5 Easy Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips
You may not understand Search Engine Optimization, commonly referred to as SEO. It’s okay. Simply adhere to these five SEO tips while creating your web site and it will contribute to the success of your web site’s search engine ranking.
1. Create value through original content. Original content is one of the keys to your web site’s success. Whether it is your original video, articles or photos, you can increase you search engine rankings in your niche with originality. What has been done before is already indexed by search engines. If you must use content from another web site, for example a video from a user on You Tube, create an original summary, opinion or article on the video. For optimal results, you should have at least 250 – 1000 words per page. Anything more than that should be broken out into separate pages. That is an opportunity to get more content indexed because there is an alternate page for users to land on if you make good use of your keywords.
2. Use your keywords wisely. Keywords in your URL, titles, images and other files can make a difference positive impact on your search engine rankings. Use dashes (-) instead of underscores (_) between words when necessary so that Google indexes your key terms as separate words instead of all together. On the back end, refrain from stuffing meta keywords. Google has confirmed that they do not index meta keywords because publishers, or web site owners, tend to “stuff” keywords on a web page. Keyword stuffing is clearly not a trustworthy method to getting your pages indexed with keywords because it can be manipulated to draw in search traffic. Meta descriptions, however, are indexed and often seen as the description on the search engine’s results page. Be sure to include a short, accurate description of your site. What key words will user search for to get to your site? Your best answer should be in a two to three sentence description.
3. Use keywords to specify the alt attribute for images. Images on web pages do not get indexed by search engines properly unless your image tag includes the alt attribute, which describes the image. If you are using a content management systems, such as WordPress, it is good practice to add a caption or description of the images that you upload for indexing purposes. Keep in mind that images show up in results on search engines too. image_tag_alt_value
4. Allow users to comment to your web site Other people’s opinions and comments contributes to the content and relative keywords. Google does index comments. If you are going to allow comments, either hold them for moderation and/or make sure your content management system has a spam filter.
5. Link to relevant sites and hope relevant sites will link to you. If relevant web sites are linking to your web site, that is a good sign to Google that there is information of value there. You do not, however, want to join any sort of link farms that are generated through automated programs. Link farms are a form of spamming. In this case, quality is more appropriate than quantity. An easy way to start building links are through listing directories, commenting on related blogs and guest posting on related blogs. Remember, search engines want the same thing that users want–useful information. Create your web site with these tips in mind, your pages can be indexed within two weeks to a month on Google. Do not be discouraged if you do not get immediate results. SEO is an ongoing process. Keep adding your flavor of fresh content until you find your perfect ingredients. There are also web site assessment tools that can guide you in the right direction.
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