 |
 |
|
| |
Answering Service >
Call Center Resource >
Web Development and Promotion >
Search Engine Optimization >
Search Engine OptimizationSearch Engine Optimizationby Ian LurieOf all the areas of Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization is the most misunderstood, and potentially the most important to your marketing efforts. There are millions upon millions of pages of web content out there -- you can work hard, build a great site, and then be totally lost in the shuffle. SEO is important. Its also a very complex process that requires patience, careful planning and a long-term approach. If youre just getting started with: Selecting an SEO firm Trying to start a search engine campaign on your own Reviewing your current SEO efforts ...read on. This article should provide you with a high-level review of the SEO process, dispel a few SEO myths, and help you understand legitimate optimization strategies. What is Search Engine Optimization? Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, defies easy definition. But heres a short version: Search Engine Optimization Using keyword analysis and other legitimate practices to gain the highest possible search engine and directory rankings, under a given key phrase, for a given URL. Every SEO professional in the world just cringed, so Ill break this definition down a bit and hopefully prevent a hail of angry e-mails: Keyword Analysis is the process of mining keyword search data to find the best balance between the keywords you need and the best potential search niche. More on this later. Search Engine means an automated search engine. Search Engines include Google, AlltheWeb.com, Yahoo (powered by Google plus their own directory information), AOL Search, Ask Jeeves and MSN Search. A search engine obtains its results from spiders or bots -- small programs that come to your web site read it in much the same way you would: By reading the content on a page, and then moving from page to page via links. A directory, on the other hand, is built at least in part by human beings reading sites and other information and deciding where each site fits into the directory structure. Yahoos directory area and Open Directory are both examples of directories. Ranking is the numeric rank reflecting your position in the results list when someone performs a search on a particular set of keywords. Highest Possible means getting as close to number one as you can. Sometimes you just cant get that number one spot. Maybe someone else has a 400-page web site solely dedicated to the key phrase for which youre attempting to optimize. Or maybe theyre paying a fortune in advertising. Thats life, sometimes... Key Phrase is the keyword or set of keywords someone types into the little search field in Google or Alta Vista or any other search engine. A URL is the address of one page on your site. Most search engines display keyword search results and provide a link directly to the page most relevant to those results, rather than your home page. Its very, very important to keep that in mind when you build and optimize your site. Legitimate Practices is a pet peeve of mine. A true search engine optimization campaign will not use practices such as page or content cloaking, redirects, or lists of links (so-called link farms) but relies on good coding practices, well-written content, steady link popularity work and site features that will be every bit as valuable for site visitors as for search engine ranking. Anything less is a short-term fix that will likely reduce your rankings more often than increase them. So, the long version of the definition would be: Search Engine Optimization Using keyword analysis, good coding practices, well-written copy, link popularity analysis and careful site organization to move a web page as close to the number one search results position as possible for a given key phrase, in both search engines and directories. Hey, thats not so bad after all. But how do you get started? First, you separate reality from myth... SEO Urban Legends There are quite a few SEO myths out there. Here are my favorites: The Keywords META Tag Matters. Mostly wrong. Only Inktomi pays any attention to the keywords meta tag. You should do something basic, but dont bother putting in keywords that arent supported by your page content. Search Engines can read Flash, images and video. Sorry, and Ford isnt selling a flying car yet, either. Search engines can read one thing: Text. Anything else, while perfectly legitimate as a design tool, will not help your ranking. And relying too heavily on Flash or images may reduce your sites visibility. Google is one partial exception -- they can read some links in Flash, but still have very limited ability to read Flash content. Mirroring my site in multiple locations will improve ranking. Actually, just the opposite. Duplication of content will generally have no effect or, worse, reduce your ranking in major search engines. Most search engines now have rules against this form of spam and may reduce your ranking or ban your site altogether. Doorway pages improve ranking. Pages that have lots of keywords but then quickly redirect to the main site will not help you in major search engines, such as Google. And, if someone catches you and reports you to Google or the other search engine, you may be banned altogether. A landing or bridge page, though, thats designed to be as useful for users as for search engines, and does not redirect the user, can help by providing keyword-rich content thats genuinely worthwhile. |