Basic SEO techniques
The main and most important and critical element to good SEO is that of good content. Well written, meaningful and related content on your sites will provide the search engines with what they need in order to rank you well.
Title Tag
Your title tags is hidden in the HTML code and governs what is shown at the top of the browser window. Google also uses it for the main link when you are found and listed in their search results. You should try to include the main keyword phrases in this as also the sites strapline (or tagline).
Meta Tags
The next area to consider for each page are the Meta Tags. Meta Tags are pieces of information which are hidden in each page. There are two pertinent ones to SEO which are as follows:
Description - for this you should provide a short description which includes an overview of the pages content. Try to include the main searchable words into this description. This is also used as the description when you are found and listed in Googles search results. Try and write it to entice readers to follow the link and visit your site.
Keywords - This should be a comma seperated list of keywords that represent the content of the page and to some extent the site but try to keep it as specific as possible to the page content.
Image and Link description
HTML allows to specify additional information for both Images and Web links (anchors). These are designed to provide additional information ofr other devices capable of viewing the web page but can also help provide extra information to search engines. Therefore try and always include the following:
Images: Try to include the following parameter in the image tags. For example;
<img src="dog.gif" alt="picture of a dog" >
Anchors: Try to include the following parameter in the web links. For example;
<a href="dog_breeds.html" title="list of dog breeds" >
Tips for Search Engine Optimisation
- Do not stuff keyword into the Alt or Title parameters. Instead use real and meaningful descriptions.
- Always set your page Title tag. Never leave it blank or as 'Untitled'
- Never add anchors to text such as "Click Here" but instead try to provide meaningful descriptions, such as, "List of Dog Breeds".
- Never use underhand techniques such as Keyword Spamming. These techniques can get you banned from the Search Engines. If in doubt, check first.
- Ensure your site validates using tools such as W3C's Markup Validator, as this ensures that the code can be read properly by Search Engines.
- Try to obtain as many inbound links to your site as you can but do not signup with link farms. They can hurt your ranking in the Search Engines.
Next: Search Engine Sitemaps