Tag Archives: SEO

Does Your Web Site Pass the Title Tag Test?

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SE-TacticsYou know those words in the top bar of the browser when you’re on a website? You may not have noticed them before now, but you’ll want to pay attention to what shows there for your site from now on.

Those words are from the page’s title meta tag, a part of the code that makes up the page. And while the title tag is just one small part of the code, it plays a really big role.

Title tags are crucial in getting your site indexed and ranked in the search engines. A title tag tells the search engine what your page is about – and it’s also what displays in search results to represent your site.

Let’s take a look at your title tags now. Pull up your site and look at what appears in the very top bar of the browser.

If you’re seeing generic terms like “Untitled Document”, “Welcome to our Home Page”, “About Us” or “Contact Us” as you click through the pages, it’s time for an overhaul. (Known as stop words or dead weight words, these are so common that search engines ignore them or return search results irrelevant to what the person is looking for.)

If you see just the name of your company or services, your title tags will also need help.

Here’s what you need to do to get those all-important title tags working for you…

  • Include your most important keywords in your title tags. These are the terms people will most likely use to conduct a search on Google, Yahoo, etc. (A solid list of keywords is the foundation for any search engine optimization effort.)
  • Avoid your company’s name or product/service names as the sole component of title tags. It’s likely that only a very small segment of potential searchers will be searching on branded names, so be sure to use more descriptive terms the average customer might use.
  • Each page should have a separate title tag that represents the unique content on that page. Don’t be tempted to use the same title tag for all the pages in one section of your site, for example.
  • Keep title tags to around 60 characters. Anything longer and it may be chopped off by the search engines.
  • Don’t stuff keywords. This makes your title tag appear messy or unreadable, and it’s going to entice fewer clicks even if it ranks high in search engines. Stop words such as “the”, “of”, “that”, “is”, “and”, “to” and so forth can be used sparingly to improve the readability of a title.
  • Find out which other websites are using your keywords in their title tags to get an idea of who you’ll be competing with. Google has a handy tool to help you find out. Go to Google.com and type in the search bar “intitle:your keywords” (quotes not needed).

Sample Title Tags

We’ll show you a couple of examples to give you a boost on your way to great title tags.

If you look at T-mobile.com, you’ll see a title tag something like:

“Cell phones, cellular phone plans, prepaid cell phones, free cell phones and deals”

Not bad. You can tell someone has put thought into which keywords the home page should rank for.

On the other hand, go to Nortel.com, and you’ll see a good example of what not to do:

“Nortel”

Here’s another example from the alpaca niche:

Before: “Alpaca Meadows Homepage”

After: “Wisconsin Alpaca Farm, Northern Wisconsin Alpaca Breeder: Alpaca Meadows”

The first tag is quite generic and will not rank well since most people looking for information on alpacas will not be looking for a specific ranch or breeders name right off the bat.

The second tag on the other hand contains many general AND specific keyword phrases such as “alpaca”, “alpaca farm”, “alpaca breeder” along with keywords related to its location. Not only will this descriptive tag gain more traction in the rankings but it will lure more visitors to the site.

Creating great title tags is a little bit of an art form. Indeed, some SEO engineers specialize in this, though hard-hitting meta titles should be included with any on-page SEO efforts you undertake.

Stone Reuning is president of SEO Advantage, a search engine optimization company that helps businesses harness the revenue generation potential of their websites. Referenced in books such as “Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale” and the BusinessWeek bestseller “The New Rules of Marketing and PR”, http://www.seo-advantage.com/ offers information to help small businesses compete online.
This article courtesy of SiteProNews.com

What is SEO?

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This entry is part 1 of 1 in the series SEO

If you’re new to online marketing or currently have a website, but feel discouraged about the lack of performance (no traffic, no new  business,  have no clue what SEO means etc.), you are not alone.

Several years ago, I created my website through Officelive.  I  knew that this would be a way for prospects to learn more about me and I “thought” that because I had an online website that I would attract prospects to me, but this was not the case.  I recall the time, after speaking with an agent about how to drive traffic to my website, and how overwhelmed I felt by the whole process.  He mentioned SEO, organic listings vs. PPC. Keywords, Meta tags, etc. etc.  I was that person with the “deer in headlight look”.

If anything, the only thing I DID get was to enter my company name and URL into local and national directories, under appropriate categories, with a description of my services. (Although what I know now is, I need to use optimized keywords in order to attract my prospects).

Years later, I know a thing or two about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing), and Link Building, but after spending time with Thomas Petty, Founder and President of The Bay Area Search Engine Academy, I realized that I could benefit from learning alittle more about SEO and the package it comes in. What I like about his courses, is that I have an option to register for  a 2 or 3 or 5 day course.  I’ve decided as a social media consultant that learning the in’s and out’s of SEO and SEM and everything related to that topic would be a compliment to my social media services.  I get the basics of it, but I admit, I really want to know what my options are, and be able to offer those same options to my clients. 

Would you want to know the cost effective ways to enhance your online presence – get your website ranked on Google, get quality backlinks, and conduct effective key word searches?

Would you want to :

  • Understand how Search engines rank web pages to optimize your site and out-rank your competitors?
  • Learn new and innovative methods of link building so your brand stays in front of your customers?
  • Drive online traffic by using organic (free) listings  and prevent search engines from identifying you as ”spam”  and avoid “spam” penalties?
  • Optimize pay-per-click campaigns (PPC) and maximize your rankings?
  • Monitor performance to increase Return on Investment (ROI) using free and paid analytics software ?

    • Thomas Petty, Bay Area Search Engine Academy website lists a world of resources at your finger tips.

    You can also follow him at http://www.Twitter.com/BayAreaSea

    http://www.facebook.com/BayAreaSearchEngineAcademy

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    CyberQueen VA Social Media Services

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    Social Marketing Consultant and Strategist

    I work with marketing consultants, coaches, and small business owners with their social media marketing, online marketing, WordPress Blogs, and Event Planning activities.  I am tech savvy, so I always have a solution, a plan, and methods to streamline your business operations and online activities.

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    Top 5 Ways to Optimize Your Website for Google

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    The battle to stay on top of search engine result pages requires a website owner to continually improve page content. Although Bing and Yahoo use HTML tag structures, Google optimization is trickier. The search engine giant separates the affiliate pages and ad sites from domains that provide unique, relevant content. Because of Google’s stricter requirements and guidelines, website owners need to optimize pages to improve Google index rank.

    Keywords and Phrases

    Keywords and phrases are main content components of a website’s text. Google evaluates the content of a site and places relevance factors on keyword phrases that correspond to popular search terms. For instance, if a website’s focus is on “boat repair,” the keyword phrase should naturally display in several places within the content pages. Focus on full phrases rather than one keyword. Full phrases are more specific and reduce the amount of competition for search engine rank.  Avoid keyword stuffed content, meaning unnatural text flow that inflates the frequency of the keywords. Keyword stuffed content is detected by Google and lowers the website’s index rank.

    The Title Tag

    The title is coded within the title tag of each individual page. The text within the title tag is displayed in the web browser’s title bar at the top of the user’s window. This tag is also used by Googlebot to determine the content of the page. Although the title tag is not the sole element used by Google’s rank calculations, it plays a major role in search engine optimization. Web page titles should be different for all pages across the domain.  A common method used to reduce title duplication is to dynamically create web page titles using unique introduction text and appending the website business name.

    Anchor Text

    Anchor text is the content inserted within link tags. Using terms in anchor tags like “click here” or “read this link” make it difficult for Googlebot to detect the relevant keyword phrases for important links on the web page. If generic phrases are used, Google is unable to detect the relevancy of a website for certain keyword phrases. When creating links on your site, focus on the keyword terms that correspond with the website’s content. Use these phrases as anchor text for better optimization. Additionally, Google’s guideline’s state that no more than 100 links should be present on a web page.

    Header Tags

    Header tags are web page elements such as “<h1>” that provide a bold block of large text. The header tags are used by Google’s algorithm to detect the main focus of individual web pages within the domain. While a title tag is used as an indication of overall website purpose, the header tag is specific to the page.  For instance, if the website’s purpose is “dog food,” an example of a web page header tag text is “organic dog food comparisons.”  Only one “<h1>” tag should be present on each page.

    Unique, Compelling Content

    Being added to Google’s index is easy; maintaining a high index rank is where the real work begins. Google’s mission is to provide the best user experience for its clients. Search engine users are Google’s main customers, and Googlebot is designed to find the best web pages for a customer’s query. Creating unique content that focuses on the website’s business is the best way to increase index rank. Plagiarized material devalues the site and lowers the index rank. For repeat offenders, Google removes the domain from its search results entirely, so avoid any duplicate content issues.

    Although variations in index rank are typical, these five tips help optimize your website while complying with Google’s guidelines. Continue to add unique content to the site, and Google will even crawl the pages more frequently. Google guidelines state that webmasters should focus on designing a website with the reader in mind. Continue optimization on the website with honest practices, and the domain’s index rank will steadily climb.

    If you’re a business owner and would like to learn how to improve your website rankings, or, if you want the opportunity to offer your clients rich service in SEO, SEM, and Internet Marketing, The Bay Area Search Engine Academy is offering a course in July, ranging from beginners to advanced.

    PHOTO CREDIT: PALOMA GÓMEZ