Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips and Overview
With every Web site we create we will also make sure the site is fully Search Engine Optimized (SEO). No need to spend an extra several hundred/ thousand dollars more with another company, we take care of it. Here are some search engine tips and guidance on what we do / can do / and recommend for each site.
Page Titles: What a lot of designers do not realize is that the titles of your individual pages are extremely important, especially your Home Page title. This may be one of the most important parts of your Search Engine Optimization and therefore it's critical to make sure to put the proper wording, and keywords for your business / organization in your page titles.
Content: Yes, it is true: Content is King! And therefore, make sure to have well-written, interesting, and informative information that includes your important keywords that are relevant to you and your business / organization. Remember quality over quantity!
Meta Description / Home Description: This is the description of your Web site / Business / Organization. A clear, concise description is very important (no more than 160 characters), and therefore it is worth your time and effort to make sure it is done well and that important and relevant keywords associated with your company / organization are present. This description will not show up on your site, but search engines will use it as part of its description in the search results.
Meta Tags / Keywords: Make sure to carefully select relevant keywords; these keywords can be single words or short phrases. They will be entered in the appropriate location separated by commas. Your company / organization may change and evolve over time and with this so should your keywords.
Embedded Keywords: The keywords that you pick for your meta tags section/s should also be placed all throughout your Web site - in the content pages, in the page titles, in the headers, and in the image alt text. Search Engines take your Web site text and filter it through a process where they give a weight to certain words and phrases. The more such words they find in your content, the better your chances of ranking higher in search results for those words.
SEO Friendly URL Links: Search engines like clean and simple titles. An example of this - is the changing of the first one to the second: http://www.example.com/wiki/index.php?title=Page_title http://www.example.com/wiki/Page_title
SEO Friendly Images: When you have an image on your site you have the ability to give it an attribute and a title. The ALT attribute is an important part of search engine optimization. It describes your image to search engines and when a user searches for a certain image this is a key determining factor for a match. The TITLE attribute plays a lesser role but is important for visitors as this text will automatically appear in the tooltip when the mouse is over the image.
SEO Friendly Anchor Text/Links: Hyperlinks in your site content that have important site info and relevant keywords to your site.
SEO Friendly Code: We use CMS sites that are known for clean, streamlined, and search engine friendly code. This makes it easier for search engines to find you.
- Site Map: Upon request we can create a site map for you. The site map is a great way in which search engines can discover your content, and quickly. The site map is an organized way to communicate with the search engine "spiders" that crawl the web where to look and find your info. If requested we can also put links at the bottom / footer of your site, however, some clients prefer a cleaner look without the bottom clutter of more links.
Canonicalization: WWW and non-WWW domains. We use www and use a 301 redirect. For example the preference will be www.domain.com and not http://domain.com. If someone types in http://domain it will then be redirected to www.domain.com.
Other things that you can do (and we can assist with) to help viewers / potential customers find you and your Web site:
Social Media: At a minimum, set up and use the following (we can help guide you through this process if necessary): YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and a blog in Wordpress or a quality native Joomla blog.
Blog: Upon request (and if in the appropriate pricing range), we can add a blog for you. Having a blog will also help you get found on the net. On your blog all of the above SEO tips apply, and as stated "Content is King" and adding relevant keywords throughout your blog is also obviously important.
Links to Your Site: Get as many quality links to your site as possible - do not pay to have it done in bulk; and make sure to have links that are also pointing outside your site as well.
Submitting your site: (We can do this or guide you through the process). You may have seen web sites selling services which include submitting your Web site to hundreds of directories for anywhere from $50 to $500 dollars. We recommend you avoid using automated submission services which basically submit your site to hundreds or low ranking link farm directories which have no relevance to the services you are offering. Concentrate on the big players: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask, Aol, MyWebsearch, Lycos. And then also submit your site to the established high ranking human edited directories including ODP Open Directory Project and Best Of The Web.
List Your Company on important Search Engines / Local Listings: Another critical thing you will need to do so you customers can find you. (We can also guide you through the process.). Main important hub: www.GetListed.org - this site gives you links to the following: Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, YP.com, Expressupdate, Best of the Web, HotFrog. At these sites you can create your own local page for reviews and relevant, easy to find contact information about your company / organization.
Questions? Please feel free to contact us.
Like what you see? Have questions? Please contact us or request a quote. We look forward to hearing from you.