WEB MEDIA SCHOOL session - 70
TOP 10 LISTING
Everybody and their sister is telling you to make Gateway or Doorway pages to get listed higher in search engines. I'm here to tell you this is a waste of your valuable time. If you follow the guidelines I've given below, you should increase your position and, if you do it right, be ranked in the top 10. The following list (in order of importance) will show you how:
==> Different Title On Each Page
Think about what keyword or phrase your visitors would input into a search engine if they wanted your product or service. Use these keyword(s) in your title and make sure you don't use more than eight words (five would be better).
For instance, let's say you sell heat pumps. Your keyword phrases would be heat pumps or HVAC because these are the words someone might input into a search box when they are looking for this product. So you use these keywords in your title (i.e., "Heat Pumps, HVACs at XYZ.com") on your index (home) page title. Then, figure out what else they would input like "electric heat" or "pumps" and put these in other titles on subsequent pages. The object here is to use each page on your web site as a place your visitor can enter from when clicking on a search engine link...not just a link to your home page.
If your site has 20 pages filled with heat pumps and accessories, you have the opportunity to have 20 different keyword phrases your visitor might input into a searchþ Webmasters make the mistake of just putting in their business names. But if your title uses words which somebody is searching for, your site will come up first, even before the "branded" names. And, instead f just getting hits, you are getting targeted hits.
Also make sure your keyword or phrase is the first word(s) in your title. This also helps rank your site higher when push comes to shove and another site has the same keyword or phrase.
==> Meta Name "Description" Content = Tag
This tag must also use your keyword or phrase and match what you've used in your title. The trick here is to write a short concise sentence in 25 words or less which will make the surfer want to click your link on the search engine page. Give considerable thought to this sentence. Write, rewrite and write it again until it's perfect. Do not just use the keyword or phrase over and over again because the search engines are wise to this and will consider it spamming and you'll never get listed.
==> Meta Name "Keywords" Content =
Quite frankly some search engines use them, but some larger ones don't even include them in their ranking criteria. The reason--too many sites put in keywords which have nothing to do with the content in their pages. If you do decide to use this meta name tag, only use your keyword or phrase.
==> First sentence uses keyword or phrase
The first sentence the robot "sees" or "crawls" through should almost be the same as your meta name description sentence. It is looking for a match. And, search engines give added weight (score) to those sites who use this technique.
==> Content must include keyword or phrase
The search engines rank sites higher by how you use keywords in your content. This means the top third of your pages should have four (4) instances of your keyword or phrase and the last two-thirds should have three (3). No more than seven instances of your keyword phrase should be on a page; otherwise, the search engines will think you are spamming.
This means your copy (content) must be very well planned. It has to make sense to the visitor yet, be "robot- friendly." Not an easy task when writing copy, but well worth the time you spend doing this.
If you use the guidelines above, you should see your site's ranking go much higher. By following them exactly, more than ikely you will be in the top 10 on at least one of your pages.
Keyword In Your Title. Recently I spent a lot of time looking up competitors in major search engines. By far the biggest factor in determining who got listed in the top ten of every search engine was this: put your main keyword--the one people will use to search for you--as the FIRST word in your title.
For example, if I were going to put up a page on writing keywords and wanted it listed high on search engines, I would write it: (keyword) in your title gives you top search engine listings. Notice I don't capitalize the K in keyword. Search engines will match the way you write the word to the way users type the word when they're searching for you. keyword is different from Keyword is different from KEYWORD. Most people search using terms typed in all small letters.
Search engine strategy is the most frequently asked question I get on various discussion boards and expert panel websites.The reason people ask the question "How do I get listed on Yahoo!" so much is because the answer to the question is a constantly moving finish line you'll have challenges getting to.
I'm going to describe a very simple, free tool I like to use, and I'll show you how to use it in a unique way to improve your search engine ratings. Not only is your website going to be listed by popularity, but it will also depend on something called weight.
This is a different kind of strategy I thought of while considering a software tool I found and thinking, "What if?" ..... The name of the tool is Keyword Extractor, written by my favorite, radical software company "AnalogX". ( http://www.analogx.com ) It's not new. It's been around for about a year now, and it's free.
You'll find your copy of this great tool by visiting their website. This nifty piece of software installs in about 5 minutes, and you'll want to register it (it's free)to let them know someone appreciates their software.
Before actually running the software, you should have some idea who's aheasd of you in the big search engines.
You can find out who by typing in some of the keywords you think describe your site into your favorite search engines. You'll want to enter the words you'd like to be listed under in the top of the listings.
Pick the first 10 or so websites who dominate your favorite keywords and write down their website addresses in your newly created "Search Engine Strategies" notebook. Just choose any binder notebook you feel comfortable working out of.
Open the Keyword Extractor tool and enter each URL by clicking on Process, Load URL. You'll need to type in the http:// in front of each address. Press Go, and it's off!
You'll begin to see a list of keywords the tool extracted from their webpages. Check the weight column to see the occurrences of each keyword in their pages. These are keywords that exist in their metatag keywords section and in the text of their webpages.
I don't recommend putting any words on your site that don't match your site's subject matter. Search engines are getting smarter and banning cheaters from their listings.
Pick a list of 50 words that are used by your peers. Use them. Do manual submits to your favorite search engines. Write content at your website containing those keywords that are putting them ahead of you.
Lynne Schlumpf is the author of 'The Little Website That Could", a book that's been setting sales records on the Internet. You can find Lynne on the Internet here: http://www.littlewebsitethatcould.net .... The WebProNews Team
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