SEO What is it and Why so important?
Internet SEO (Search Engine Optimization) considers how search engines work and what people search for. Factors include content and title pages. Optimizing a website involves editing its content and HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords of search engines.
Most SEO people work together with designers and marketing teams. Small businesses may not be aware of this process, as it comes at an added cost. Beware though- at present there is no regulator as the search engines change the rules quite often, so the sky is the limit! Many designers are not SEO experts so ensure this is discussed with your designer before you proceed with your new project.
Basically the commonsense approach always works, at World of Websites our aim is to ensure your website is edited correctly and the information is informative and correct.
How many sites are in the world?
It is important to note, many years ago when the internet was not so widely used, competition was much less. Many websites were made in word document !! However now there are many programs readily available for designers to come up with great visuals to add to your site. However that is not enough why?
In the market place today there is much more competition, and so the designers of this world have to be savvy to assist their clients in the best way, in design and of equal importance the marketing of your site. Everyone wants to be on page 1- is that possible ? now have a look at the latest stats from “Netcraft” is as follows:
In the September 2011 survey we received responses from 485,173,671 sites, a growth of nearly 4.8% (just over 22M hostnames) compared to last month. Apache servers saw the largest growth this month (roughly 14M new hostnames), taking its total to over 315M!
Here are some practical suggestions, keep in mind if your site is new you will have to be patient, as many sites come and go, the longer your site is registered and active you will see your ranking increase.
1. Information- what is on your site?
Information on your site is what your visitors want and need, if your site has little or no helpful information your visitors will quickly exit your site and head straight to your competitors site. Information is as important as is to location, location, location is to real estate.
Remember no one knows your business like you do, so tell the world and share your knowledge and experiences, in this way you will be enticing your visitors to do business with you, as they will be infused with confidence in you and your products. You will be rewarded for fresh new and original information, as the search engines will see this and a priority and will rank you higher.
2. Keywords
Keywords are important as they will give your visitor an overall idea of what your site is all about. To use an example if your business is about beauty and beauty products then you would want to use keywords such as: Beauty Products, Beauty skin care, hair and beauty and so on.
It would be of no advantage at all to have a page with the heading of Beauty Products and the content is all about you. The best way is to think is from your visitor's point of view, ask yourself when you are searching for something -what do you want -isn't it specific information?
This means you have to do the hard work. Why? Because keywords will determine your site's target market, your web pages will be targeted for a specific audience, so your keywords have to be well researched and keywords selected carefully. The safe choice is: have at least 6 main keywords used on each page, use each keyword a min 3 times with a page of 250-300 words. A word of caution -don't over use or over do it, write content for your audience, to benefit them, otherwise it may be seen as spam.
3. Links
In summary, the search engines pay particular notice of how many sites link into yours, this indicates that other site owners think your site is of high value so they want to 'join the party ' so to speak. We are all aware Google is the no 1 site with 727,036 sites linking in followed very closely with face book with 776,492 sites linking in.
4. Photos
Visuals are very important; some companies will balk at the idea of supplying the designer with good photos. Photos need to be clear and are appropriate to what message you are conveying. Ensure you have good quality photos if not seek out an on line 3rd party you can purchase from.