Search Engine Optimization 101
I love teaching people how to search engine optimize their web site. I am hooked on the "ah-ha" moment when they unlock the mystery. To be truthful, search engine optimization isn't difficult. To do it successfully, all you need to do is look at your web site pages from a different perspective.
My favorite way to start is to take a page and look at it from the perspective of Google. Google wants to know what the page is about. Notice I said the page not the web site. If there are keywords in the meta keyword field I start there. If not, I ask them to chose two to three keyword phrases for the page.
How does Google know what is important about the site? It is easy. If the page is about "plumbing supplies", you would expect that the words "plumbing supplies" would appear in the title of the page (the Title tag in the head section of the page), the description of the page (meta description tag), the heading at the top of the page (the H1 heading) and in the first paragraph at a minimum. Seems logical enough. Nine times our of ten what the web site owner finds that their web site does not use the keyword phrases in these places at all. What is typical is:
- The title is the company name.
- The meta description is a description of the company, not the page.
- If the H1 heading if used at all, it is something like "Our Products".
- The content while about plumbing supplies doesn't use the exact term. For instance it might say faucets, drains and pipe but not the term "plumbing supplies".
If asked most people can tell you what keyword phrases they think are important to draw visitors to their site (see my previous post: How to chose keywords for your website pages). What is lacking is an understanding of how to make sure that Google knows what the page is about. Take a look at each page of your website with a critical eye and you might find out that you haven't sent a clear message at all.
Here is an example to illustrate how you should NOT optimize your page. Note: to see your meta tags, go to your browser and display the page you wish to inspect. In the view menu, chose "View Source". The Title, meta description and meta keywords fields are in the section of the page at the top.
In my next post I will explore some more common SEO mistakes.