Search Engine Optimization, Part 1

With much written on the subject of search engine optimization, SEO still remains a mystery to most people. Mainly because once the secret is out, everyone knows the answer. And once they answer is know, the search engines have to rework their algorithms. And the SEO merry-go-round continues.

How do the experts achieve those high rankings? Well, that’s a secrete left to those companies but there is one common factor, content. What ever mystically factors are utilized by Google, Yahoo, Bing and others, none of them will work without content on your site. And the more that content changes, the more information for the search engines to chew on, the more important you become.

So how can you take advantage of this content is king, design is queen philosophy? IT all starts with the basics.

Under the hood

In the early days of the web, search engine relied heavily on the meta tag information on a web site to determine it’s importance. Today, they are the forgotten children of SEO. But they can be the most important.

Site wide Search Words.

Before any writing begins on your website, before any graphics are created, and especially before any wizbang animations is developed, sit down with your team to determine what search words or terms you want to be known for.

When developing these search words, be realistic. If you want to be know for being the best baker in your community, you want to be more specific in your terms. There are a lot of bakers in the world and you don’t want to compete on that level. Are you know for a specific product, like wedding cakes or a specific flavor of cupcake? What are people saying when they talk about you to their friends? If you can’t ship your product across the country, focus on the city, county in your search words. By focusing your search words and terms, you will be able to tailor your SEO efforts more efficiently.

When you are complete, you should have anywhere from 6 to 10 search words or terms. There may be more, but you want to focus your efforts site wide on a select few that you can take ownership of.

Metatags.

In the early days of the web, the metatags were it. They were the ways in which search engines discover what you were about. Today, most consider these to be outdated. But they still have use. Search engines still read and incorporate the information into their mysterious algorithms. But more importantly, they help you define the content on your site, much the same way a thesis defines a term paper.

Meta Title: Contains the name of your site (company) and the one key feature you want to be known for. Limit, 63 characters (including spaces)

Meta Description: In two or three sentences, description your site (company) utilizing your search words and terms. Limit 156 characters (including spaces)

Meta Keywords: Place your search words within this space. When using search terms, remember not to repeat any one word more than 3 times or it might actually hurt your rankings. Limit 256 characters (including spaces)

Facebook Meta Tags: Facebook uses it’s own meta information to determine what is being pulled in social sharing (big surprise). By using Facebooks OpenGraph tags with your information above will ensure that the correct information is being pulled. And it will help Facebooks search engine find your site amongst all others.

Have enough yet?

Well this is just the beginning of your SEO adventure. Next we will talk about the content of your page and how to structure it for Search Engine Optimization. But for now, take a look under the hood of your site in order to makes sure your meta information is set up.