Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of fine-tuning
your website so that it is more accessible to a search engine.
SEO improves the chances of the site being found by a search
engine. The easier you make it for the search engine to find
your site, the higher it will be placed in the search engine's
ranking system. The higher your web site ranks in the results
of a search, the greater the chance that that site will be
visited by a user. Most Internet users do not click through
pages and pages of search results, so getting a high search
engine ranking is essential for directing more visitors or
targeted traffic to your site.
How do you make your site more
accessible for search engines? Let's take a look
at how search engines work. Basically, search
engines are powered by crawlers or spiders; edited
by real human beings; or a combination of both.
Crawlers or spiders go to a web site, read the
content, look at the meta tags, and follow the
links that the site connects to. So there are
3 elements at play here: content, meta tags,
and links. Human editing is like human editing
anywhere. Someone will look at the site and judge
whether or not it is useful, how useful it is,
and whether it delivers what it claims to.
Either way, there is no question
that a useful, relevant web site stands a good
chance of getting high rankings provided the
search engine can find it. Search engine optimization
makes sure that the search engine has no trouble
doing this. SEO experts use a combination of
well-researched, targeted keywords, incisive
copy that uses these keywords in a strategic
manner, and links that increase credibility.
The keywords that you would
pick for your site should be the words that Internet
users are most likely to use while searching
for the products, services or information you
are offering. This is not always easy to figure
out because Internet users can be whimsical,
moody, changeable, and often make spelling mistakes.
SEO experts use a variety of technological tools
to research and identify the correct keywords
for a site.
But it is not enough to pick
a bunch of keywords and throw them into the meta
tags. Search engines look at factors such as
keyword density (how close together the keywords
have been used) and keyword frequency (how often
the keywords have been used) when they are ranking
a site. At the same time, they disqualify sites
that they think have used "keyword stuffing" (using
the keywords too often or too closely). So SEO
experts have to walk a thin line in ensuring
that a site catches the search engine’s
attention, impresses with relevant content, but
does not overdo it!
This is why it is usually imperative
that search engine optimization is accompanied
by a reworking of the site’s content. There
are SEO companies out there who will tell you
that they can optimize your site without touching
the content. Beware of them. The first step of
search engine optimization is writing good, clean,
relevant content that has been optimized for
the identified keywords. There is no shortcut
around this. But remember that a little bit of
time and effort now will let you rest easy about
search engine rankings for a long time.
The other important factor is
link building. It is important to link to sites
that lend credibility to your site and whose
content is possibly similar to yours. This will
ensure that visitors to your site gain value
by clicking on the links. This will make them
come back again and refer other people as well – simply
because they had a good experience with your
site the last time.
|
