Follow the Best Practices of SEO

There are thousands out there who will promise you page 1 of Google. They speak of backlinks, link farms, link circles and other “tricks” guaranteed to rocket you to the top of Google. In fact, they may be able to show you a site that they have succeeded with. Nevertheless, long term positive results rarely come from “Black Hat” SEO techniques, but from patiently and tirelessly paying attention to the details of your site and applying “White Hat” SEO techniques.

Why Should I Avoid “Black Hat” SEO?

Everyone wants more web traffic. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the foundation for attracting more visitors to your site. However there are ethical techniques (White Hat) and unethical ones. The risks of using unethical (Black Hat) techniques, while perhaps paying off in the short term, may actually reduce traffic to your site in the long term.

Examples of Black Hat SEO include:

·         Keyword Stuffing: According to Google, "‘Keyword stuffing’ refers to the practice of loading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate a site's ranking in Google's search results. Filling pages with keywords results in a negative user experience, and can harm your site's ranking. Focus on creating useful, information-rich content that uses keywords appropriately and in context.”

·         Hidden Text: This is a very outdated method, presently easily identifiable by search engines, where CSS and other techniques are used to place text on the page that the web visitor does not see. Most search engines see this as a form of spamming, and may penalize a site’s ranking or completely remove it from their search results.

·         Link Farming: Link Farms became popular about twelve years ago, allowing webmasters to exchange links, which eventually became an automated process. The idea was to increase the page rank of a document by having these inbound links in exchange for having reciprocal outbound links. Essentially, having links on, linking to, or looking like a link farm is a sure way to lower your Google rankings eventually.

·         Cloaking: Cloaking is yet another method of passing information on to the search engine that the visitor does not see. There are so many different ways of cloaking they are too numerous to list here. However, though it seems that some of these tactics are still working, it is just a matter of time before Google and the other search engine redefine their algorithm to catch these unscrupulous practices, probably resulting in the exclusion of the website from the search engine results.

How Do I Use White Hat SEO to Get More Traffic?

In building a search-engine friendly site, it is best to remember that Google (and other Search Engines) are trying to direct their users to the most relevant content. Anything that “tricks” a visitor to your site can only result in a visitor who really was looking for something else.  However, the use of relevant, content rich copy on your site can result in large quantities of people coming to your site because of genuine interest, making it easier to accomplish the goals you built the website for in the first place.

In fact, Google states in the beginnings of its Webmaster’s Guidelines PDF that you “should base your optimization decisions first and foremost on what's best for the visitors of your site. They're the main consumers of your content and are using search engines to find your work. Focusing too hard on specific tweaks to gain ranking in the organic results of search engines may not deliver the desired results. Search engine optimization is about putting your site's best foot forward when it comes to visibility in search engines, but your ultimate consumers are your users, not search engines.”

With that said, I have achieved my most successful results from building a site from the ground up with a specific focus on the keywords of the specific message I am trying to communicate.

Basic Steps for SEO on a Web Site:

1.      Use Simple to Understand URL’s.

For example, if this blog post were to be a page in a site I was building, it might be named appropriately as “/Search_Engine_Optimization.aspx”, not “page1.aspx”. It’s amazing how many people go and on about backlinks and so forth while wondering why their page “default2.html” ranks so miserably!

2.      Create a Simple Directory Structure.

In the case of the preceding example, put it, and all related such pages, in a subdirectory called something like “/search_engine_optimization.” Doing so will let your prospective viewers know where they are and help the search engines more adequately return relevant results. Although I have frequently used the use of first word capitals (e.g. “Search_Engine_Optimization), Google does note that lower case URL’s are preferred.

3.      Create Unique Titles for Each Page.

Generate a specific title for the page, again with an attempt to use the relevant keywords – but not at the expense of making the content less engaging for the reader. Keep it as short as possible. Definitely use the relevant keywords, but only if it conveys the main idea of your page. (Make sure you use the Meta Tag “Title” in the page “Head” section).

4.      Use Headings Tags Properly

Heading tags (not be confused with the Head of the page) are used to point out the relative importance of that particular idea on the page. Overuse of the heading tag, or improper use of (e.g. making everything “HI” should be avoided. Don’t use the Heading tags for formatting (that’s what CSS is for!). Instead, think of it as making an outline, as you see here in this post.

5.      Make Good Use of the Meta Tag “Description.”

The Meta Tag “Description” is often (but not always) used in Google’s results pages as the main text the searcher sees next to your listing. It’s important that your description be – descriptive. Again, ensure that your main key words show up here. Think of this as a summary of your page, and make sure that the description matches the actual content of the page, and that you have a different, accurate description/summary for each of your pages.

As a writer, I have noticed that it often takes longer to write an effective description tag then it actually took to write the copy for the page.

6.      Use “Bread Crumb” Links in Your Site Navigation.

By using something like “Home, Services, Products, Blog” etcetera across the bottom or top of your page, the User can quickly get back to the root or find another section that interests them. This also helps Search Engines to index your site more effectively.

7.      Ensure that the Hierarchy of your Site Flows Naturally.

Use text links to lead your visitor from one page to another. Avoid excessive use of JavaScript and dropdown menus as they make it harder for search engines to index you site. In fact, according to Google, “This doesn't mean that you can't include rich media content such as Flash, Silverlight, or videos on your site; it just means that any content you embed in these files should also be available in text format or it won't be accessible to search engines.”

The focus of site navigation should be to make it simple and easy to use.

8.      Write Good Descriptive Anchor Descriptions.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing, for example, “for more information on SEO click here” instead of “More SEO Information From Arachnid Creations.” You want to make sure that your links are well formatted, to be recognizable as links, and to ensure the text at least conveys a good idea of where the link goes to. This is important for getting your site indexed as well as for letting your readers know where the link goes to. This applies to links directing users to another site as well as to your internal links.

9.      Use Brief but Descriptive Filenames For Images.

Instead of using a filename of “mygraphic_219.jpg” use something more descriptive, like “Guaranteed_Traffic.jpg” instead.  Make sure you use the “alt-text” tag correctly. Again, a short, concise description is best.

Also, if using an image for a link (use sparingly) make sure that you use the “screen tip” attribute. For example, the graphic on the left is horrible, and the one on the right is much better, both for users and for search engine bots. (Hover mouse over each or right click and select image properties):

Example of Image Link 1

Don’t forget to make an image site map and place it in the root of your website.

10. Ensure Effective Use of “Robots.txt” and “nofollow”

“Robots.txt” is a file that is placed in the root of your website that tells search engine crawlers which areas of your site you want indexed and what areas you might not. For example, you may have a directory that contains an old version of your site or some other information that you don’t want to show up in the results page. This file tells the search engine bots which pages you want indexed, and which you don’t. For more information see Google’s using robots.txt file.

The “nofollow” attribute is especially important if you have a blog that allows comments, as this is a prime place for spammers to appear which can cause your PageRank to be diminished as you essentially are sharing your reputation with the sites you link to. Most blogs automatically insert the nofollow tag, but if yours doesn’t, at the very least turn on comment moderation.

Summary

Many people approach me wanting me to help them with SEO and when I start talking about file names and hierarchy, frequently the response is but “what about PageRank and backlinks and so forth?” Those things have their importance (no doubt a subject for a future blog), but there’s no point in going there if the basics haven’t been done. It’s like trying to soup-up a car with no engine. Meticulously following these ten steps with a keen eye on the keywords relevant to your specific site is at least 80% of the battle to the top of the search engines.

For more about SEO at ArachnidCreations, please see Search Engine Optimization.