Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a big phrase that simply means you want to design your website so that it comes up first on Google or other search engines when Internet users search for any of the key terms related to your business. SEO is big business, but there are many free things you can do on your own to maximize your website’s reach and impact.
Here are 14 ways to get your site ready for search engine “spiders” or “crawlers” (the programs that scan the entire web and collect pieces of information from different sites to add to search engines) to find and like you.
1. It can’t be said too many times: Content is king on the Internet. You have to have quality content in your text, ads, links and pages to rank well.
2. Your site needs to be rich with the right keywords. Visit Google AdWords, sign in and search for keywords and their synonyms that fit your business. You can quickly see which words are entered the most in searches. The Keyword Tool also helpfully suggests related words so you can see how often they come up. For example, in June 2009 the term “wealth” was searched 1.5 million times. The word “money” was searched 37.2 million times.
3. On the flip side, do not go overboard sticking in repeated keywords where they don’t flow naturally with your text. If search engines suspect you are trying to trick them by planting the same keywords too many times, you’ll get penalized in your rankings.
4. Syndicate yourself with an RSS feed. After you do, make sure your text in the feed is laced with keywords in your description and title.
5. Pictures on your site need captions. When you add keyword-friendly text to images, spiders can read and count them toward your rankings. Otherwise, they are wasted space in terms of SEO.
6. Freshen up your content as often as possible; several times a week is best. Search engines never stop searching.
7. If you can’t load new content that frequently, consider adding a blog that is updated at least three times a week.
8. Because search engines like it when other sites link to you, get to know big bloggers and offer them something of benefit if they link to you.
9. Search engines like .edu sites, so if you can get a university to link to you, that’s golden. You can also look for nonprofit .edu sites that you can sponsor.
10. Write articles for other sites that link back to you. Ezines often stay on the web for years in archives, and that pays an ongoing return to you.
11. Wherever you have a point of action like a click-through button, use a keyword on it instead of just “click here.” For example, if you have an online car dealership with pages of car ads, instead of “next page,” your button might read “more auto listings.”
12. Don’t forget to list your location in your text wherever it fits. For example, use “stop by our Miami dealership” rather than “stop by our store.” When you use your location, local searchers will find you more easily.
13. Make sure you have a site map page. Spiders can find all the important pages on your site a lot easier if you have one.
14. Keep working at it. Optimizing your site for search engines is not something that you can do overnight. It is a continual process of learning and updating.
Remember, crawlers and spiders go out every day, and they’re looking at you. Make sure they find you and like you, so that customers can find you, too.
Tags: keywords, RSS feeds, search engine optimization, Web crawlers