Search engines have their guidelines. Each one, it seems, has its own set of guidelines apart from all the others. But does that really matter considering that there are really just 3, maybe 4 if you count Ask.com, search engines to be concerned with?
I don’t think the number of search engines is really the issue. Even if there were only search engine, SEO would be a complex task for most websites. That’s because there are so many things to think about.
Google alone has more than 150 ranking criteria that it judges in order to see whether a website belongs in its rankings and if so then where exactly in the lineup it does belong. It’s more than simply looking at keywords. Among the most important ranking criteria for Google are:
Semantic language
Inbound link quality
Link relevance
Internal site architecture
Age of domain
Server, or IP, neighborhood
Link anchor text
Use of h1, h2, and h3 tags
Amount of page content
Website visitor usage
Frequency of updates
Page load time
These are not all that Google considers, but it’s a good starting list of some of the most important ranking factors. It’s only a beginning. Nor is this list necessarily in any order of particular importance. Semantic language and inbound link quality, for instance, are not necessarily the most important factors. But they are important factors.
Notice also what is not on this list:
Meta tags
Keyword density
Page design
Just to name a few. While meta tags and page design may be somewhat important to Google, other things are far more important. Google really does not care if your website is built with tables or if it uses CSS. Whether your photo is on the left or the right or top or bottom of the page is inconsequential to Google. Other search engines may “think” differently.
Search engine optimization is a complex game that requires a systematic thinking process as individualized as the web pages that need to be built. Webmasters can’t get roped into thinking that one element is the most important factor for every website. What may advance one website up the rankings quickly may not necessarily work for another and that’s because the webmaster must also consider his competition. While Google, or any search engine for that matter, does not care about your competition on a relative optimization basis, it does evaluate them according to the same ranking factors. And because it’s a merit-based system, you or your competitor could come out on top any given day based on different ranking factors succeeding or failing against another. Don’t be discouraged by SEOs complexity; be encouraged that you can test and test and test and learn the factors that are important for your site.
Take a look at what 2 Levels Above is able to offer you. We will design your website to where usability and SEO optimization is top notch. We dedicate ourselves to ensure we take your business two levels above your competition. Get started on it now and contact us for a free quote for your business!
There are many SEO strategies to use when it comes to optimizing your website. However, all you need is just a few very good ones to utilize. Below are the top ten SEO tips that you might like.
Be bold. Use the <b> </b> tags around some of your keywords on each page. Do NOT use them everywhere the keyword appears. Once or twice is plenty.
Deep linking. Make sure you have links coming in to as many pages as possible. What does it tell a search engine when other web sites are linking to different pages on your site? That you obviously have lots of worthwhile content. What does it tell a search engine that all your links are coming in to the home page? That you have a shallow site of little value, or that your links were generated by automation rather than by the value of your site.
Become a foreigner. Canada and the UK have many directories for websites of companies based in those countries. Can you get a business address in one of those countries?
Newsletters. Offer articles to ezine publishers that archive their ezines. The links stay live often for many years in their archives.
First come, first served. If you must have image links in your navigation bar, include also text links. However, make sure the text links show up first in the source code, because search engine robots will follow the first link they find to any particular page. They won’t follow additional links to the same page.
Multiple domains. If you have several topics that could each support their own website, it might be worth having multiple domains. Why? First, search engines usually list only one page per domain for any given search, and you might warrant two. Second, directories usually accept only home pages, so you can get more directory listings this way. Why not a site dedicated to gumbo pudding pops?
Article exchanges. You’ve heard of link exchanges, useless as they generally are. Article exchanges are like link exchanges, only much more useful. You publish someone else’s article on the history of pudding pops with a link back to their site. They publish your article on the top ten pudding pop flavors in Viet Nam, with a link back to your site. You both have content. You both get high quality links. (More on high quality links in other tips.)
Titles for links. Links can get titles, too. Not only does this help visually impaired surfers know where you are sending them, but some search engines figure this into their relevancy for a page.
Not anchor text. Don’t overdo the anchor text. You don’t want all your inbound links looking the same, because that looks like automation - something Google frowns upon. Use your URL sometimes, your company name other times, “Gumbo Pudding Pop” occasionally, “Get gumbo pudding pops” as well, “Gumbo-flavored pudding pops” some other times, etc.
Site map. A big site needs a site map, which should be linked to from every page on the site. This will help the search engine robots find every page with just two clicks. A small site needs a site map, too. It’s called the navigation bar.
In a nutshell, every person has their own set of style. So I don’t expect you to follow every one of these tips, let alone the top ten. It’s a trial and error thing. You’d have to experiment with what works for you. Hope that helps your SEO knowledge!
Take a look at what 2 Levels Above is able to offer you. We will design your website to where usability and SEO optimization is top notch. We dedicate ourselves to ensure we take your business two levels above your competition. Get started on it now and contact us for a free quote for your business!
One of the areas often overlooked when looking at online marketing is the importance of web usability and the impact it has in converting and retaining customers. I always feel that what makes a customer stay and return to the same site is the easy navigation and usability that the site has to offer.
Imagine you had just walked into a supermarket and there were no signs up to indicate which section to go to for the product you are looking to buy. The chances are you would struggle on because the nearest other store is probably across town and the chances are it is more than likely raining anyway.
The case is rarely the same online, with search engines becoming ever more sophisticated in presenting relevant sites to users, we can now type in the name of a product before walking down a virtual high street of shops catering exactly for what we are looking for with ease.
Competition has become intense in the online e-commerce world and it is becoming a trend for users to do comparison shopping. This highlights more than ever how important it is to make sure that once a user has clicked on your site, they stay on it until they have easily found what they want and hopefully purchased it.
Web users are ultimately lazy, not because it is in their nature to be but because it is all too easy to use the back button and click on another site. It is up to us as internet marketing experts to make sure that they use the minimum amount of energy necessary to find what they are after.
Let me illustrate what I mean with an example. You are running a pay per click management campaign and one of your adverts is promoting the fantastic discounts you currently have running for the leather shoes you sell on the website. The only problem is that you have put the landing page down as the overall fashion section. At the time you thought this was a great idea because not only will your potential customer look for the leather shoes but they may purchase other items like wallets, belts or shirts.
To make this assumption is wrong. People generally use the internet in the first instance to find a specific product, not for window shopping. Not only do you risk distracting the searcher to the point that they forget why they clicked on the link in the first place but you risk leaving them with the unbinding memory that your site was hard work and difficult to navigate. The more you make them work, the less likely they are bothered to go through all the steps just to get to the end. Instead of selling them the shoes and leaving it open to them to return you may end up with nothing. Make the process as easy as possible for them.
The first step would be to make the web page as uncluttered as possible. Use tabs to clearly indicate where to find things and how to purchase. If the landing page doesn’t have exactly the shoes they were looking for then make it clear that there is more choice only a quick click away. Make the process as simple as possible so the customer does’t have to work things out for themselves.
When the next stage comes, hopefully, and you are asking them for payment details then don’t make the mistake of trying to harvest any extra information from them. Only ask for what is needed to complete the sale. Asking them to input unnecessary data will only lead to a sense of bewilderment and suspicion that may lead them to change their minds at an already sensitive time (i.e. giving out bank details). Short and straight to the point is the way to go.
Making this process seamless by having a concise checkout page that simply explains what happens next as well as thanking them for their custom, followed of course by the prompt dispatch of the goods, will all help towards generating a repeat customer who has trust in your site and will visit you for all those other items. Remember online marketing is not just about search engine optimisation (SEO). Existing customers are as important, if not more so than new ones.
Take a look at what 2 Levels Above is able to offer you. We will design your website to where usability is top notch. We dedicate ourselves to ensure we take your business two levels above your competition. Get started on it now and contact us for a free quote for your business!
The answer to this is, “It depends.” It depends on whether you care about growing your business or not. If you want your business to grow and succeed, then yes, you need a Web presence and you need people to be able to find you on the Web. The web IS THE WORLD!
The statistics are staggering, showing that having a Web strong presence is favorable for all types of businesses. Ten years ago, it wasn’t so important to be on the Web because relatively few people had Internet access. Today, however, the Web is quickly replacing traditional media in many areas. A perfect example of this can be seen in the recent decline of yellow pages usage in favor of the Internet when looking for local business information.
