December 30, 2009 at 5:18 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic | Leave a comment
Tags: alt tag, body text seo, heading tag, keyword prominence, proximity of keywords, search engine and seo copy writing, search engine copywriting, search engine optimization, SEO, seo copywriting, the main body text, what is search engine copywriting
Importance level of this tag: 2.0/10, Keyword prominence: 1.0/10, Heading Tags: 0.5/10, Proximity of keywords: 0.5/10, Bold or Italic: 0.4/10, Alt tag: 0.2/10
Importance of Good Copywriting
Whether it is the traditional print media or the electronic media, be it advertising, newspapers, or a website, copywriting is the use of a strong blend of powerful, motivating and persuasive words that not only put your message across to your target audiences, but also brings about the desired results. In advertising, good copywriting grabs attention, creates user interest, holds attention, conveys useful product information and expects to generate more sales.
It is important to keep your audience in mind while writing: Whom are you addressing? Who are the people reading your content? What exactly are they interested in reading?
What is Search Engine Copywriting?
Search Engine Copywriting or SEO copywriting is re-writing text on the website page in such a manner that it continues to appeal to the site surfer while being compatible to the Search Engines. Search Engine copywriting is a specialized field that optimizes your site content so that search engines tend to rank your site higher when keywords related to your business are searched. One might question the need for Search Engine copywriting, when they already have the best of best copy on their website. The fact is that sometimes, even the finest written copy by the greatest copywriter might not generate the rankings on the search engines that you had hoped for, despite the fact that you have a great product or service, have spent an amazing amount of time and money in building that site. Interestingly, since Search Engine Copywriting attempts to focus on specifics, it usually improves even human viewers’ appeal and clarity rather than hurting the creatively written copy.
Search Engine Copywriting helps in optimizing your site in such a way that;
I. It ranks highly on the search engine results with your business specific keywords.
II. It succeeds in bringing quality (read targeted) human traffic to your site and generates more potential for sales.
III. Is intended to bring long-term ‘free’ traffic through ‘natural’ search engine rankings.
Search Engines and SEO Copywriting
Many websites have a high degree of dependency on the Search Engines like Google to get traffic. Search Engines collect information from websites and match this with the keywords searched by a user looking for relevant information on different topics. If the Search Engine algorithms detect a close match on relevant search terms, your page is likely to be ranked higher. It is therefore important, from a SEO perspective, to have keywords strategically appearing in the text of your site. Search Engine Copywriting as mentioned earlier, is writing for these Search Engines, in order to bring higher rankings, quality human traffic and thus a higher potential for sales. Interestingly, a nicely done SEO copywriting job makes the copy even more appealing to the human visitors.
December 14, 2009 at 9:48 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic | Leave a comment
Tags: analyzing keywords, deploying keywords, discovering keywords, keyword phrase research, keyword research, keyword research seo, search engine optimization, selecting keywords, SEO
Keyword Research process involves the following important steps. These steps can be described as:
- Discovering Keywords
- Analyzing Keywords
- Selecting Keywords
- Deploying Keywords
The Discovering phase should focus on identifying as many keywords as possible that are related to your website and target audience.
The Analysis phase involves adding information about existing competition; PageRank based limitations and potential for ranking.
The Selection process involves objective measurement based short listing of keywords keeping the site focus and target audience within the limitations analyzed.
The Deploying phase is about making optimum use of your selected keywords on your website copy, HTML code and tags.
December 11, 2009 at 5:28 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic | Leave a comment
Tags: keyword phrase research, keyword research, keywords, seaech engine optimization, search engine promotion, SEO
Keyword Research is by far the most important aspect in any Search Engine Optimization initiative.
Keyword Phrase Research is process of selecting the most “optimum performance” keyword phrases that can help visitors find your site. You may have spent days and months on fine-tuning your web pages for a better ranking with the major search engines, yet it will all amount to a big waste if the right keyword phrases are not targeted. It’s like not being able to reach your destination even after running your best race because you started out on the wrong road. Even if you achieve high search engine rankings, you may not get relevant traffic if you select the wrong keywords. Therefore, the foremost step in any SEO campaign is identifying your target audience and researching what keyword phrases they might be searching in the search engines to locate a site like yours.
For any marketing strategy to succeed, it is critical to know your audience and the means to reach them. A certain focus is required which could be location specific, region specific or country specific; it could be business, trade, service, product specific, since we are talking specific audience. For instance, a dentist practicing in a particular town would most likely target people living in the same region, instead of targeting the entire country. Just as a patient searching for a dentist would search for one in his own area. Focus on region would help her get targeted visitors, not just wasted traffic.
Common Pitfalls
A common pitfall is to start the website optimization exercise with a set of “gut-feel” keyword phrases. Site owners often come up with ‘common sense looking’ key phrases, which though look obvious, may not match with the ones your buyers are using as their search term. Very often, being from within the trade narrows the vision and you tend to assume that trade-specific terms are easily understood and popularly used. Not so. You need to think out of the box.
Doing Keyword Research invariably means departing from one’s gut-feel and going by the facts. ‘Facts are sacred’ in website optimization as they provide the exact data of what people are actually searching for, thus saving you from starting on a wild goose chase. As mentioned earlier, targeting the wrong key phrases might get you a good ranking for keywords that have few or no search requests or just get you irrelevant junk traffic. So, how does one get the facts and the data regarding a particular search term? There are several online keyword research tools like Wordtracker and Overture, which offer data pertaining to your search term. Relying on search tools to analyze keyword phrase data helps you to get a grip on your target audience.
December 10, 2009 at 6:31 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: meta keyword tag, meta keywords, search engine optimization, search engine optimization keyword tag, SEO, seo meta keyword tag
Long ago in Internet time, the meta keywords tag was very useful in helping pages to win on search engines. Unfortunately, so many unscrupulous webmasters have abused the meta keywords tag that search engines have had to de-emphasize their importance. Still, you should not leave the meta keywords tag off your pages.
Meta keywords tags should adhere to the following guidelines:
- Keep your list of keywords or keyword phrases down to 10 – 15 unique words or phrases.
- Separate the words or phrases using a comma (you do not need to leave a space between words separated by commas).
- Do not repeat words or phrases.
- Put your most important word or phrases at the beginning of your list.
December 9, 2009 at 5:55 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: keywords, meta keyword limit, meta keywords, search engine optimization, SEO, seo meta keywords
Importance level of this tag: 0.1/10
Though meta keywords tags are not a major factor search engines consider when ranking sites, they should not be left off the page. Both the meta keywords tag and the meta description tag contribute to your search engine ranking. A meta keywords tag is supposed to be a brief and concise list of the most important themes of your page.
Note: Meta tags are hidden in a document’s source, invisible to the reader. Some search engines, however, are able to incorporate the content of Meta tags into their algorithms. No engines penalize sites that use meta tags properly, so it’s recommended that you always include them.
The basic syntax for Meta Keyword Tag is:
<META name=”keyword” content=”keywords, keyword, keyword phrase, etc.”>
When you write a meta keywords list, start by scanning the copy on your page. Make a list of the most important terms you see on the page. Then read through the list. Pick the 10 or 15 terms that most accurately describe the content of the page. If you can’t narrow your keyword list down to 10-15 keywords, then the content on your page may be rambling too far. Because of the hyper-competitiveness of the current search engine placement landscape, pages need to be very focused on one or two specific keyword phrases in order to have a chance to get a top ten placement. For example, a page about northern Michigan apples and central Florida oranges doesn’t have much of a chance to win for either “northern Michigan apples” or “central Florida oranges.” To have any chance to win, you need to have one page about northern Michigan apples and one page about central Florida oranges.
Another example: If your page is a list of exercise or fitness tips, and on the page you list tips for things to do before, during, and after a workout, then you need to think to yourself, “What 10 or 15 words or phrases is this page MOST about?” Just because your page mentions dieting in the text doesn’t mean that the page is about dieting. If you want to win for dieting, then create a page about dieting. The ultimate example of a page which is focused and ready for search engine optimization is a page from an encyclopedia. Each page is brief, focused, and has just one theme.
December 8, 2009 at 4:36 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: description tag, meta description, meta description tag, search engine optimization, SEO
All search engines do not give very high prominence to the Meta Description Tag and may generate a description on the fly while listing your web page in SERP. However, in some search engines, a good Meta Description Tag might help a page to rank higher for your targeted search terms. This holds true for Flash, Frame or All Image sites that have no content as well as some high importance websites, where the search term is not found in the text. In such cases, some search engines pick up the exact Meta Description Tag and display it in its SERP, just below the Title Tag. Hence, it is important to write a crisp and enticing Meta Description Tag that includes your important keyword phrases and manages to interest your user, thus making her click on your entry.
Keyword Phrases and Meta Description Tag
Include your most relevant and important keyword phrases in your page’s Meta Description Tag. As in the case of Title Tag, focus on the same keyword phrases as you used in your page’s Title Tag and body text. Fewer and highly targeted search phrases can boost your web page’s relevance in the search engines results. Hence, stress should be on writing a brief yet informative description for your web page.
The Meta Description Tag of your web page should not read like a collection of a keywords, but should be written as an informative and interesting summary of your web page.
Dos and Don’ts of a good Meta Description Tag
- Excessive keyword repetition should be avoided. Instead, pay attention to the sequence in which your keywords appear. Your most important terms should be placed in the beginning.
- Make sure each page on your web site has a different and a unique Meta Description Tag using the keyword phrases that are relevant to that web page.
- A Meta Description Tag of 25-30 words should do fine.
- The most important keyword phrases should, ideally be placed at the beginning of your Meta Description Tag, which increases your chances of better Search Engine Rankings.
Basic elements of a good Description Tag
- Write it in sentence structure.
- Should be relevant to the similar 25-30 word (under 150 characters) description of the first text within the visible page.
- Do not repeat your keywords more than 3 times in description tag. If you need, make alternatives (e.g. ‘prescription’ and ‘prescriptions’ can be used 3 times each).
- Minimize the use of “stop words” such as “and, the, of”.
- Keyword phrases that appear earliest in the Meta description will generally receive higher ranking value.
- Try to include this tag in all pages by describing the content and it should be unique.
- Don’t load your description with only keywords.
- Strive for 5-10% keyword density.
- Use different Meta description tag for each page.
December 7, 2009 at 7:27 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: description summary, description tag, meta description tag, search engine optimization, SEO
Importance level of Description tag: 0.3/10
The Meta Description Tag is a part of HTML code that allows you to give a short and concise summary of your web page content. The words placed in this Meta Tag, are often used in the search engines result pages (SERP), just below the Title Tag as a brief description of your page. In the Search Engine Results Pages, after reading the Title, a user usually studies the description of the page and decides whether she/he wants to visit your site or not.
Some Search Engines prefer to ignore your Meta Description Tag and build the description summary on the basis of the search term for the SERP on the fly. They usually pick up parts of the text on your page wherever the search terms appear. The only exceptions are the Flash, Frame or All Image sites that have no content, and some high importance websites, where the search term is not found in the text. In such a case, Google picks up your entire Meta Description Tag and displays it.
This is the way Meta Description Tag appears in your site’s HTML code:
<HEAD>
<META content=”Meta Tag Optimization: Title Tag Optimization and Meta Description Tag Optimization. Tips about how to optimize your most important Tags.”>
</HEAD>
December 5, 2009 at 5:55 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: search engine optimization, SEO, seo title tag, title tag, title tags
- It should always appear immediately after the opening <HEAD> tag
- It should be specific keywords and phrases.
- Use only keywords and phrases that are in the body text on your page.
- May use the same keyword twice to attain reasonable keyword density, but be sure that you don’t put the same word right next to each other or more than twice.
- 5-12 words (less than 60 characters) are a good length for title tag.
- Consider using both singular and plural forms of the keywords.
- It should be read like a phrase that makes some grammatical and logical sense, not collection of keywords.
- Try to place your primary keywords at the starting of the tag.
- Keep the words in title case (e.g. Profession Marketing Tips)
- Make sure to avoid using search engine stop words or words like Home, Default, Internet or Index.
- Avoid using superlatives in your title (e. g. the best, fastest, cheapest, leader)
- Try to minimize the use of commas in this tag.
- Strive for a keyword density of 25-30% for each keyword.
- Always remember to close this tag (e.g. </TITLE>)
- All pages must have a unique and descriptive keyword phrase in the title.
- Try to keep title tags as unique as possible in each page in your website.
- Do not change the title tag regularly.
December 1, 2009 at 11:52 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: search engine optimization, SEO, seo title tag, title tag, title tags, what it title tag, what to include in title tag, working with title tag
You could put the product or service you are offering in the Title Tag, instead of your firm or company name. This is because most users when searching for, information search for specific products or services, not company names. Also note that search engines read about 55-60 characters in your Title Tag. This is prime Real Estate for your important keywords. If you strongly feel like putting your company or domain name in your Title Tag, then, do so at the end. Wasting several characters by inserting your site name does you little good.
Other Do’s and Don’ts
- Consider using both singular and plural forms of the important words in your Title Tag. For instance, you may use both ‘loan’ and ‘loans’ while making the Title Tag. Google is still experimenting with Stemming (interchange of singular and plural terms); however, it is fluctuating in its deployment frequently. A word of Caution: Do not overdo it.
- Title Tag length: Google usually reads about 60 characters of your Title Tag. Therefore, a Title Tag of about 50-60 characters are good enough.
- Do not use keywords repeatedly as the density of your keywords does not matter in your Title Tag.
- The sequence in which keywords appear in your Title Tag is important. Try using natural phrases for your Title Tag, which read better and will likely conform to your Keyword Phrases.
- Avoid using the same Title Tag throughout your site. Try using a unique Title Tag for each web page and use keyword Phrases that holds theme relevance to that page. You also get to leverage more keyword phrases if you individualize the Title Tag in all pages.
- Most search engines are not case sensitive; therefore, you can write your Title Tag in a way that looks most visually appealing.
- Title Tag should ideally read like a phrase that makes some grammatical sense, not just a collection of keywords. This is all the more important as the Title Tag usually appears as the text when you ‘bookmark’ or add a page to your ‘favorites’ list. Therefore, it should make sense when a person reads it later. For instance, if you want to include the keywords Home Loans, fast clearance, No credit check in your Title Tag, you can write a Title Tag that reads:
Home Loans: fast clearance with no credit check.
November 30, 2009 at 6:04 am | Posted in SEO, SEO-Basic, Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Tags: search engine optimization, SEO, seo title tag, title tag, title tag and keywords, title tags
Since the Title Tag plays a vital role in determining your site’s ranking in the SERP, you need to pay a lot of attention to the words that appear in the Title Tag and the order in which they appear. You need to develop a crisply worded Title Tag that includes your most relevant keyword phrases and performs the function of announcing the summary of your web page’s content.
Title Tag and Keywords
Amongst all the places you can use your important keyword phrases; the usage of keywords in the Title Tag gives the highest weight.
While using your keyword phrases in the Title Tag, it is important to be highly focused. You should use the same keywords not just in your Title Tag, but also in your page content and the Meta Description Tag of your web page. If the keywords you intend using in your Title Tag do not appear anywhere else in your page’s content, then avoid using them in your page title as the weight of the keywords in the Title Tag gets diluted.
It is essential to sequence your keyword phrases correctly in your Title Tag. The order in which they appear is of great importance. Having your most important keyword phrase towards the beginning of the Title Tag helps display your title in bold in the SERP (search engines result pages).
We will see in next post what to include in title tag.
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