Search Engine Optimisation – A Few Basics
Search Engine Optimisation is the procedure of enhancing the volume and quality of site visitors to a site or a particular web page by search engines. It is usually achieved by using targeted keywords, links to external sites and other methods of search engine marketing. SEO aims at improving the rankings of websites in search results of major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. In simple terms, SEO involves creating high quality links to your site from other sites with similar content. These high quality links are called inbound links.
The content you create for your site must comply with certain rules formulated by search engines such as Google and Yahoo. One of these rules is that the title tags of your pages must be unique. This rule is also called the ‘Do Not Overlook’ rule. Never include your company name in the title tag, or the keyword/s you wish to rank for in the title tag. Do not forget to place a descriptive title tag at the very end of the page.
Search Engine Optimisation can also be achieved by enhancing the user experience by internal linking to your site. Internal linking can be done by using directories, blogs, discussion boards etc. However, to achieve optimum results in ranking by search engines, try to post your content to as many different websites and discussion forums as possible. Also, submit your content to as many article directories as possible. In addition, pay to increase the number of inbound links to your site. In seo terms, this is known as Pay Per Click (PPC).
Another rule of SEO basics is to avoid excessive advertising. Search engines normally monitor the amount of time someone spends on a page and how long it takes to load. If someone is wasting a lot of his/her time watching commercials, then they will more than likely not spend a great deal of time viewing your content. Furthermore, if you have a large amount of paid search ads, the quality of your pages could be affected negatively. Although it is true that paid search advertising can help you to get high rankings, excessive ad display will reduce the user experience and will ultimately lower your ranking.
Search Engine Optimisation
An important aspect of Search Engine Optimisation is to keep your external links to a minimum. Search engines look at internal linking when determining page ranking. Internal linking is important because it increases your link popularity and helps your website to rank higher. However, do not overdo internal linking. Search engines generally give a high rank to sites that have minimal external links.
One of the most important rules of SEO basics is to focus your development efforts on a particular search engine. When an individual tries to search for something on the internet, he/she will most often type in a popular search engine first. When trying to get your website to rank higher, it is best to focus your development efforts on that search engine only. Doing so will help to ensure that you create content that is specifically tailored to that particular search engine.
