What Works Marketing

How do you actually get your Web site ranked high in search engines? The answer is quite simple, but getting there can be a bit more difficult.

Search engines use two broad factors to determine which pages get ranked.

1. Relevance

The degree to which the content of the documents returned in a search matched the user’s query intention and terms. The relevance of a document increases if the terms or phrase queried by the user occurs multiple times and shows up in the title of the work or in important headlines or sub headers.

2. Popularity

The relative importance, measured via citation (the act of one work referencing another, as often occurs in academic and business documents) of a given document that matches the user’s query. The popularity of a given document increases with every other document that references it.

With the basics in mind here are 5 tactical SEO tips that will get you found.

1. Choose the right page titles

Your page title is probably the most important on-page SEO factor. Choose your titles closely it should contain your target keywords and be relevant to the content on the page. Also make sure it is specific enough if the competition is out of your league for general phrase target a more specific phrase.

2. Be smart about URLs

Avoid long elaborate URL’s with extraneous characters. While Google has reached a point where they can index massive URL strings, it is best to avoid them if at all possible. For dynamic use mod rewrites to clean up the URL to make it search engine and user friendly.

A website’s URLs are one of its most important, programmatic-level elements, both for search engines and users. Engines reward short, static, clean URLs containing important keywords and, not surprisingly, users appreciate these very same attributes.

3. Leverage your PR program

If you have a public relations program at your company, there are two things you need to do for SEO. First, you should optimize all of your press releases. This basically means adding links into your press releases that lead back to your Web site. Second, as you get coverage of your company in online publications, make sure that there is link within the article back to your company. You would be surprised how many journalists do not automatically link to companies they write about.

For bonus points, for your links in press releases and media coverage, use hyperlinked text with keywords relevant to your business as the link, not just the URL. The search engines key off of these keywords for added clues about the topic of your Web site.

Including your links through services such as PRWeb, can help you get 100s of targeted links overnight. Also check out my list of Forty Free Press Release sites.

4. Use Social Media

Don’t be scared of social media. The trick is to think of it just as an online version of all the business cocktail parties you have attended over the years. And just like at a cocktail party, with social media you should never enter the conversation with a sales pitch. But social media is an excellent way to promote your interesting blog articles or other content, because other bloggers and writers might write about your company and link back to your content. Find online communities, groups, blogs, and networks where your audience hangs out, and start listening and asking questions

5. Create Great Content

The usability of content itself is often overlooked, but its importance cannot be overstated. The descriptive nature of headlines, the accuracy of information and the quality of content all factor highly into a site’s likelihood to retain visitors and gain links.

Why Should a Search Engine Rank Your Site Above all the others in its Field?

If you cannot answer this question clearly and precisely, the task of ranking higher will be exponentially more difficult. Search engines attempt to rank the very best sites with the most relevant content first in their results, and until your site’s content is the best in its field, you will always struggle against the engines rather than bringing them to your doorstep.

It is in content quality that a site’s true potential shows through, and although search engines cannot measure the likelihood that users will enjoy a site, the vote via links system operates as a proxy for identifying the best content in a market. With great content, therefore, come great links and, ultimately, high rankings. Deliver the content that users need, and the search engines will reward your site.

Content quality, however, like professional design, is not always dictated by strict rules and guidelines. What passes for “best of class” in one sector may be below average in another market. The competitiveness and interests of your peers and competitors in a space often determine what kind of content is necessary to rank.

Dec 23rd by admin