What You Will Learn:

Introduction to search engine optimization (SEO).


Search engines are one of the primary ways that Internet users find Web sites. That's why a Web site with good search engine listings may see a dramatic increase in traffic. Everyone wants those good listings. Unfortunately, many Web sites appear poorly in search engine rankings or may not be listed at all because they fail to consider how search engines work. In particular, submitting to search engines is only part of the challenge of getting good search engine positioning. It's also important to prepare a Web site through "search engine optimization." Search engine optimization means ensuring that your Web pages are accessible to search engines and are focused in ways that help improve the chances they will be found.

What is optimization?
Search engine optimization, also known as placement and positioning, is the process of improving a web site for higher search engine rankings. It's the first step in achieving higher rankings. Only after optimization can you submit a site and hope for good results.
- How to create effective page Title Tags
Pay attention to the title tags of your web pages. They are more important than most web authors realize. Once you understand why the title is so important, you can easily write more effective title tags.

What is the title tag?
In your HTML code, the page title should be placed between the beginning and closing HEAD tags, ideally just after the beginning HEAD tag and before the first META tag.

Why is the title tag important?
The title tag is important for a variety of purposes.

- Most browsers display your page with the title at the top of the browser window.
- If someone bookmarks your page in their browser, their bookmark list will show your page using your page title. So if the title of your web page is "Home Page", as many are, your visitors' bookmark lists will contain a lot of "Home Page"
listings. How will they determine which "Home Page" is yours two months from now?
- Google and other search engines present the results of a search by displaying page titles as links in the first line of each query result. Search engines doesn't like to display "Home Page" as the best they can do for a user searching for "purple
people eaters," for example.
- Most search engines will order the results of a search engine query based on the relevancy of your page to the keywords used for the query. One of the factors in determining this relevancy is how closely your title matches these keywords. If your small startup company makes purple people eaters, don't give your home page the title "Unknown Business, Inc." It's not relevant to the search. Of course, many people will consider "CNN" or "Time, Inc." as relevant for the keyword "news." When you get to be well known, you can use your name as your title.

You can see that the title of your web page is highly visible to others, and it can impact the search engine ranking of your web page. It is therefore worthwhile to spend some time carefully writing each page title.

Practial tips for writing title tags
Here are some practical tips you can use for crafting an effective web page title.

- Start by thinking hard about how your potential visitors will search for your site. What keywords or keyword phrases will they use for a search engine query? Use one or two of the most important keyword phrases for your title. In our example, the
home page title could be "Purple People Eaters."
- Don't just use the same title for all your web site pages. Your About page title could be "About Unknown Business, Inc., your Source for Purple People Eaters." Your Order page title could be "How to Order Purple People Eaters."
- Don't include your company name in the title unless it is a commonly recognized name or the page is about your company. Use the limited real estate in a title for relevant keywords. You can include your company name in the description META tag of your web page.
- Make sure the title does not exceed 66 characters. Google will not display more than 66 characters of a title in the search results page. Truncated titles irritate search engine users.
Don't use more than 7-10 words in your title.
If you understand what the title tag is, why it is important, and follow these practical tips for writing your web page titles, your internet visibility will be improved, you will improve your search engine ranking, and you will get more visitors to your web site.

How to create an effective and optimized META Description Tag.
The actual words that make up your listing in a particular search engine is an advertisement for your business in and of itself. This Web site description must be effective and compelling, not just a demonstration of strategic keyword placement and frequency!
When this particular copy is well written using some specific techniques that we will describe in a moment, it can be even more effective in bringing targeted visitors to your site. Common sense dictates that the effectiveness of an advertisement is contingent on both the ads placement AND how compelling the copy is to the reader. Right?

Most search engines provide a two or three line site description immediately after the "title" of your site. Now remember, some search engines allow you to submit your site description to them and others use a "software spider" to visit your site to take title and site description text right off of your page. The worst mistake you can make is to allow the search engine's spider to index text from your site that is completely irrelevant to your content such as:
[Back to Home Page] [Contact us]

Welcome to Zebra Enterprises, we hope you'll find us a valuable source of [May 15 97]...
Think about it - when presented with 50 matches from a keyword search, how often would you select that one? Even if a listing like the one above appears in the number one spot the reader will skip it and move down the list. They inevitably choose the one with the most compelling description, regardless of its position. I rarely pick the first match. I'll at least scan the first 10 entries and pick one that looks the most appealing. Directory services like Yahoo give you the option to provide the site description. Make sure you type & proof-read your description in advance so you don't feel rushed to fill in the field on the submit page. For most other search engines such as Excite, InfoSeek, and AltaVista which employ "Spiders" to index the content of your page automatically, two techniques are used:
The engine will "Spider" or scan your page for a Description Meta Tag to use for their "summary description." Therefore, ALWAYS include a description Meta Tag on **every** page of your site, NOT just on the home page. If you have different topics of content on different pages within your site, you should create a separate description Meta Tag tailored for each of these pages. As always include, include keywords in this description as you do the rest of the page.

Inserting the description tag is easy. The syntax is as follows:
Put this tag between the and tag near the top of the page. If you're using a WYSIWYG editor such as Netscape Gold, you can select "Document Properties" and enter a page description in the field that it provides. These editors will then generate the proper HTML code for you. If you're new to HTML, see the links at the bottom of this newsletter for additional resources.

*** IMPORTANT NOTE: You should not exceed 200 characters in the length of the description Meta Tag.

Some search engines will ignore the Description Meta Tag and instead extract what it determines is the most "Relevant" content for the page. Most will extract the first few sentences from the top of a page. For this reason, it becomes very important to make sure your leading paragraph is filled with both keywords and text that would be compelling to the reader who is reading it on a search engine as your site's description. Avoid copy at the top of a page that is uninviting when viewed as a search engine's description of your site such as "Welcome to our site" or "The following content was created by Bob Wastespace and Karen Fillerman." To avoid the problem of irrelevant text in that summary paragraph such as items on your main menu, create a simple "doorway page" that includes a link to your home page, but excludes extra text like menu links. (Doorway pages were explained in the September issue). Occasionally search engine spiders will extract a chunk of text in the middle of your page that says nothing of interest to the reader and may not even be an appropriate description of your site! This can be maddening. The solution is simple, though - conduct a search for your site in each search engine and check to be sure this description is meaningful and consistent with the content of your Web site. You could be surprised to find that even for keywords that you rank well under, the site description returned is hardly compelling, and often cryptic. Once you identify the problem, you can redesign the page or create a new doorway page which includes only text you want the engine to display. For instance if you create a doorway page for a particular search engine that has just 2 sentences on it, both compelling, interesting and rich with keywords in strategically prominent positions, the search engine will have nothing else with which to index your site. Don't forget to have a link to the rest of your site though. You wouldn't be the first camper who built a terrific doorway page to achieve a good listing and forgot to have that page link to the rest of your site!

Monitoring your page descriptions for even a handful of keywords on a number of search engines becomes extremely time consuming. This is precisely why we developed a Summary description report in the WebPosition product. WebPosition not only reports your positions, but addresses the second key element to increasing your traffic: WebPosition shows you your Web site's page descriptions from each search engine, for all your keyword/phrase queries, engine by engine, all on one convenient screen. Whether you choose to check these descriptions manually (and spend quite a few hours doing it), or automatically with a tool like WebPosition, your next step is to improve those summary descriptions. To accomplish this we look to tried and true copy writing techniques.

How To Write A Site Description That Reels In Visitors:
While the following title and description may get you a high ranking for a keyword search on the word "mortgage":
! AAA Mortgage banking, the Mortgage money lenders - Mortgage, lenders, money, mortgages, mortgage money, mortgage loans, home equity loans, mortgage money, however, what it says is entirely unappealing. Instead, look at another site description, that would also be ranked high, and see which site you would be more likely to visit: Mortgages Approved Overnight!! - Mortgages and mortgage financing secrets that large banks don't want you to know. Learn the 10 ways that we can approve your mortgage in 24 hours, even if you have poor credit! The listing above has the word "mortgage" as the first word of the title, the first word of the description and repeats the word "mortgage" 4 times. The difference is that this description is compelling, solves a problem and offers a "secret" to the reader if they visit the site. The direct response business has studied and mastered the art of writing headlines.

What they learned is that headlines are most effective when they accomplish 3 things:
Solve a problem
Solve that problem quickly
Solve that problem for what appears to be a small or reasonable amount of money.
With that in mind, the following headline is acceptable, but not as effective as it could be:
"I can help you to get out of debt and get a good credit rating - I've done it for others I can do it for you!"
A better approach, and, a headline that usually draws more inquiries reads:
"Fix your bad credit in 48 hours for just $49!"

How to create an effective and optimized META Keywords Tag ?
Do not use the meta keywords tag. Many people still think of this as a quick fix for SEO. It's not. Google no longer uses it. In fact, it is likely that Google penalizes sites that do employ the meta keywords tag. Yahoo is perhaps the only search engine that still uses the meta keywords tag but places very little weight on it. By placing this tag on a web page, the primary beneficiary is your competition. How so? The meta keywords tag gives your competitors a nicely formatted list of your important keywords. Don't believe me? Try the free keyword research tool at the end of this article.

Search engines used to rely heavily on the meta keywords tag to guess which keywords were relevant on a web page. Now search engines are sophisticated enough to examine the actual keywords in the body of a web page. Major search engines place little, if any, value in the meta keywords tag. There is more risk than reward in using the meta keywords tag because your competitors can view the meta keywords tag and can steal your keywords. What do I mean by "steal" your keywords? By placing the meta keywords tag on a page, you are, in effect, giving your competitors a list of your important keywords. They can then use these keywords and buy PPC ads or optimize their own site for your important keywords. Why give them this sort of business intelligence? Having invested time and money on exhaustive keyword research to identify the important keyword phrases to use for your own SEO and PPC efforts, why on earth would you make a list of your high value keywords public?

Here is our meta keywords advice: do not use the meta keywords tag. Instead, make sure the title of your web page has your important keywords and that those keywords are repeated in the body of your web page. If you want to, create a meta description tag. The search engines do use that meta tag, but it's not essential for SEO. Creating good content is essential. Each page should have useful content and include your important keywords. Don't try to stuff all of your important keywords onto a single page. Create pages around a theme, a small collection of keyword phrases. For instance, target 1-3 keyword phrases per page. Write a title that incorporates those keyword phrases. If the title seems awkward from the point of view of your audience (site visitors not the search engines), scale back the number of phrases and try again. If you choose to write a meta description tag, it should reinforce the keywords already in the title tag. The body of the page should then include those important keyword phrases. Again, though, the content of the page should be written for your site visitors and not seem awkward.

Since many web sites do still use the meta keywords tag, we have developed a free keyword research tool that will analyze the meta keywords of your competition. Use the tool to see what keywords your competitors are embedding in their meta keywords tags and then research these keywords using other freely available tools. When I begin work for a new client, I ask them for a list of their competitors' web sites. I plug those into the tool and it gives me an instant list of keywords. That's only the beginning, a starting point for further keyword research. As time goes on, I expect online businesses to become a bit more savvy regarding meta tags and this tool will no longer provide a quick start.

How to research and select appropriate keywords to target ?
Keyword research and selection is a critical step in your search engine marketing campaign.
It's pretty well established that most people start with search engines when looking for online information. We've all typed in keyword phrases to find what we're looking for. Today, most people use two to five keywords on average when searching.
This makes it increasingly more important to choose the right keywords for optimizing your Web page content. Because search engines focus on providing relevant content, Web sites with relevant keywords on the page will rank higher than sites that don't research and select the appropriate terms used to search for their products and services.

10 Tips for Selecting Your Best Keywords
Why are keywords so important? Because they bring qualified buyers to your site as people look for your products and services through search engines. Careful selection and placement of your strategic keywords in Web page copy and HTML tags goes a long way toward attracting traffic that converts to sales. Following are some tips for generating the keywords and phrases most likely to boost your bottom line.
1. Think from a customer viewpoint.
What words would potential customers use when searching for your offering? Get feedback from multiple sources by picking the brains of your customers, suppliers, brand managers and sales people.
2. Expand your keywords into a list of key phrases.
After brainstorming an initial list, put these terms into WordTracker, which is a Web-based tool that provides ideas for additional keywords by telling you how popular your keywords are on other Web pages and how many people have searched for these keywords in major search engines in the last 24 hours.
Your best terms are those that aren't overused but are still fairly popular. Another trick is to use uncommon combinations. WordTracker's Keyword Effectiveness Index (KEI) will tell you the number of times your keyword appears in its database and the number of competing Web pages. Look for keywords that might work on your pages. A high KEI means the word is more popular and less competitive. A KEI of 100 is fairly good, but anything over 400 is super. Use only the keywords that describe your offerings.
3. Create Multiple Permutations.
Vary the order of words in your phrases to create different combinations. Use very unusual combinations. Create phrases that ask a question. Include synonyms, word substitutes, metaphors, and common misspellings. Include brand names and models of products sold. Use additional qualifiers to create more specific terms by creating two-, three-, and four-word phrases.
For example, if broadband is one of your keywords, you might come up with phrases like digital broadband, digital wireless broadband, wireless digital broadband, accelerated for broadband, broadband news, digital wireless broadband news, broadband wireless communication, etc. From the key phrase software solutions, try traffic analysis software solutions, traffic analysis reports, traffic reporting tools, B2B software solutions, e-commerce software solutions, etc. Note that the keywords don't necessarily have to make sense, although when you use them in copy, they must make sense.
4. Use Concept Qualifiers to Qualify Visitors.
Specify the concept in your key phrases, such as e-commerce software. Be specific enough so the key phrase is not too broad, such as e-commerce software solutions, e-commerce security solutions, business-to-business e-commerce software, B2B e-commerce software, etc.
5. If You're Branded, Use Your Company Name.
It pays to include your company name in your keyword phrases if you're a well known brand. A site like RadioShack should preface its key phrases like this: RadioShack computers, RadioShack electronic components, RadioShack telephones, etc. If recruiting employees, it might use key phrases such as: work for RadioShack, RadioShack jobs nationwide, and executive RadioShack positions to recruit specific levels of employees.
However, if your name is Jack Jones Realty, very few people will type that name in a search query unless they know you, so it doesn't pay to include company names in keyword phrases if you're not branded.
6. Use Geographic Location.
If your location is key, include it in your keywords. For instance, Jack Jones Realty in Palm Springs, California, may find Palm Springs real estate to be a useful keyword.
7. Review Your Competitors' Keywords.
It's a good idea to look up your competitors' keywords to get ideas on some you might have missed. Don't copy anyone else's keywords because you don't know how or why they were selected -- you need to generate your own. Just look for an idea or two to supplement the keywords you identify for yourself.
8. Don't Use Keywords or Phrases That Are Too Broad.
Instead, use modifiers to make generic keywords and phrases more specific. A site offering insurance-related services might use health insurance quotes, auto insurance quotes, life insurance quotes, etc.
To prequalify your visitors, your keywords and phrases should identify your niche. If you're in the entertainment business, use entertainment news, movie trailers, celebrity stories, entertainment center, etc. Identifying your niche attracts the kind of traffic you need. This is important no matter what you sell. A smaller, targeted audience is more likely to result in conversions than a large volume of traffic that came thinking you were selling something else.
9. Don't Use Single Words.
Multi-word phrases work better than single words. It's difficult for search engines to return relevant results on single-word searches because there are too many answers to such a query, and users won't wade through hundreds of result pages. They learn quickly to be very specific. A user looking for an e-commerce software solution for an auction site won't be searching for software.
10. Don't Use Trademark Names Other Than Your Own.
Stay away from competitors' trademarks in your keywords or you might get sued. Some companies will give permission to use their terms. An e-commerce site wanting to use Tide can contact Procter and Gamble to request permission. Permission will depend on potential affiliation - a manufacturer will likely give permission to use its name to promote and sell its products on a vendor site. However, using another company's trademark or product name to profit from its brand is unacceptable and breaches federal trademark-protection laws.