Search Engine Optimisation

Once the page title was only used when displaying the search hit list but the page title is of far more significance now.

Google (the most popular search engine) uses the page title instead of those carefully chosen lists of keywords that you had coded into your pages. Your page titles now need to be laced with your key search phrases.

Each page of your site can contain different keywords in the title (the title is limited to about 10 words). Using different keywords on different pages gives you more coverage of key words and phrases that prospective customers will use in their search.

For an example of keyword use in page titles, visit Sharyn Doolan Voiceover Services.

The Meta tags coded within your pages contain the keywords (still used by some search engines) and the website description which is shown by many SE in the hit list. The description can make or break whether someone actually clicks on the link to visit your site.

On the internet people are primarily looking for information. Your site needs to contain more than just a general description about your products and services. The more specific you can be, the more likely it is that customers will choose your products and services and also it is more likely that they will find you. If you sell a variety of hats, mention the brands and the colours - if possible the prices. People are more likely to search for "Akubra hat", than just "hat".

If you are selling services, publish expert articles - you want people to find your site when they are searching for related information. "Rich content" will not only convince people you are what they need but will give your site much greater exposure. Search engines rank sites containing "rich content" highly.

For an excellent example of "rich content" visit Knowhow Concrete Technology.

The greater the number of other websites which link to yours, the greater your link popularity. SE judge that your site must be more important and therefore more relevant to searchers if many sites link to you.

How can you boost your link popularity? Find sites related to your business (not competitors, although their sites may give you ideas), contact these related sites and offer to list their site on yours - either as an ad or on a "Useful Links" page, in return for them listing your site in a similar fashion.

There are also webrings and Groups. Webrings are basically a group of sites relating to the same topic which link to each other by mean of  "Next Site, Previous Site" links usually at the bottom of the page. A Group has members who are interested in a specific subject - eg. Digital Photography. Groups are listed in a directory and people are invited to join if they are interested in that subject. You can also participate in existing groups and if your expertise is helpful people will be interested in visiting your website.

Yahoo Groups have been put to very effective use by Small Wunders Embroidery. Sharryn has an active group where members share ideas and tips, as well as Sharryn posting news about new designs and specials available on her website.

Many sites have been set up as index sites. Eg. Fishy Fishing contains links to many related fishing sites. It is worth finding as many index sites as possible and submitting your url to be listed.