Search Engine Optimization Guide Pt.1If you want to succeed online, then search engine optimization is a must.
And search engine optimization or what is also known as SEO is nothing more than placing all the right keywords in all the right places, along with a few more strategies as well, all of which will be explained in this 2 part segment. |
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Search Engine Optimization Guide Pt.1
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The majority of your customers will find your website through one of the top main search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing. But it won’t be easy for them to find you amongst the thousands of other websites, unless of course, your website is optimized for high search engine placement.
Furthermore, search engine marketing is easy to do, and you can do it yourself for free. And once you have your first webpage done, then optimizing the rest of your pages becomes a simple routine. |
However, there are rules and guidelines to search engine optimization. And if the following instructions are followed to the letter, then there’s no reason why your website shouldn’t make it to the first page of the search engine search results, in all of the top search engines.
It should also be noted that niche market websites have a better chance of being found on the internet than online stores which sell multiple product categories since it’s much easier to optimize a niche market site for your most important keywords. Furthermore, your website is more likely to be ranked higher in the search engine search results if all of your web pages are dedicated to one particular product market.
It should also be noted that niche market websites have a better chance of being found on the internet than online stores which sell multiple product categories since it’s much easier to optimize a niche market site for your most important keywords. Furthermore, your website is more likely to be ranked higher in the search engine search results if all of your web pages are dedicated to one particular product market.
Choosing the right keywords
It’s important to make a list of your most important keywords before you start making web pages so that you can insert and implement these keywords within your web pages as you build them. And when it comes to selling products online, choosing the right keywords is really not that difficult to do. All you have to do is put yourself in the customers’ shoes and type in the keywords or keyword phrases that you yourself would use if you were looking for the products which you are selling.
For example, if you were selling business books, then your most important keywords would be “business” and “books”.
If you were selling laptops, then your most important keyword in general would be “laptops”.
If you were selling gaming PC’s, then your most important keywords would be “gaming”, “video games”, “PC’s” and “systems”.
Again, when choosing your most important keywords, you have to ask yourself, what keywords would you type in the search engines as a customer searching for the products you sell.
Would you type in digital cameras, buy digital cameras, top or best digital cameras, or buy digital cameras with free shipping?
Most people may perform a generic search first, but if they don’t find what they want on the first several listings then they’ll enter in another search with a more descriptive search term such as buy, top, best, on sale, or a specific product name and model number for that product category. Therefore, for example, best, buy, top, and digital cameras are all important keywords for online stores which sell digital cameras.
When you focus on a niche product market, it’s easy to find and select the right keywords for your search engine optimization plan. And the best and most effective way to create a search engine optimized website is to implement your most important keywords in every aspect of your business - starting with your business name.
For example, if you were selling business books, then your most important keywords would be “business” and “books”.
If you were selling laptops, then your most important keyword in general would be “laptops”.
If you were selling gaming PC’s, then your most important keywords would be “gaming”, “video games”, “PC’s” and “systems”.
Again, when choosing your most important keywords, you have to ask yourself, what keywords would you type in the search engines as a customer searching for the products you sell.
Would you type in digital cameras, buy digital cameras, top or best digital cameras, or buy digital cameras with free shipping?
Most people may perform a generic search first, but if they don’t find what they want on the first several listings then they’ll enter in another search with a more descriptive search term such as buy, top, best, on sale, or a specific product name and model number for that product category. Therefore, for example, best, buy, top, and digital cameras are all important keywords for online stores which sell digital cameras.
When you focus on a niche product market, it’s easy to find and select the right keywords for your search engine optimization plan. And the best and most effective way to create a search engine optimized website is to implement your most important keywords in every aspect of your business - starting with your business name.
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Implementing keywords in your business name
One of the most effective ways to start and run a successful online store business is to place your most important keywords in your business name. By placing your main keywords within your business name you’re able to execute two highly effective strategies into your internet marketing plan.
1. Having your most important keywords within your business name sends a clear and straight marketing message to your customers. It let’s them know right away what you do and what you sell.
2. Having your most important keywords within your business name also allows you to match it and complement it with a search engine optimized domain name as well. And having a search engine optimized domain name is one of the most important elements to successful, search engine marketing.
For example, if you were selling business books then your most important keywords would be business and books. Therefore, the name BusinessBooks.com would be an excellent and highly effective name for your business. And it’s not just keywords, it’s keyword phrases as well.
Keyword phrases are the search terms your potential customers will type into the search engines when looking to buy the products you sell. For example, BestBusinessBooks.com would be another effective and search engine optimized business name seeing that many people type in descriptive terms such as best, buy, top, top 10 etc....
Remember, search engine optimization comes before everything else, and what may seem to be the standard in the business world is not as effective online, unless of course, you have millions of advertising dollars to promote and market your business name as a brand name. Therefore, to increase your chances for online success, it’s best to create a search engine optimize business name which will allow you to match your business name with your domain name as well.
1. Having your most important keywords within your business name sends a clear and straight marketing message to your customers. It let’s them know right away what you do and what you sell.
2. Having your most important keywords within your business name also allows you to match it and complement it with a search engine optimized domain name as well. And having a search engine optimized domain name is one of the most important elements to successful, search engine marketing.
For example, if you were selling business books then your most important keywords would be business and books. Therefore, the name BusinessBooks.com would be an excellent and highly effective name for your business. And it’s not just keywords, it’s keyword phrases as well.
Keyword phrases are the search terms your potential customers will type into the search engines when looking to buy the products you sell. For example, BestBusinessBooks.com would be another effective and search engine optimized business name seeing that many people type in descriptive terms such as best, buy, top, top 10 etc....
Remember, search engine optimization comes before everything else, and what may seem to be the standard in the business world is not as effective online, unless of course, you have millions of advertising dollars to promote and market your business name as a brand name. Therefore, to increase your chances for online success, it’s best to create a search engine optimize business name which will allow you to match your business name with your domain name as well.
Implementing keywords in your domain name
Your domain name should always match your business name regardless of the type of business you are in.
If your business name is Best Laptops then your domain name should be wwwBestLaptops.com
And when you have a domain name such as BestLaptops.com then your chances for being found at the top of the search engine search results are increased greatly, especially when you place your most important keywords within other key areas of your webpage as well.
When a customer performs a search for specific keywords or keyword phrases then the search engines will search their database for websites matching their search query. And one of the most important places that search engines look for keywords is within the domain name of your website.
If your domain name includes the keywords which the user used to search online then the search engine knows that your site has what they’re looking for. The search engine will then search the rest of your site, title tags, meta tags, text links etc to find more of those same keywords which will result in a much higher search engine placement and ranking for those particular keywords.
Placing your most important keywords in your domain name is one of the most important elements of effective search engine marketing and optimization and should be made top priority in your internet marketing plan.
If your business name is Best Laptops then your domain name should be wwwBestLaptops.com
And when you have a domain name such as BestLaptops.com then your chances for being found at the top of the search engine search results are increased greatly, especially when you place your most important keywords within other key areas of your webpage as well.
When a customer performs a search for specific keywords or keyword phrases then the search engines will search their database for websites matching their search query. And one of the most important places that search engines look for keywords is within the domain name of your website.
If your domain name includes the keywords which the user used to search online then the search engine knows that your site has what they’re looking for. The search engine will then search the rest of your site, title tags, meta tags, text links etc to find more of those same keywords which will result in a much higher search engine placement and ranking for those particular keywords.
Placing your most important keywords in your domain name is one of the most important elements of effective search engine marketing and optimization and should be made top priority in your internet marketing plan.
Implementing keywords in your title tags
The title tag is where you enter in, or type in the title of that particular webpage. The title of that webpage should describe exactly what that web page is all about. And your title tags are probably the most important place to have your most important keywords.
Search engines will search their data base for websites matching the users search query and one of the first places they’ll look for those keywords will be within your title tags.
Furthermore, most search engines will display the title of your website or web page in the search engine search results and your title tag, (the title of your webpage), is the first thing that your customers will see when scrolling down the search results listings. And if your title states what the customer is looking for, i.e. “Buy the New Dell Laptop Model XYZ On Sale with Free Shipping”, then they’re more inclined to click on your link.
Furthermore, most search engines will display the title of your website or web page in the search engine search results and your title tag, (the title of your webpage), is the first thing that your customers will see when scrolling down the search results listings. And if your title states what the customer is looking for, i.e. “Buy the New Dell Laptop Model XYZ On Sale with Free Shipping”, then they’re more inclined to click on your link.
In most online store builder programs such as BigCommerce, Volusion, Shopify, and others, you can easily insert the titles to your web pages from within the administration area of the program. However, if you’re building your website from scratch with a web development software program, or with a pre-built website template then you will have to go into the code-mode of that web page to insert your keywords within your title tag.
For example, in Microsoft Expression Web, you can click on the “code” tab on the lower left hand corner of the page.
Once you click on the “code” tab, you will be able to see your webpage in code mode where your title tag will appear at the top of the page, i.e:
<head>
<title>Place your most important keywords here</title>
For example, in Microsoft Expression Web, you can click on the “code” tab on the lower left hand corner of the page.
Once you click on the “code” tab, you will be able to see your webpage in code mode where your title tag will appear at the top of the page, i.e:
<head>
<title>Place your most important keywords here</title>
When placing your keywords in your title tag, it’s important to place your most important keywords at the beginning of the title so that your customers will see those keywords first.
For example, if you were selling laptops online then a good, effective, search engine optimized title for the main page of your site could read as follows:
For example, if you were selling laptops online then a good, effective, search engine optimized title for the main page of your site could read as follows:
<title>Buy the Best Laptops On Sale with Free Shipping, Dell, HP, Lenova, Acer, Sony, Toshiba and more!</title>
And this is what your customers will see on the search engine search results:
Buy the Best Laptops On Sale with Free Shipping, Dell, HP, Lenova, Acer, Sony, Toshiba and more!
Buy, Best, New, Top, Laptops, On Sale, Free Shipping, Dell, HP, Lenova, Acer, Sony, and Toshiba are all major keywords which your customers will use to find you. But in a general sense, Buy, Best, Laptops, On Sale, and Free Shipping are your most important keywords in general for the main page of your website.
For a specific product page, a good, effective search engine optimized title can read as follows:
<title>Buy the Dell Model XYZ Laptop On Sale with Free Shipping Now!</title>
And this is what your customers will see on the search engine search results:
Buy the Dell Model XYZ Laptop On Sale with Free Shipping Now!
And this is what your customers will see on the search engine search results:
Buy the Best Laptops On Sale with Free Shipping, Dell, HP, Lenova, Acer, Sony, Toshiba and more!
Buy, Best, New, Top, Laptops, On Sale, Free Shipping, Dell, HP, Lenova, Acer, Sony, and Toshiba are all major keywords which your customers will use to find you. But in a general sense, Buy, Best, Laptops, On Sale, and Free Shipping are your most important keywords in general for the main page of your website.
For a specific product page, a good, effective search engine optimized title can read as follows:
<title>Buy the Dell Model XYZ Laptop On Sale with Free Shipping Now!</title>
And this is what your customers will see on the search engine search results:
Buy the Dell Model XYZ Laptop On Sale with Free Shipping Now!
And if your customer is looking to buy the Dell Model XYZ Laptop and performs a search on Google using the keywords “Buy Dell Model XYZ Laptop”, or even Dell Model XYZ then the chances of your webpage being found on the first page of the search engines are increased greatly, especially after implementing a few more search engine optimization techniques that are listed below.
Your title tag is not a place intended for keyword stuffing. It is intended to display a “short keyword-rich sales message”, not only for the search engines to index and rank but also for the customer to read and click on when persuaded to do so.
Major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing will read and index all of the keywords within your title tag but will only display the first 8 to 10 words or the first 70 characters in the title, which means your customers are only going to see the first 70 characters or the first 8 to 10 words in the title for your webpage when viewing your listing on the search engine results. And this is why it’s best to place your most important keywords and keyword phrases at the beginning of the title for all of your web pages because it’s those first 8 to 10 keywords that must convince your customers to click on your title link.
If the customer is looking to buy the new Dell Model XYZ laptop and they see a title which reads, “Buy the New Dell Model XYZ Laptop On Sale with Free Shipping Now!”, then that alone will cause them to click on your website link without hesitation and this is what you want them to do.
Your title tag is not a place intended for keyword stuffing. It is intended to display a “short keyword-rich sales message”, not only for the search engines to index and rank but also for the customer to read and click on when persuaded to do so.
Major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing will read and index all of the keywords within your title tag but will only display the first 8 to 10 words or the first 70 characters in the title, which means your customers are only going to see the first 70 characters or the first 8 to 10 words in the title for your webpage when viewing your listing on the search engine results. And this is why it’s best to place your most important keywords and keyword phrases at the beginning of the title for all of your web pages because it’s those first 8 to 10 keywords that must convince your customers to click on your title link.
If the customer is looking to buy the new Dell Model XYZ laptop and they see a title which reads, “Buy the New Dell Model XYZ Laptop On Sale with Free Shipping Now!”, then that alone will cause them to click on your website link without hesitation and this is what you want them to do.
Implementing keywords in your meta description tags
Your meta description tag is where you will enter or type in a short description of that particular webpage.
If you’re building your website with an online store builder program then you can easily add a description for the webpage from within the administration area of the storefront builder program. However, if you’re building your website with a web development software program then you can switch to code-mode from within the program to view that page in code-mode.
In code mode, the meta description tag, will look like this:
<meta NAME="description" CONTENT=" Enter a description of this page with another keyword-rich marketing message here"/>
Here, you’ll have plenty of more character space to type in a much longer, keyword-rich description and marketing message to persuade customers to click on your listing. And your description in your meta description tags will vary from webpage to webpage as well. For example, your meta description tag for your main page on your website can read as follows:
<meta NAME="description" CONTENT="BestLaptops.com offers the best deals on all new Dell, HP, Lenova and Toshiba laptops with FREE SHIPPING on every order. Click here now!"/>
If you’re building your website with an online store builder program then you can easily add a description for the webpage from within the administration area of the storefront builder program. However, if you’re building your website with a web development software program then you can switch to code-mode from within the program to view that page in code-mode.
In code mode, the meta description tag, will look like this:
<meta NAME="description" CONTENT=" Enter a description of this page with another keyword-rich marketing message here"/>
Here, you’ll have plenty of more character space to type in a much longer, keyword-rich description and marketing message to persuade customers to click on your listing. And your description in your meta description tags will vary from webpage to webpage as well. For example, your meta description tag for your main page on your website can read as follows:
<meta NAME="description" CONTENT="BestLaptops.com offers the best deals on all new Dell, HP, Lenova and Toshiba laptops with FREE SHIPPING on every order. Click here now!"/>
And you can change the description for your main page bi-weekly, or monthly, or whenever new trends or technology arrives on the market. Google will revisit your website every few days and will update your description in its database accordingly.
For a specific product page, an effective meta description tag can read as follows:
<meta NAME="description" CONTENT="Buy the New Dell Model XYZ Laptop which comes with a 14 inch display, Inter Core i3-2330M 2.2Ghz, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 640GB Hard drive and more; on sale now with FREE SHIPPING. Click here now!"/>
Most search engines will read and index every word in your description tag but will show the first 22-24 words of your description in the search engine search results, meaning that your customers will only see the first 22 words of your description, and may then skip to and display a sentence or paragraph from the actual content of the webpage itself.
For a specific product page, an effective meta description tag can read as follows:
<meta NAME="description" CONTENT="Buy the New Dell Model XYZ Laptop which comes with a 14 inch display, Inter Core i3-2330M 2.2Ghz, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 640GB Hard drive and more; on sale now with FREE SHIPPING. Click here now!"/>
Most search engines will read and index every word in your description tag but will show the first 22-24 words of your description in the search engine search results, meaning that your customers will only see the first 22 words of your description, and may then skip to and display a sentence or paragraph from the actual content of the webpage itself.
Implementing keywords in your meta keywords tag
Your meta keywords tag is where you’ll enter or type in your most important keywords and keyword phrases for that particular webpage. And again, if you’re building your website with an online store builder program then you can easily add your most important keywords for the webpage from within the administration area of the store builder program.
If you’re building your website with a web development software program then you can switch to code-mode from within the program to view that webpage in code-mode.
In code mode, the meta keywords tag, will look like this:
<meta NAME="keywords" CONTENT=" Enter your most important keywords and keyword phrases here"/>
Here, in the keywords tag, all you have to do is type in your most important keywords and keyword phrases one time, separated by a coma “,”. i.e:
<meta NAME="keywords" CONTENT="buy, dell, laptop, model XYZ, notebook, computer, 14 inch display, on sale, lowest price, free shipping, manufacturer part number #123XYZ "/>
And your keywords in your meta keywords tag will vary from page to page as well.
NOTE: Using your keywords and keyword phrases more than 1 time can be seen as keyword stuffing and is not recommended.
NOTE: Google and other major search engines no longer make use of the keywords tags. You may be better off not using the keywords tag at all.
If you’re building your website with a web development software program then you can switch to code-mode from within the program to view that webpage in code-mode.
In code mode, the meta keywords tag, will look like this:
<meta NAME="keywords" CONTENT=" Enter your most important keywords and keyword phrases here"/>
Here, in the keywords tag, all you have to do is type in your most important keywords and keyword phrases one time, separated by a coma “,”. i.e:
<meta NAME="keywords" CONTENT="buy, dell, laptop, model XYZ, notebook, computer, 14 inch display, on sale, lowest price, free shipping, manufacturer part number #123XYZ "/>
And your keywords in your meta keywords tag will vary from page to page as well.
NOTE: Using your keywords and keyword phrases more than 1 time can be seen as keyword stuffing and is not recommended.
NOTE: Google and other major search engines no longer make use of the keywords tags. You may be better off not using the keywords tag at all.
Implementing keywords in your “Image alt” tags
Image alt tags are the meta tags found behind the images or product images on your web pages and are used to describe the images themselves. And inserting keywords into your image alt tags can increase the keyword relevancy of that particular webpage as well.
Some store front builder programs will not allow you to enter keywords into your image alt tags. However, if you’re building your website with a web development program then you can switch to code mode and edit the image alt tag where the image is placed on the page. (NOTE: image must be inserted onto the webpage before the image alt tag can be made visible in the code mode of the webpage.)
In code mode, the image alt tag where the image has been inserted will look like this:
<img alt="Insert your most important keywords here"/>
Here, you can simply enter in another short, keyword-rich description, i.e. Buy Dell Model XYZ Laptop Manufacturer part number, On Sale Free Shipping etc…
Your customer will not be able to see your image alt description tag and therefore it is not necessary to enter these keywords in a proper readable format, yet neither is it appropriate to use the image alt tags for keyword stuffing as well.
Inserting your most important keywords and keyword phrases within your image alt tags gives the search engines more keywords and keyword phrases to index and increases keyword relevancy for that webpage.
Some store front builder programs will not allow you to enter keywords into your image alt tags. However, if you’re building your website with a web development program then you can switch to code mode and edit the image alt tag where the image is placed on the page. (NOTE: image must be inserted onto the webpage before the image alt tag can be made visible in the code mode of the webpage.)
In code mode, the image alt tag where the image has been inserted will look like this:
<img alt="Insert your most important keywords here"/>
Here, you can simply enter in another short, keyword-rich description, i.e. Buy Dell Model XYZ Laptop Manufacturer part number, On Sale Free Shipping etc…
Your customer will not be able to see your image alt description tag and therefore it is not necessary to enter these keywords in a proper readable format, yet neither is it appropriate to use the image alt tags for keyword stuffing as well.
Inserting your most important keywords and keyword phrases within your image alt tags gives the search engines more keywords and keyword phrases to index and increases keyword relevancy for that webpage.
Other meta tags
Other meta tags of importance include your Abstract, Revisit, and Index Follow tags.
Abstract META Tag
<META name="Abstract" content="Enter short keyword phrase here">
The Abstract meta tag is another place to add more keywords and keyword rich phrases yet in the form of a short and basic description of that particular webpage. The Abstract meta tag can also boost your keyword relevancy for that page as well.
Revisit META Tag
<META name="Revisit-After" content="7 Days">
The Revisit meta tag allows you to tell the search engines how often to re-visit and re-index your website just in case changes were made and new product pages were added. This can be set for revisit after 3 days (recommended for online stores), 5 days, 7 days or more.
Robots META Tag
<META name="Robots" content="INDEX, FOLLOW, ALL">
Search engine spiders, also known as robots will visit your website and index all of your web pages and links from your website. And this tag allows you to tell the search engines which pages to index and follow and which pages are not to be indexed such as a design practice page or an order confirmation page.
For example:
“Index, Follow All” tells the search engine spider to index this page and follow all links that go out from this page as well.
“No index, no follow”, tells the search engine not to index this page and not to follow any links on this page as well.
NOTE: These extra meta tags may not be found on all web page coding areas.
However, to add these tags onto your code you can simply copy these tags from here and paste them onto your webpage under the main meta tags mentioned above:
<META name="Abstract" content="Enter short keyword phrase here">
<META name="Revisit-After" content="3 Days">
<META name="Robots" content="INDEX, FOLLOW, ALL">
Abstract META Tag
<META name="Abstract" content="Enter short keyword phrase here">
The Abstract meta tag is another place to add more keywords and keyword rich phrases yet in the form of a short and basic description of that particular webpage. The Abstract meta tag can also boost your keyword relevancy for that page as well.
Revisit META Tag
<META name="Revisit-After" content="7 Days">
The Revisit meta tag allows you to tell the search engines how often to re-visit and re-index your website just in case changes were made and new product pages were added. This can be set for revisit after 3 days (recommended for online stores), 5 days, 7 days or more.
Robots META Tag
<META name="Robots" content="INDEX, FOLLOW, ALL">
Search engine spiders, also known as robots will visit your website and index all of your web pages and links from your website. And this tag allows you to tell the search engines which pages to index and follow and which pages are not to be indexed such as a design practice page or an order confirmation page.
For example:
“Index, Follow All” tells the search engine spider to index this page and follow all links that go out from this page as well.
“No index, no follow”, tells the search engine not to index this page and not to follow any links on this page as well.
NOTE: These extra meta tags may not be found on all web page coding areas.
However, to add these tags onto your code you can simply copy these tags from here and paste them onto your webpage under the main meta tags mentioned above:
<META name="Abstract" content="Enter short keyword phrase here">
<META name="Revisit-After" content="3 Days">
<META name="Robots" content="INDEX, FOLLOW, ALL">