SEO Must-Know Basics: The Hows and Whats
In this article, you'll learn...
- How keyword management relates to content
- What metadata and tags are, and how to handle picture tagging and ensure "friendly" URLs
- Some linking strategies you should use
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a common theme of website-redesign projects these days. Many RFPs dedicate an entire section to the topic, which can be quite confusing to those who do not completely understand it.
Let's walk through a few steps to understanding and approaching SEO... The major work needs to be done by the owners of your website's content, and your search rankings depend on your adhering to a few well-established rules.
Keyword Management and Content
In a world where content is king, keywords are the power behind the throne. A basic rule of thumb to follow is this: No more than two keywords per page, and no more than three pages per keyword. Confused? Let me explain.
First, a keyword is not necessarily a "word." It can be several words that appear together and are subject-based, such as these: "Record of the English Language," "Online Dictionary," or, simply, "OED."
Second, use your keyword, in context, within the text of your page. Write for the reader, not some unknown bot, and focus on that keyword within the content. Yes: repeat the keyword, in context, throughout the text. No, don't simply repeat the keyword over and over again. Bots are made and programmed by engineers at places like Google—you're not going to outsmart them, so don't even try.
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Comments
This is a really helpful resource, just skims over things but its useful for someone like me who is newish to seo, so can see at a glance whether or not I am doing everything or not. Your newsletter is about the only one I ever read!
www.competitormonitor.com
I particularly like the comment on search friendly URL's - "Unfortunately, if your CMS does not allow keywords in the URL, there is little you can do (except get a new CMS!)." Business owners need to ask their web developers about the CMS they are providing with their web presence.
You shouldn't cut it short when it comes to links. Without a decent number of backlinks, search engines like Google will very probably not put your website on page 1, or page 2, or even page 3 of search results. And this is the case no matter how relevant your web content is and how good the keywords are.
Could you comment on "no follow" tags? What's your view?
I see mixed messages around do/do not follow (e.g. SEJ has an article on why no follow tags suck, albiet a rather old post). I've always been under the impression you give away your sites authority (if any exists) if you don't include "no follow" tags.
I always thought that the meta keywords play a big role, i try to never go more than 8 keywords per page mainly just broad or exact keywords. Thanks for this it is really helpful, will be book marking this for future refernce.
Very simple ethical seo tips. Write quality content for the reader, make it easy to find and promote it on social media. The rest will follow.
http://www.selfimprovementpath.com/search/label/Social%20Media%20Guide
Great info! I'm going to apply this data to all our social media content!
Best,
Ferris Stith
Social Media Manager, PostcardMania
www.postcardmania.com
I disagree about the two keyword maximum. I think it's acceptable to have up to five targeted keywords per page, provided there is enough content to support them and they are relevant. You don't want to limit yourself with eliminating common variations of your chosen keywords.
Approaching content creation by using two keyword phrases per page on up to just three pages seems to be counter intuitive to writing natural organic content that can rank.