similarity #1 Search engines do not like frames so don't use them or put in < no frames > tag. ==> Similarity #2 Titles should have key word in it and not be longer then 75 characters. Less is even better. Make sure your title starts with key word if you can. ==> Similarity #3 Each web page should have a different key word in title but be part of a theme. Search engines look for consistent keywords throughout your site. For instance, < title >Golf tips by Butch Harmon at nationalgolfer.com < itle > on one page, < title > Free golf putting tips by David Leadbetter at nationalgolfer.com < itle > on another page or even < title >Golf products to improve your golf game at nationalgolfer.com < itle> on a third page. Each title has word golf so search engine spider knows site must pertain to golf -- which it does. Hey, nobody ever accused these robots of being smart. ==> Similarity #4 Meta name description and keyword tags are accepted by some but not all; therefore, keep your description to a minimum length and keyword tag to only one or two. Spend your time on a pithy, short one line description sentence which includes your keyword at start of sentence but will also entice person viewing to click on link. ==> Similarity #5 Search engine spiders or robots like keyword or phrase at top of your page between < h > < / h > codes. So make sure first table cell on your page has your pithy one line description in it using opening and closing < h > tags.
| | Meta Tags Are Not A Magic SolutionWritten by windsong
META TAGS ARE NOT A MAGIC SOLUTION by: windsongMeta tags are useful in getting better listings in search engines. However, not all search engines support meta tags. This means that some search engines ignore them. But include meta tags in your document for engines that do use them. It will significantly increase your rating. There are many, many different meta tags. The only ones you need to be concerned with are "description" and "keyword" tags. (And "title" tag, of course.) The description tag provides a summary which appears when your page comes up on a search. Without this "description" search engine will create one. It will generally use first few lines of text at top of your page. Meta tags are to be placed inside head tags. Here is what your meta tags should look like: Web Site Utilities for Webmasters< itle> Search engines that read everything on your page will include alt tags and links to a banner that is at very top of your page. This is why it is not a good idea to have a banner at top. The beginning of your page should be a title (use keywords here) and text. The first paragraph should be heavy with keywords, but not so heavy as to make it difficult to read or understand. You want to work keywords in so it sounds natural for them to be there. If your site is heavy on graphics and short on text, then you need to use meta tags. Otherwise, you have very little chance to come up on search engines. Consider meta tags as tools that make up for a lack of text on your site. Your best option, however, is to have a site that is heavy in content and text. You will not only get a better ranking in search engines, but you will please people who visit your site. After all, isn't this name of game? "Keywords" tags provide keywords for search engine to associate with your page. It gives your page a chance to come up if someone is searching for one or more of your keywords. Choose your keywords carefully. Try to imagine what searcher will enter for their search. Do NOT use keywords that are not relevent to your site. Many people think that because "sex" is one of most common keywords used for a search, that it is good to include it in their keyword list. This is just another form of spam. Don't do it. You could get a lot of hate mail. Key words should always be two or more words, in other words, key phrases. If you only use single keywords you are likely to get lost in crowd. For example, if you have a site that specializes in 'free business opportunities', list that as a keyword phrase instead of listing each word ie: free, business, opportunties. It is not likely that someone looking for 'free business opportunities' is going to type in just 'business' into their search. Can you imagine all sites that would come up if that were case? You would be lost in crowd. Be specific with your keyword phrases. Put yourself in place of person doing search. What are they likely to type in as their search?
|