A good definition for Search engine optimization is the act of altering a web site so that it does well in the organic, crawler-based listings of search engines.
My never-break rules of SEO are:
These days, it’s better to underdo SEO than it is to overdo it. In the last couple of years Google implemented an Over-Optimization Penalty, meaning that some sites that were obviously heavily optimized fell in the rankings entirely, for every search term they formerly ruled.
The major thing that people found triggering the penalty was links in to the site almost entirely to the home page and all using the exact same wording in the anchor text. This points to a lot of bought links in, or links otherwise under the control of the person receiving them. However, things like too many keyword-repetitions also triggered it. Nobody knows what too many is, so don’t overdo it. Text should read naturally.
This is oh-so important for 3 reasons.
- If the search engines can’t find your pages they can’t index them.
- Links from your site to your site count in spreading your PR around so all of your pages, even the ones without external links (links from other sites to that exact page on your site) have a chance to rank well.
- Good navigation may increase the amount of pages a user views on your site, which may make Google think your site is of higher quality, thus increasing your rankings across all search terms
More on navigation:
Good Website Navigation
Website Navigation Tips
Everything possible usually consists of writing really good content or offering really cool tools or pictures on these pages and then making sure people see them (showcase them on your home page in a what’s new section and/or put one of them in your emails or forum signatures).
Links make the web go round. It seems that new webmasters these days hoard PR and do everything they can to keep from linking out. However, those of us who have been doing this for a long time can guarantee you that if you link out to quality sites whenever there is an opportunity, you will only help yourself. Think of it as link karma and a way to identify yourself as an authority on your topic.
Typically, Google will not rank any page on your site for any word or phrase UNLESS that term is either on the page or in the anchor text (clickable part) of a link pointing to the page. Therefore, if you want to rank for kona scuba diving you must have the term kona scuba diving somewhere on the page or have a lot of websites link to the page using that anchor text.
Google ranks pages based on an algorithm. The algorithm is a set of rules. Simplistically the algorithm could say something like: Give a webpage 1 point for every time a word is on the page up to 10 times. Subtract 1 point for every time after 10 times. Add two points if the word is in the title once. Subtract one point if it is in the title more than once. Add a ½ point for every different form of the word (run, ran, running, runs). Add ¼ point for every site that links to the page using the word in the anchor text. Add 1 point for every pagerank point the page has. Then, the page with the highest point score would come up first in the search results. People who rely heavily on SEO oftentimes chase the algorithm, meaning they optimize individual pages as much as possible – they make changes in how many times the keyword is on the page or in the title tag or in a heading tag, and then they watch if the page goes up or down in the results. The algorithm changes usually three or four times a year, so chasing the algorithm is futile, in my opinion.
If you have a life outside of algorithm chasing, it is most important to do smart, mild SEO on each page, don’t ever spam or use spammy techniques, and keep creating new content for your users. If you do this, your site should weather most algorithm changes. Sure, sometimes your rankings are up a little and sometimes they are down a little, but it will usually average out in the end.
How I do on-page SEO
I use my major term I am targeting once in the title tag close to the beginning of the tag. I try to use it or a form of it again in a heading on the page, again in bold or italic on the page, and if I can fit it into the filename that’s good too. If I can I try to use it early on the page and again at the end of the page. I put it or some variation of it in a link out if that makes sense. I have no formula, I just try to use it in a wide variety of ways always ensuring my writing makes sense and looks good.
More on SEO
High Rankings.com
Google’s page on SEO and SEOs
Webmasterworld
Winning the Search Engine Wars Ebook
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