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Posts Tagged ‘Search Engine Optimization’
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Not all websites are designed equally. All you have to do is go out and search the internet for a few websites and you’ll see the quality difference between competing websites. How do businesses generate a lot of leads and sales from their websites? How do the highest ranked websites get there? What happened to the ones that end up on page 20 for their keyword phrases? Well, besides the obvious answers of content and keywords, there is also design. Website design can have a huge impact on how your website is ranked, how it is found on the search engines and most importantly whether it converts your website visitors into leads or paying customers. Every web site needs to consider certain design aspects in order to reach its full potential. Here are some things to consider:
1. Web Sites that are Graphics Heavy
Have you seen those websites with all the pretty graphics, pictures and busy flash? These sites are definitely attractive, but they are not keeping your visitors tuned in nor are they being found very easily in the search engines. Why? Pictures and Images are large files to begin with and the pages take a long time to load. People are impatient, and they don’t have the time to sit and wait for it to load, websites with such characteristics are also extremely difficult to optimize. The problem is that search engines cannot read text within graphics or animation. If you feel that you must have a lot of images and flash on your website, be sure to use alt-text and then create an html-based side of your site that is also available to visitors, if you don’t know what this is and you’re working with a professional designer, it’s something to be discussed before proceeding. This will reduce your bounce rate (fewer site abandonment after the first page), also this version of the site will have the potential of being found on the search engines and your prospects will also have the option to go to the other version, with the pretty pictures. Of course, we are available for a free web design consultation on this entire process.
2. Dealing with Dynamic Web Pages
Are you a large online retailer with hundreds or thousands of products available? These types of web sites have data that is generated by a large database and create what are called “dynamic” web pages. The problem for these sites is that some pages may not get indexed by the search engines. So what can be done about this? The first thing is using a site map. This lets Google know that you do in fact have permanent content on your site. You’ll also want to have a good internal linking system set up. These two tactics can go a long way in helping your dynamic pages get found.
3. Proper Use of HTML
One thing that is pervasive on the web is bad HTML code. Worse yet, much of this code, generated by pretty bad web design software, is not search engine friendly. You don’t want the search engines seeing line after line of font and position formatting. This is not relevant content and doesn’t employ the best HTML design. The best website design firms out there make use of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which significantly reduces the amount of text formatting in HTML code. You want to be sure your designer uses the very latest coding techniques to ensure your site is ranked high.
4.Content is King
Typically, you want to design for a large site. In other words, plan on growing the number of pages you have over time. Why? Google loves it. They reward you for updating your content frequently, hence the reason a lot of businesses are now adding a business blog onto their website. You want to ensure that the design you use on your site lends itself to being built out over the next year, and for as long as you own the business. If you have only a few pages on your site and your competitors have many, you’ll have a tough time competing with them for that top search engine spot. You also want to keep visitors on your site as long as possible, as well as keep them coming back, and they will do this if there is a lot to see on your site.
Tags: affordable search engine optimization, affordable website design, affordable website design and seo, custom web design, custom website design, free web design consultation, free web design quote, Search Engine Optimization, search engine optimized websites, Web Design
Posted in Uncategorized, Web Design | No Comments »
Monday, April 6th, 2009
Choosing the right keywords is your #1 tool for success at SEO.
When you are building a website, it is important to realize the important role that keywords, and keyword phrases, play in your website’s search engine rankings and ultimately, its traffic.
As a web design company in New York, one of my important keyword phrases is “web design New York.” I know that people are searching for this term, and when they do, I want my website to show up in Google’s search results so they can find it. This is why I have incorporated this phrase into my website content, and into its title and meta tags.
Using keywords throughout your website is an important part of Search Engine Optimization—the process of making your website more attractive to the search engines.
I’m going to provide a simple outline on keyword research, and tell you how to make keywords work for your website—so that your website can experience higher search engine rankings and greater potential for visitors.
1. Identify relevant keywords
There are many free resources to help you identify relevant keywords—but first, I suggest sitting down and thinking. What keywords would people search for to find your business? Write them down. Once you’ve come up with a list, use a free keyword tool, like the Google AdWords Keyword tool. You can plug in the keywords you’ve come up with, and it will suggest others based on competition and traffic level.
2. Make those keywords specific to your business
The goal of choosing keywords is to be realistic and specific. The keywords should truly reflect your business. The more popular the term is, the more competition you will have—so it’s best to keep your keywords specific so you will have the best chance of getting high rankings for them.
3. Check out the competition
Check out your competition for certain keywords by typing them into the Google search bar. Which sites come up on the first page? Read their content, and check out their title tags—you can see them in the browser at the top of your screen. Have they used this keyword a lot throughout their site? If so, there may be some tough competition for this keyword. When in doubt, be more specific.
4. Where do keywords go?
Now that you’ve determined your keywords, it’s time to think about where to put them. Keywords should be presented throughout your site—in the content of each page, and in your meta tags and title tags for each page. If you aren’t sure what meta tags and title tags are, you can have a professional web design or Search Engine Optimization company help you.
*Don’t overload: The search engines are smart, and so are your visitors. If you are overloading your keywords within your website, they will know. Remember, your website should be attractive to the search engines—and to your potential visitors! A site that is overflowing with keywords is rarely engaging to the human eye.
*Every page is important: It’s important to remember that each page of your site is its own entity. Every page is crawled by spiders and is a place where visitors can land. By including different keywords on each page, you increase your potential for visitors.
5. Determine how much traffic you’re getting from each keyword & monitor your rank
Most website hosts will provide statistics. These statistics will tell you important information about your website, including how many people are visiting your site, and how they’re getting to it. I like using Google analytics—and it’s free. All you have to do is signup for it, then enter your website information, copy your code and have your webmaster add it to all your website pages.
Find out which keywords are sending traffic to your website. Then search for each keyword in a search engine to determine your site’s ranking. What number are you? If you come up 10th for a certain keyword, and it has produced x number of visitors, imagine how many visitors you’d get for that term if you came up 3rd? Think about how you can improve your ranking for that keyword.
Keywords are vital to your website’s search engine rankings. By understanding how to find the right keywords, and then using them properly within your site, you can expand your website tremendously. Check out our blog for more tips on “Turning Your Website into a Lead Generating Machine”.
Tags: Article Marketing, blogging, Internet Marketing, keyword research, pay per click, Search Engine Optimization, SEO
Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Search engine optimization is about making your site easy for search engines to find.
If someone does a Google search for “web Design Company in NYC,” and that’s what your company does, good SEO will increase your chances of your site showing up in that search. And of course, your site needs to show up so that your prospects can find you.
SEO is a cost effective way to market your business. It can help you reach prospects who are searching for your services at the exact time when they need it. Top placement in search results is not guaranteed, but by following five basic steps, you will improve your chances of getting good rankings. While Pay Per Click advertising is the only surefire way to get front page placement, SEO is an effective, low cost marketing technique. When done properly, it can have a significant impact on your business.
You don’t have to be a professional search engine optimization company to implement some basic SEO that will help the ranking of your site. (If you need a refresher on the basics, check out our basic introduction to SEO.)
Here are the 5 basic SEO techniques that every website should take advantage of:
1. Keywords. You should understand which keywords and phrases your prospects are searching for so you can use them throughout your site. But, it’s not about which keywords are the most popular. It’s about which keywords best describe your business. The phrase “search engine optimization” is very popular, but the phrase “affordable SEO in New York City” might better describe your business. Check out the Google Keyword Tool for keyword ideas.
2. Use keyword rich content throughout your site. The search engines read the content of your website, and use it to determine your ranking. So it’s important that your keywords are present in your actual website text. It’s important to remember that the content of your site has two jobs, to appeal to the search engines, and to appeal to the reader. See our article, The Content of Your Website Has Two Jobs. Another great way to have constantly updated, keyword rich content in your website is to have a blog.
3. Use descriptive page titles. A page title is one of the most important things search engines use to find your site. (The title is what you see at the very top of your internet browser.) Remember, titles aren’t just seen by the search engines, they are also seen by your websites visitors. Don’t overload your title with keywords or phrases, just concentrate on the most important ones that really represent your business.
4. Use keyword rich meta tags. Meta tags are the html tags at the top of your web page code. They are another way that the search engines find your website. Make sure to use a description tag for your web pages. A good description tag is usually two or three sentences and has the strongest keywords or phrases incorporated into it. Search engines aren’t paying as much attention to keyword tags, but there is no harm in putting 5 or 6 keywords into a keyword tag on your site. Don’t overload your tags—less is more.
5. Remember the importance of incoming links. The quantity and quality of incoming links are important to the ranking of your website. There are many ways to increase incoming links to your website. Some include posting comments on blogs, writing articles, utilizing social networking sites, or finding partners to link to your website.
Even if you don’t have a professional SEO company working for you, you can still utilize the basics of search engine optimization to help your website to be more search engine friendly.
By implementing these basics, you will have a great advantage to other new websites that don’t.
If you want to be more advanced in your SEO pursuits when developing a new website, consider hiring a professional web design & SEO company to handle it for you.
Tags: affordable search engine optimization, affordable website design and seo, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, website design wtih seo
Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the process of making your website easy for Search Engines such as Google, Yahoo and others to find.
For example, when a person living in New York City uses Google to locate a website design company in New York, they will likely type “website design New York” into Google’s search field.
The top results that come up first, under “sponsored links,” will be paid links. This means that people have paid for this placement through a program called Pay-Per-Click advertising.
The results immediately following these paid links still enjoy the same prime real estate space—without having to pay the ad costs. How did they get that level of ranking without paying for it? The answer is SEO. They knew how to make the most of their websites’ SEO potential. And with this article, you’ll develop some understanding of how you can, too.
By using SEO techniques properly throughout your site, you can achieve higher search engine rankings for the keywords that you optimize for.
When you search for a term in a search engine, like “website design New York,” the search engines want to provide you with the very best and most relevant websites for your inquiry. It’s important to understand how search engines work in order to understand SEO.
And the first thing you should know is that search engines prepare ahead of time for your keyword search. Here’s how:
· Crawling: Search engines have already used programs called “spiders” to automatically “crawl” the web. The spiders have made their way around the web and its files to get an idea of where and what things are. The spiders crawl websites on an ongoing basis.
· Indexing: After a website and its pages have been “crawled,” the search engines put these pages into categories (called indexes)—so that they are easier to find later. This is one of the reasons why ongoing SEO is important—because each time they crawl, if your website has been updated with fresh content it will be re-indexed.
When you do a keyword search in a search engine, here’s what happens:
· Let’s say you type “website design New York” into a search engine.
· The search engine checks its index and finds all the websites that match your request.
· Then, the search engine uses an algorithm (mathematical sorting equation) to determine which of these documents is the most relevant to your query of “website design New York.”
· The search engine displays your results.
· Therefore, the websites that were optimized for the search term “website design New York” are far more likely to show up in these results than those websites that haven’t been optimized. This is where SEO can do wonders for your business. If you have properly optimized your website, then your site is more likely to show up every time someone searches for keywords that are related to your business. This will ultimately increase the traffic, and leads to your site.
Why is ongoing SEO important?
The major search engines change their algorithms frequently, so staying on top of your SEO is an ongoing process. Each of these algorithms places different amounts of importance on things like keyword density, meta tags, links, indexes, and unique content. What works today may not work tomorrow, so ongoing SEO efforts are essential to gain rankings, and keep them.
In closing, search engine optimization is all about making your site visible to the search engines for the keyword searches that are most related to your business. SEO is not advertising. The idea behind SEO is to increase your search engine ranking because your site is relevant to a particular search term, not because you pay. Because of this, SEO is often referred to as “organic” or “natural” placement.
The other thing about SEO is that unlike paid Pay-Per-Click advertising, it doesn’t guarantee first page placement. However, when done properly, it can significantly increase your chances. As a matter of fact, any website that doesn’t take advantage of some basic SEO is doing itself a disservice, and missing out on viable traffic.
Tags: affordable search engine optimization, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, website design with seo
Posted in Search Engine Optimization | No Comments »
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