Search Engine Optimization

There is plenty of advice on the web about how to optimize your site to rank well with the search engines, but much of it is conflicting and so some of it must be wrong. The best way to find out what works is to use the search engines to look up your target keyword phrases, and examine the sites that are top ranking. If the same site appears near the top across several search engines, you can be sure they are doing something right.

In most cases, the first thing you will notice is that top ranking sites tend to offer good content. The best way to ensure your site a good ranking position is to start with quality content.

Can a search engine detect quality? Not directly, but many search engines have followed Google's pioneering lead in ranking sites in part by the number of links pointing to the site, and the popularity of those sites doing the linking. By this method other webmasters are passing judgement on your site, and they can make judgements regarding quality. If your site offers worthwhile content, a greater number of other websites will link to you. If they have high-ranking websites, your ranking will increase through their 'endorsement' of your site.

As we discussed in Website Design Tips, each page on your site should target a particular keyword or keyword phrase. Selecting the optimal keywords is essential. First, decide what the content of your page will cover. Then consider what words and phrases people would be most likely to use when looking for that content. Make a list of all the words and phrases. Then use a search engine to look up the top-ranking existing sites using these words. Select 'view source' from the 'view' menu on your browser, and look at the META tag labeled 'keywords' to see which words they have used, and copy any terms that are relevant to your content.

Now take your list of keywords and keyword phrases, and research their popularity using the WordTracker site (www.wordtracker.com). There you will be able to enter the keywords and keyword phrases you have chosen. Their program may suggest additional related terms you can add if they are appropriate to your content. Then they will tell you how frequently each term is searched for, and how many other sites include those terms. The results are summarized in the column labeled KEI, look for a value over 400 for best results. Target your page toward the keyword or phrase with the highest KEI.

This may seem like a lot of work, since you need to go through the entire process for every page on your site -- but it will be worth the effort in the long run. Be sure each page targets a different keyword or phrase. Keep your list of associated keywords too, but emphasize just one.

When designing your site as a whole, you need to be aware of several technologies that make your site more attractive, or easier to maintain, but could make the content invisible to search engines. Frames used to be a prime example, although nowadays some of the top search engines can handle frames. They still will prevent many search engines from listing your content, and should be avoided. Dynamic URLs are also a problem. Look at web page addresses with the characters ?, & % + = $ or filenames ending in cgi, asp, php, etc. If you see a web page that includes any of these characters, it is probably using CGI to generate pages, perhaps from a database. Often the contents of the page depend on input from the user, as when you type search terms into a form. Since search engines will not enter any words into the form, it will never find the pages that process generates. Again, some search engines are finding ways around these problems, but solutions so far are partial. Avoid dynamic URLs if you can. If you need to use them, consider generating traditional HTML pages as well if possible.

Other elements that can cause problems for search engines include flash pages (which often have no text content for the search engine to find, and effectively 'hide' links to other pages), javascript (especially for links or content), and imagemaps.

If you use any of these methods for navigation, you can avoid problems with search engines by having a 'sitemap' link on your main page, in plain HTML format. On that site map page, list every page in your site, with the title of the page as the text for the link. If you have a huge site and the sitemap grows larger than 100K, break it into several smaller 'maps' for sections of your site. The search engine will follow the links on your site map and find every page.

When designing individual pages you will have your main keyword phrase, and several secondary keywords. Use the primary keyword as your page title. The title tag goes in the HEAD section of your HTML page, and is probably the most important single element in keyword optimization for search engine ranking. If you need to add to the keyword phrase to make a meaningful title that is OK, but try to have the keyword phrase at the beginning of the title, and keep it short -- 40 to 60 characters max. Resist the urge to include the name of your site in every title.

Also in the HEAD section, but much less important, are your META TAGS. Many search engines ignore these tags, but you should include them for those search engines that do use them. The two meta tags you need to include are KEYWORD and DESCRIPTION. Put your main keyword phrase and all of your secondary keywords in the KEYWORD tag. Be sure you have also used these in the content of your page. The only words you should include in the KEYWORD tag that are NOT in your content are common mis-spellings of words that ARE included in the content. So if you have a page devoted to genealogy, you will want to include 'geneology' for example. Your earlier search of keyword phrases in WordTracker and competing sites should reveal any common spelling errors. Include keywords individually and as parts of phrases, but try not to repeat the same word more than two or three times, such as: Irish, genealogy, Irish genealogy, roots, family history ...

The DESCRIPTION tag is used by some search engines as the text displayed along with your link, so make it as descriptive of your content as you can. Use proper full sentences, and include your main keyword phrase. Remember that for those search engines this is the information that will determine if searchers click on your link or not ... assume they found you using your main keyword, and let them know how your page will answer their needs in regard to that term. Make the description between 160 and 240 characters long, including spaces.

Your page content should include your main keyword phrase several times, without sounding contrived or forced. You should also work your other keywords into the text, at least once each. Don't pack the text the keywords artificially repeated over and over, that will raise a red flag with the search engine and you may get banned. Nor are others likely to link to such a site, and as we will see below, links from others is a very important part of your search engine ranking strategy.

Use a heading tag (<h1>, <h2>, <h3> etc.) The search engine's ranking algorithm will frequently give greater weight to terms found within these tags, so place your main keyword phrase in a heading tag.

Be sure you have at least 200 words of text on your page, and more is better. If you use illustrations to convey information, include a text description as well -- both for the sake of the search engine, and for any of your viewers who may be sightless, or using non-graphical access to your page. Including your keyword phrases in ALT tags has been somewhat over-emphasized by some optimization 'experts' -- include them if it is appropriate to do so, but don't artificially inflate your tags just to stuff in keywords. It is also helpful to include your keywords within hyperlinks, again -- if it is an accurate description of the content you are linking to.

Once you have your pages optimized, you need to get others to link to your pages to ensure their top ranking. Most search engines rank the importance of incoming links, based on the popularity of the site linking to you. So to find the sites you want to link to you, type your keyword phrases into the popular search engines, and look at the top ten or twenty sites listed. Try to get those sites to link to your page -- offer reciprocal links if need be, and have a page on your site devoted strictly to reciprocal links.

When you have completed all these preliminaries, you are ready to submit your site to the search engines. You need to read the preferences of each site ... some will 'spider' your site, you need only submit one page (you can submit your main page, or your sitemap). Others allow you to submit pages individually. Many are beginning to charge a fee for submissions, you will have to decide which (if any) of those are worth pursuing.

Which are the main search engines? Google is currently the most popular search engine. Inktomi, which doesn't have its own search site but powers several other sites, including MSN, ranks second. Submit to Google, MSN, and Alta Vista. Many others will pick your site up through alliances with these main engines or DMOZ (see below). If you want to use pay-for-inclusion search engines too, submit to Overture.

You also need to submit to directories. Yahoo is the most popular, but they do not accept free submissions from business sites. The Open Directory Project (DMOZ) is the only other general directory you need to be concerned with. Several search engines (including Google) search sites listed on DMOZ, and listings are free. It is maintained by volunteers however, so the time it takes to get reviewed varies widely, depending on the category you submit to. Read and follow their rules for submissions.

Smaller directories are a wonderful source of traffic, and may also provide high ranking links to your site, increasing your rank in the search engines. Find topic-specific directories for your subject area using Yahoo and DMOZ, and then submit your site to them. Do not confuse bonafide specialist directories with 'free for all' sites, or link exchanges -- those are not worth your effort because they rarely rank well themselves. Nor should you bother with sites offering to submit your information to 1,000s of 'search engines' ... there are not 1,000s of bonafide, relevant search engines -- just a dozen or so.

When you have submitted your site it will generally take one to three months before you will be included in the search engine's index (unless you use paid submissions). Don't waste that time sitting back on your heels! Try to get more links pointed at your site. Use some of the other promotional methods described in our article Marketing Tips.

Whether it is search engines or directories, or any other means of bringing traffic to your website, the key is simple: HAVE WHAT PEOPLE ARE SEARCHING FOR! Produce great content, and people will find you.