Optimizing Content to Improve Search Engine Positioning - Search Terms Should be Pervasive
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While the paragraphs of text within your web page offer the best opportunity to include search terms, make sure you don't miss the many other opportunities scattered among your content. For example, look at the text contained within the headings of each page and make sure they contain the most relevant search term for your content. Also, consider the navigation menu that you use and look for instances where you can include a relevant search term. How about the text you use under each product description? I've seen websites where the most dominant two-word phrase on a product page was "Sale Price." Ouch!
As you can see, the text you use on each page is vitally important when trying to achieve better search engine positioning. However, adding keywords to your content is not enough to get your web site to the coveted "#1" position. There are many other factors that need to be considered, including many that don't involve the content on the page, but as we are looking at the page content, here are a few quick tips:
- Don't bury your keyword-rich content at the bottom of the page. The search engines consider where the text is located on a page when determining your site's relevancy. Google will believe that text pushed to the bottom of your site, in a small font, can't be that relevant to your business.
- Don't overdo things. While having no search terms in your text is disastrous, having too many could have an equally negative impact. Stick to your 5-15% frequency.
- Remember the user experience. While your SEO efforts will help improve your search engine rankings, don't sacrifice the usability of your web site. Ensure that it is easy to navigate and that all of your keyword-rich text still makes sense to the average visitor.
- Add one or two targeted search terms to the ALT attribute of any image that links to another page within your website. Search engines have shown they consider ALT attribute text when the image contains a link to another page.
- Don't go overboard with the use of "H1" tags or bolded text. While they can help improve your search engine positioning, less is more.
Walk Before You Run
Hopefully, the above advice will assist you in modifying your most important pages to increase search engine visibility. When you feel you have made all the basic changes to the text of your site, you'll find many articles that discuss fine-tuning your page layout and content. Search engine optimization is a continued process and you'll no doubt drive yourself crazy if you try to optimize every single aspect of your web site. Simply remember to keep your site relevant and make sure you have covered all the basics before advancing to more complex techniques.
- November 14, 2003
For more from Andy Beal and see his previous articles in the series, go to KeywordRanking.com .
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