Search Engine Optimization – a short guide

Here is how to optimize one page of your website very quickly. Repeat for other pages as desired.

1) Find keywords.
Pick a list of words relevant to your business. Think about which words are most likely to get people to do what you want them to do (convert into leads) and focus on those words. Then pick one word (or phrase) to use on one page of your site.

2) Put keywords in Page Title.
The Page Title is one of the most important things that Google and other search engines evaluate to determine what is on a web page. Put your keyword or phrase in the title, keep it short.

3) Put keywords in Page URL.
Google and other search engines also use the text of the URL of the page to determine the content of the web page. You should use your keyword or phrase in the URL of the web page – either the folder/directory structure or the HTML file / page name itself.

4) Put keywords in Meta Data.
While the page metadata (Page Description and Keywords) are not nearly as important as they used to be, they still count. Take advantage of them by putting your keyword or phrase there. The description should be readable by a person and make sense and the keyword metadata should focus on your keyword or phrase – do not make it long, less is more.

5) Put keywords in your H1 text.
The H1 text is usually the title of an article or some larger bold text at the top of your page. Google and the smaller search engines can see this and they put extra importance on the words in the H1 text. Make sure your keyword or phrase is there.

6) Use keywords in the page content.
Putting the keyword in your page content also signals to search engines that the page is actually about the keyword and should show up in search results. I have heard from “experts” that you should use your keyword anywhere from 4-6 times to 10-12 times. My advice is to just write naturally.

7) Monitor your rank.
Give the search engines some time to do their thing (couple days) and then keep checking your rank to see what happened and track your progress.

OK… now for those of you who want to be more advanced, here are some other suggestions and resources.

• Build links to your website.
The number and quality of links to your website are quite important to Google and other search engines for your rank on different terms.

• Know (and increase) your Page Rank.
Google uses your Page Rank as a measure of how “important” your website is on the Internet. Having a higher Page Rank means you have a better shot at being one of the top results for search terms.

• Avoid common pitfalls.
Sometimes you’re just doing something wrong. There are a number of practices on the web that can actually limit your success with search engines dramatically.

• Grade your website.
Evaluate the marketing effectiveness of your website. It gives tips on what you can change on your site to improve your website’s marketing effectiveness.

• Posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009