How to Get Started With Search Engine Optimization, Google Style
- 1). Create content for humans. Some site designers are so intent on optimizing content for the visiting search engine "spiders" or "bots" that crawl the Web, that they forget to keep their site visitors in mind as well. Your website should have quality content that engages visitors. It can be text, images, videos, music or any other type of content that can posted on the Internet. It can be serious, funny, outrageous, informative, helpful or anything else that would be of value to your site visitors. Good quality content geared to your site visitors is the primary "secret" to search engine optimization.
- 2). Write clear, informative titles for the pages on your website. The page title is shown in search engine search results and is the first thing a potential visitor sees to help him evaluate whether your site is worth a visit. It also tells the search engine spider about the main topic of your page. Use your title to let the world know, clearly, what your web page is all about.
For example, a title like "Free Newspaper Archives" is more informative than "This is Dave's Website." - 3). Include an original meta tag summary for each page. Web designers use a programming code known as a meta tag to include a description of a webpage that is read by search engines even though it is not usually visible to site visitors. Google suggests including meta tag descriptions in your site design as they help the spider understand the content of your site. The search results page may also display information from your meta tag description if it is more responsive to a search query than the visible text on your pages.
- 4). Keep your URLs meaningful. Page URLs are displayed in search results and viewers will look these over for an indication of the page's content. Using keywords in your URLs and keeping the URLs relatively simple will help users gauge the value of your pages to their needs.
- 5). Give Google a sitemap. You can submit a sitemap of your website directly to Google through their Webmaster Tools page. The sitemap, which is distinct from a user sitemap at your website, makes it easier for the spider to comprehensively crawl and index your site's content to display it in search results.
- 6). Emphasize text-based navigation. Simple hyperlinks that lead to other pages in your site are easier for both users and search engine spiders to use than more complex pull-down menus or Flash and JavaScript navigation options. This is not to say that pull-down menus or catchy animations don't have a role at your site, but it's important to keep a balance with simpler navigation options as well.
- 7). Be descriptive at every opportunity. Websites have content that human visitors may only see on occasion, but that search engine spiders pay attention to. These include file names, anchor text (used to describe hyperlinks) and alt attributes (alternative text for an image). Use these to describe content and emphasize site topics to help search engines properly index your content.
