Getting your website listed (indexed) on search engines for relevant keywords won’t happen on its own. Especially with a new website, it is very important to get it right from the start.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital in marketing your website online. Searching for services/products/people etc, online via search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN is increasingly becoming the most popular method of finding information. Being at the top of listings for individual keywords is the path to a successful website!
Getting to the top of Google, Yahoo and MSN's search listings isn't as easy as fixing your meta tag keywords! But it is a good start and is the foundation of Search Engine Optimization.
The BEST way to improve the rank of your website is to increase the number of high-quality sites that link to your pages. For more information about improving your site's visibility (Google only), we recommend getting a free account with Google and reviewing the webmaster guidelines.
If you are looking for someone to help with your SEO rankings, In8 offer customizes plans to help you reach your search engine goals.... however.....we do not believe in promising number 1 listings, or 'top of the table' results - and those who do should be checked out before handing over any money.
Ultimately, if you have great content and a website that people want to refer to and visit regularly, you should have no problems! However, to help you on your way, we offer the following tips:
Keywords
Having the least specific keywords can be hard work! Consider using more specific term...for example:
- Don’t Use 'Website Design'
- Do Use: 'Website Design Portsmouth'
Stuck for ideas? This is a fantastic FREE tool - go to: www.GoodKeywords.com
Simply download and plug in your broad keyword and it will suggest others! Fantastic!
Different Types of SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can be split into two forms; On Page and Off Page. On Page is that which you do with your web pages, and Off Page involves links, directories and more!
On Page SEO:
- Include your keywords in your page title (very important and easy with our content managed sites).
- If possible, give you page name a relevant name. ‘Page 2’ means nothing, but ‘Content Management’ means a lot. Ideally these would be your keywords too.
- Include your keywords in your page description. You page description should effectively be your keywords put into a human legible sentence.
- Use only your main keywords. Don't use filler words. The '|' character will act as a filler.
- Use header tags. Header tags are numbered 1-6 and can be created in the text editor using styles. We would of course, set this all up for you!
- Bold, italicize, and underline some keywords (Not every keyword, just some - and only one of each per page).
- Place your main keyword at the beginning and end of your web page. Remember that Bots (from Google, Yahoo and other search engines) search from left to right and top to bottom.
- Include your keyword in the copyright footer of your webpage - i.e. 'Copyright 2007 | In8 Website Design'.
- Use image Alt tags and include your keyword, plus the word "image" or "graphic" etc. The HTML tag for this is:
Alt="keyword"
These can be added to all images when adding the image to a page with the text editor.
- NEVER have links to the same page that you are currently on - i.e. have a link to your homepage on your homepage.
Submit Your Website to Search Engines
You need to let search engines know that your site exists - they are not psychic! There are many people who offer to do this for you at a fee - you don;t need to do this, you can do it for free yourself! Submittion pages are here:
Google - http://www.google.com/addurl/
MSN Live - http://search.msn.com.sg/docs/submit.aspx
Yahoo - https://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/submit
Get a Google Account and manage your site through webmaster tools! This service is really VERY good!
Off Page Optimization:
Get as many reputable websites (with a good Google ranking) linking to your website. You can check a website's Page Rank using the Google Toolbar. You can download this here... http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/toolbar/FT3/intl/en/index.html
Get listed on some directory sites, including:
- www.FreeIndex.co.uk
- www.Friday-Ad.co.uk
- www.FreeAds.co.uk
- www.SmallBusinessDirectory.co.uk
- www.BusinessInternetDirectory.co.uk
- www.crazyleafdesign.com/webdirectory/
- Plenty of othes online...
Place free ads on:
www.Gumtree.com
www.LondonGlue.co.uk
Get a Profile page on:
- www.MySpace.com
- www.Konnections.com
- www.LinkedIn.com
- and others...
Post on forums - but don’t just spam them, only add relevant content.
- www.Graphic-Design-Forum.com
- www.WebDesignForum.com
- others available...
Add articles and white papers to library sites
- I would only recommend doing this if you have something to say that others will want to read. Otherwise this could have a negative effect on your SEO!
The best results will be gained from dabbling with all of the above. Try to avoid any obvious web link farms as you may be penalised for using them. Time is often the best tool with search engines - you site is ranking also on how long the site has been live. Remember...success won't happen overnight.
Thank you for reading, and good luck!
Anna
Website Design Hampshire | School Website Design | Content Managed Website | 360 Virtual Tours
Member Websites | Forum Website