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Search Engine Optimization Strategies For Your Website |
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[
Back To Our Guides ] |
 This
guide covers a number of basic search engine optimization techniques you
can use to improve results by users looking for your web site in major
search engines.
Updated February 2008 |
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KEY WORDS &
PHRASES IN PAGES |
Search engines
scan your website and web pages for keywords. Shoot for a keyword
density of between two and eight percent. Google likes your page to
be at the lower end of this scale and Yahoo at the upper end.
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META TAGS |
Meta tags are
simple lines of code at the top of your web page programming that
tell search engines about your page. Include the title tag, keyword
stag, description tag, and robots tag on each page.
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SITE MAP |
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Developing a site map
is a simple way of giving search engines the information they need to
crawl your entire website. There are plenty of free software packages on
the web that can help you generate a sitemap. Once you create a sitemap,
submit it to Google and Yahoo. |
HTML NAVIGATION
All too often, navigational items are in the form of java script. Even
though navigation technically still works in this format, it's not
optimized. Create your navigation in HTML to enhance internal links
throughout your website. |
IMAGES INCLUDING ALT
TEXT
Your image's alt text is spidered by search engines. If you're not
including your keywords in alt text, you're missing out on a huge
opportunity for improved search engine result placements. Label all of
your images properly. |
FLASH USE LIMITED
Content generated through java script or flash is a big no-no. Some
webmasters like to use flash because of the presentation. If you must,
use it sparingly, but only after your site has been properly optimized
with basic search engine optimization in mind. |
CLEAN HTML CODE
Keep in mind when optimizing a web page crawlers are basically only
looking at your source code. When programming your web pages, having W3C
compliant code can make all the difference. |
SUBMIT TO ENGINES
AND DIRECTORIES
It's always a good idea to let large search engine directories know that
you're out there. Submit your website URL to directories like Google and
Yahoo |
RECIPROCAL LINK
EXCHANGE
Consider building a link exchange program or create one-way links to
your site using articles or forum posts. All major search engines value
the importance of your website based on how many others websites are
linking to it. |
