Being removed from Google's index and falling traffic are probably the two worst SEO nightmares. And as they say, "ignorance is not an excuse" since Google have publicly stated their guidelines for websites. The article aims to inform the SEO newbies and remind the experienced SEO experts of the 8 Specific Quality Guidelines set by Google.
Of the most important on-page SEO factors, the content of each page is obviously important. However, the inclusion of a large number of pages also gives your site a lot of credence in the eyes of Google. This is because Google loves content, and the more of it you have the more weight you will receive. Obviously the quality, relevance, and optimization is important but generally speaking the more content you can provide the better. This content can come in various forms and by optimizing every page you can also target a much greater number of keywords with more effect.
As webmasters are well aware, getting traffic is one thing; retaining that traffic can often be the tricky part. Surely we've all run across sites from time to time that were easy to stumble upon, but then made us scratch our head wondering how in the holy heck it got there, and what in the world did it do to deserve such choice rankings or links from other worthy sites. Unfortunately for webmasters, there isn't any one formula for a tacky site people won't ever want to step foot in again. There are however, several things that can be done to prevent that dreaded situation.
There are many companies offering Search Engine Optimization. Put them to work, and you're bound to see improvement in your search engine rankings. But what if you can't afford to pay for SEO service? Don't worry, because there are many things you can do yourself to make your site "search engine friendly." Here's a few.
One of the first steps to a good SEO campaign is ensuring that your website has been indexed by all the major search engines. Google, in particular, is of main concern to the majority of webmasters and SEOs purely because it is the most popular and widely used search engine. While some webmasters still insist on submitting their site to various other search engines, directories, and via the Google submit a site page.
While none of these methods will do you any harm and may generate traffic that is completely independent of your listing in Google, the quickest and potentially easiest way is using the method that Google prefer, an inbound link from a Google indexed page.
In my previous Title Tag article, I introduced the title tag and told you what it is and why it's so important. Now let's discuss how to write a tag that Search Engines (and your customers) will love.
There are two competing forces pulling for your title tag's attention. First, the search engines use your title tag to help determine where in their engine your website fits. Second, your customers will see and use your title tag to help them determine if your site has what they're looking for and to remind them what your site is about when they see it in their bookmark list. A good title tag takes care of both.
I was compelled to publish this article after noticing several SEO specialists writing in reference to meta tags being dead or obsolite. Meta tags are not dead. I will be the first to say, meta tags are utilized by all major search engines and are very much in use and extremely important to search engine ranking. If you need proof of how important meta tags are, try removing your meta tags and watch what happens to your search engine positioning. Your site will plummet to the depths of the unvisited web. Meta tags are frequently an overlooked factor which can improve the ranking of most any website.
Search engines are better at spidering than you. Of course, you need a professional looking site, easy to navigate, appropriate content and size. Many webmasters and sites are great at displaying graphics (flash) and visually appealing sections on their sites. However, the search engines really don't care much about that. If you can give the spiders what they want, they not only will eat it up fast, but you will provide content-rich, relevant data to their index (database). As time, content, size and relevancy increase, you will rise up in the search engine results pages. Properly applied search engine optimization techniques and online marketing principles will help you. (SEO/SEM)
The 3 most important search engines to optimize for are Google, Yahoo, and MSN. (Ed Note: Google owns over 50% of the market today, and is growing fast every day. This includes their exposure via partners like Ask, Earthlink, DogPile, etc). For you to get elevated and relevant rankings you must get into the search engine indexes, and we recommend you start with Google. You should get spidered by Google in less than 3 weeks if applied correctly, but a long term approach to SEO work is needed. You can expect to see your listing within 2-4 months for some pages, and as much time as 2 years for certain keywords/phrases within those.
RSS feeds are a great communication medium, and when properly managed, web feeds can bring in significant Internet traffic. RSS feeds should contain compelling themed content with episodic titles that are united in common broad theme. Use RSS feeds as an online marketing and search engine optimization tool. Just as optimizing an HTML web page will increase exposure, so too will an RSS feed that is properly optimized and promoted. Use these simple tips to improve your web feed exposure.
SEO is becoming increasingly important to all who look to do business and use the Internet as a marketing tool. It is the path in which your market finds your offering. It has become almost a necessity for businesses to incorporate SEO in to their marketing plan. Many companies struggle with the decision on whether to hire a firm or conduct their SEO in-house. Unfortunately many companies lack the knowledge about SEO and assume it will be cheaper for them in the long run to hire someone "in-house".
For some companies this may be efficient while others the overlooking the hiring of a professional firm to SEO can be costly. It is as critical to your business health as if you were to feel that you could heal a fatal disease yourself because you have access to the Internet and books, instead of going to a highly trained physician. Now you laugh and say that would be absurd, but is the growth of your company worth the risk.