Subject: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) â An Overview

> Run a search on any of the 200 major search engines, and the results will
> come up in similar orders on quite a few of them. How a website
> owner/operator gets their website to the top of a list is called Search
> Engine Optimization, or SEO. Optimizing a website involves many of the
> same techniques, whether the aim is to optimize for Google adwords, Yahoo,
> Ask Jeeves or others. There is a list of what not to do as well, and that
> list is applicable to all engines, as it mostly refers to tricks and hacks
> unscrupulous designers use to try to trick the engines. These kind of
> pages generally get removed by automated tools and don\’t generally last
> very long, so they are not recommended to bother with.
>
> Website optimization starts with content. If the content is irrelevant,
> the website will not last long in the rankings, no matter how many
> keywords are included. The best way to get relevant content is to get an
> expert to write the content. General content may be more friendly to
> beginners, but in the search optimization arena, content is what is going
> to keep readers coming back and webmasters linking to the page. Many
> search engines use link counters to rank sites. If enough people like and
> value the site, they will link to it from their own site as an example of
> expert help for visitors seeking more detailed information than they can
> provide, or are willing to provide. Often, general-interest sites will
> link to expert sites, thereby also driving their own traffic up as the
> initial portal to those expert sites and improving their own rankings in
> the optimization listings. The quality of the sites linked is also a
> major factor in the rankings, as quality sites such as
> Microsoft and Google are going to be more effective \”heavy hitters\”
> than a link to Bob\’s House of Website Optimizing.
>
> When the content is being created, keywords are the \”anchors\” that
> search engines hook onto, but just filling your content with keywords
> risks being dismissed as a spam site, as many spammers merely fill a page
> with keywords, hoping to hook anyone searching for anything. These kind
> of pages are usually removed quickly, but they exist nonetheless.
> Specific keywords are the key–instead of Search Engine, use Search Engine
> Optimization for Google, or combinations of the key words or phrases.
> Optimization for Search Engines in one area, then Optimizing for higher
> Search Engine rankings in another increases the chances of an engine
> ranking your website content a little higher than it may have otherwise.
>
> The guidelines for content also go for Meta tags such as the title. Title
> is very important, as it is one of the bigger spots for an engine to
> catch, as well as the hook that draws a surfer in once the rankings have
> been displayed. A recommended length is 50-80 characters (including
> spaces), with keywords located near the beginning in case the window is
> resized on the screen. A good example would be \”Search Engine
> Optimization tips and tricks for Google\”, instead of \”How to do
> important SEO for websites.\”
>
> Search Engine Optimization–what to avoid: Don\’t use huge strings of
> keywords without relevant content–you may be labeled as a spammer and
> blacklisted off the engine(s) you\’re trying to climb. Stay away from
> pop-ups, excessive load times (by keeping the page clean and using fast
> hosting servers), and lots of flash animation, as this takes time to load
> and also detracts from the readability of the site.
>
> More specific information can be found by typing \”Search Engine
> Optimization\” into any major search engine like Google or Yahoo and
> following the links. Good luck!
>
> © 2006, Wholesale Pages UK. All rights reserved.
>
Article by: imzee