What
is Search Engine Optimization
(SEO)?
SEO is the art and science of helping websites get found in major searches.The process is often complicated, timely and
manually intensive. It can
be a waste of time if your pages are not structured in a search engine
friendly manner. Hence, SEO can be thought of asthe medium one can use to communicate with a search
engine, so that it knows exactly what your web site is about. It is also about achieving a high level of
search engine visibility, through a wide variety of well-optimized keyword phrases,
that are directly related to your business.
Search Engine Optimization refers to a variety of techniques used to improve aweb page's keyword or keyword phrase on a Search Engine ranking. SearchEngine Optimization is an important aspect of search marketing.
It
is a technical process of
manipulating a website with
the aim of optimizing or promoting keyword
search phrases, relevant to that website to the search
engines, so they in turn, will index the site as highlyrelevant to that keywordsearch phrase. Once
indexed, the search engine
will list the website in
its ‘natural listings’.
Increased online visibility and promotion of your website 24 hour a day, 365 days per year brings in a huge sales force, leading
to a greater ROI.
For more information about
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
click the link below
How Search Engine Works ?
Search Engines perform several activities in order to deliver
search results .Crawling –Process of fetching all the web pages linked to a
website . This task is performed by a software called a Crawler or a Spider (or
Googlebot in case of Google) .
Indexing – Process of creating index for all the fetched web
pages and keeping them into a gaint database from where it can later be
retrieved . Essentially , the process of indexing identifying the words and
expressions the best describe the page and assigning the page to a particular
keywords .
Processing – When a search request comes , the search engine
processes it , i.e. , it compares the search String the search request with the
indexed pages in the database .
Calculating Relevancy – It is likely that more than one page
contains the search string , so the search engine starts calculating the
relevancy of each of the pages in its index to the search string .
Retrieving Results – The last step in search engine activities
is retrieving best matched results . Basically , its nothing more than
simply displaying them in the browser .
Search engines such as Google and Yahoo! Often update
their relevancy algorithm dozens of time per month . When you see changes in
rankings , it is due to an algorithmic shift or something else beyond your
control .
What it takes to Rank ?
It is not difficult to get your website to index and even rank
on the search engines . However getting your website to rank for specific
keywords can be tricky . There are essentially 3 elements that a search engine
considers when determining where to list a website on the SERP : Rank ,
Authority and Relevance .
Rank - Rank is the position that your website physically
falls in on the SERP when a specific search query Is entered .
Authority – Search engine determines how authoritative and
credible a website’s content is by calculating how many inbound links (links
from other website) it has .
Relevance – Relevance is a one of the most critical factors of
SEO . The search engines are not only looking to see that your using certain
keywords , but they are also looking for clues to determine how Relevant your
content is to a specific search query .
Benefits of SEO
Search Engine Optimization is capable of providing you a strategic edge over your competitors
Has a positive psychological impact on a visitor.
Help you create a brand
identity.
Higher ‘brand recall’.
Increase
in targeted on-line traffic.
Better web site positioning.
Ability to dominate over
competition with your mirror
sites.
Fast, measurable ROI.
Increased
and boosted product sales, and online visibility.
Lower client acquisition costs.
Broader web-marketing
share.
Compete efficiently against
larger competitors.
Continuous Visibility.
Makes the most out of the best tool for advertising.
The cheapest marketing tool, even on the net.
Increases your revenue. Many non-brick and mortar firms have grown onlywith online presence and the best example is Amazon.com.
Key Search Engine Optimization Techniques:
• Meaningful page title
• Headings and sub-headings used
• Opening paragraph describes page content
• Quality content provided
• Frames and Flash avoided
• 200 word minimum per page
• 100kb maximum HTML/CSS size
•
Descriptive link text
• Keyword research carried
out
• CSS used for layout
• Quick site loading
For more information about
benefits in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), click the link below: www.virtualsplat.com/search-engine-optimization/benefits-of-seo.asp
www.dipsie.com/seo/benefits
Long-Tail Concept & Theory
If u were to add up all search engine traffic that comes from
most popular keywords , it would not even come close to the amount of traffic
that comes from the searches using those more unique queries .This is called
the theory of long tail .
By choosing to optimize with long tail keywords , you will find
it easier to rank on the search engines , drive qualified traffic , and
turn that traffic into leads and customers .
Content is King
We’ve all heard it –when it comes to SEO ,content is king
.Without rich content , you will find it difficult to rank for specific
keywords and drive traffic to your website .Additionally , if your content does
not provide value or engage users , you will be far less likely to drive leads
and customers .
How to approach your SEO Strategy
When developing an SEO strategy , it is best to split your
initiatives into two buckets : On-page SEO and Of-page SEO .
On-page SEO covers everything you can control on each specific
webpage and across your Website to make it easy for the search engines to
find , index ,and understand the topical nature of your content .
Of-page SEO covers all aspects of SEO that happen your website
to greater quality of inbound links .
Let’s dive into On-page SEO first and we will tackle
Of-page SEO in the next section .
On-page SEO
There are multiple elements on your website that you can control
to make it easy for the search engines to index your content and understand
what it is all about .
Website Content
As mentioned content is king , you will have to write content
that your audience will find valuable and engaging . Aside from the topical
nature of the content , the way you format your webpages can have an impact on
how the search engine bots digest your content .
URL Structure
The actual structure of your website URL can have an impact on
the search engine’s ability to index and understand your website’s content .
Opting for a more organized URL structure will have the greatest impact . Some
website creation software , like Hubspot , will automatically create URL’s
based on your webpage content .
Pictures
Every picture you upload to your website will have a file neame
. When the picture is inserted on your website , the picture’s file name
actually lives in your website’s source code , or HTML .Since the search
engines scan your website’s code , you should use file names that describe the picture
.
EX: Red-tennis-shoes-velcro.jpg is much useful than
pic12345.jpg .
Additionally , you can give search engines an extra hand
by including ALT tags on all pictures on your website .Alt tags are short
snippets of code that allow you to tag each photo on your site with a short
text blurb .
Title Tags & Meta tags
Besides an actual text headline on your page , every web page
you create has a title tag . This is the text snippet that appears upper left
corner or on the tabs of your web browser .Also , the title tag is the blue
link that the search engines show when they list your webpage on the SERP
.Title tags max out at 75 characters , so choose your words wisely .
Meta tags are Snippets of code you can include within your
webpage’s HTML .The meta tags are actually located near the title code in the
head of your HTML .There are two meta tags , Meta Description and Meta Keywords
.
The Meta Description is a text snippet that describes what your
specific webpage is about . Meta descriptions are usually the first place
a search engine will look to find text to put under your blue link when they
list your website on the SERP .If you do not have a met description , the
search engines will usually select a random piece of content from the page they
are linking to .The Meta Description is limited to 150 characters .
Meta Keywords consists of an additional text snippet in the HTML
that allows you to list a few different keywords that relate to your webpage
.As a best practice , it is recommended to put 5-7 keywords , but don’t spend
too much time thinking about it .
Headline Tags
When the search engine bots scan your webpages , they look clues
to determine exactly what your webpage is about .Keywords that are treated
differently than most others on the page show the search engines that they are
more important than other keywords on the page . This is why the use of
headlines tags within your page is so important .By using various headline tags
, you not only make your webpage easier to digest from reader’s standpoint ,
but you will also give the search engines definitive clues as to what is
important on the page .
Internal Linking
Till now we have seen only referenced inbound links or those
links coming to your website from other websites .When creating content
for your website on your blog on specific web pages , you may want to reference
on other pages on your website .
Preliminary
preparations before
SEO
Alt tag preparation - Your word count should be between 10-25 words, with 30-60% being your primary
keywords. Do
not type complete sentences for your alt text. Keep it short andsweet, and you shall do well.
For more information about Alt Tag click the link below:
www.web-inspect.com/seo-tips-alt-tags.php
www.w3schools.com/tags/att_img_alt.asp
Fact: Search Robots cannot read Images:
Some
cannot read the text shapes in a Image, BUT some
do read the "alt=" attribute
in a correctly
formatted "img src=" tag i.e.:
<Img
src="????" alt="Search Engines, tags and Meta tags" height="??"
width="??" border="0">
Each image must have an alt attribute. Alt attribute should contain a briefdescription of image, preferably described using relevant keyword set. This isextremely important when using images as links as this is what
search engines will use in place of
the link text that would normally be used to describe the link.
File renaming- File name should be renamed according to optimized keywordsfor
search engine promotions.
Internal links are important,
and links with relevantkeywords to website should be created for added
advantage.
No SPAM
Hidden links and text, duplicate pages and doorway pages are just a few ofthe "clever" tactics that
can land you in the "Search Engine Slammer". After the latest Penguinupdate in April 2012, the sites using the above
said techniques were penalized by Google.
For more information about Filerenaming, click
the link below:
Use
Hyphens in URL’s
In modern day SEO, even small practices can reap in big results. In 2011, Googlethe leader in search market
clarified to the users that they consider underscores as a joiner and hyphens asa separator. The main reason for having keywords in the inner page URL’s is torank well and if that goal is affected by using underscores, it has to be avoided.
Listen to Matt Cutts, from
Google web spam team
onHyphenated URL’s for websites. www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQcSFsQyct8
Link Building
Link building involves the careful selection of relevant websites to have yourwebsite’s link in it.This helps both
parties gain credibility, popularity, and better search engine positioning accordingto the ranking criteria of
various search engines. Link building is crucial to yoursite’s rankings on the major search engines, and it’s one
more aspect of the SEO process that we
will take care of on your
behalf.
Link Building, is simply exchanging links with other companies in similar industries (not your direct
competition). Link building
is very important because
each incoming link to your website acts like a referral and Search Engines lovereferrals! We have to ensure that we link with the right type of websites, i.e. Good quality with a good Google PR.
Although search engines have different criteria or algorithms in how they rankwebsites, popularity and relevancy are crucial. Some of the larger search engines, such as Google, will award your site a higher page ranking (PR) if you
link to established and popular sites.Think
of it as a vote of confidence in your site.
Page Rank
Link Popularity
High
Link Popularity Rate = High Search Engine Page Rank. Low Link Popularity Rate =
Low Search Engine Page Rank.
One-way link building
Link building services provide you non-reciprocal one-way links that ultimatelyimprove your rankings in
search engines Non Reciprocal one-way links are always better than reciprocallinks,
as Google gives more
importance to Non Reciprocal links. So if you wantbetter Link Popularity then you should always run a one-
way link campaign.
One-Way Link Building Securely Leads to
Long Term page Ranking
Increase your traffic
significantly
Improve your visibility in the search engines by raising your link
popularity
Provide an added resource to your website. Save you a lot of
advertising money
Two-way link
building (Reciprocal Linking)
This method helps back-link campaign effectively. Two-way linking may act as a superbooster to your incoming
traffic, and net visibility. This also enhances high page rankings and top listingamong the major important search engines on
the very keyword(s) / phrase(s) to intend to hit high on.
Remember, a
site providing a link to you must be designed as per SEO, and
directly or indirectly relate
to your business and services.
Back-links are confirmed by making many webmasters share / trade their site’slinks with other webmasters
interested in the same.
A
Search Engine List offers you links to search engines and directories from all around theworld to help you
achieve top search engine
ranking. Make your own website
submissions .
Orphans of Google
The following
pages are orphans of Google!
• Dead links
• Inaccurate links
• Duplicates
• Pages protected by
a robots.txt or no index Meta
tag
• Database generated URLs
• Pages on an intranet
Where
do we submit?
We can submit our websites to directories, search engines and other relatedwebsites as two way links. As
your back-links increases, the
chances of improvement
in keyword position will increase.
In recent times, it’s not the
quantity of links that speaks about our SEO, but the quality of the links.
Submitting
to major search
engines and directories
helps you to
achieve popularity and traffic. While
submitting to directories, one needs to be verycareful about the category where the site is being submitted.
It’s very important that the page where you
have
a back-link should have related
content to your business
Google generates over 67% of all search engine referrals, according to comScorereports on July 2013. (Bing
17.9%
and Yahoo 11.3%)
Google is a play on the word googol,
which refers to the number represented by thenumeral 1 followed by
100 zeros.
Google is hypertext-based.
It analyzes all the content on each web pageand factors in fonts,
subdivisions, and the precise positions of all termson the page. Google also analyzes the content of neighboring web pages.All of this data enables Google to return results that are more relevantto user queries.
Google Keyword
planner tool accounts.google.com/ServiceLogin?service=adwords&continue=https:// adwords.google.com/um/gaiaauth?apt%3DNone%26dst%3D/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home%26dst%3D/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home%26ltmpl
Bing (known
previously as Live
Search,Windows Live Search, and MSN Search) is a web search engine (advertised as a
"decision engine"[2]) from
Microsoft.
Yahoo! provides portal solutions that standardize the aggregation, integration,
personalization and presentation
platform your company needs, to interact directly
with your employees, partners and customers.
Yahoo! switched to its own Yahoo! switched to its own
search technology in 2004 and its database indexes an estimated 4.2 billion pages. This is a smallnumber when compared to Google; but Yahoo indexes to a depth of
500K while Google only indexes the first 101K. In some cases Google onlyindexes the link, not the page. [See Yahoo search help] It also maintains asite geared to children, Yahooligans, which
includes simplified introductions to the Internet.search technology in 2004 and its database indexes
an estimated 4.2 billion pages. This is a small number when compared toGoogle; but Yahoo indexes to a depth of
500K while Google only indexes the first 101K. In some casesGoogle only indexes the link, not the page. [See Yahoo search help]It also maintains a site geared to children, Yahooligans, which
includes simplified introductions to the Internet.
At
Blekko, the mission is to create a differentiated
search experience by delivering high quality,
curated results and organizing content into categories. Their sophisticated search
technology powers the suite of products – a web search engine,mobile app, and social news platform.
You cannot directly submit to Blekko, but you can make your site crawlable forBlekko making Scoutjet web crawler to access your website.You
just need to do a minor insertion
in your robots.txt
DMOZ
helps build the most comprehensive human-reviewed directory on the web. Somepeople say it is dead, which is quite unsure. But you
can try submitting if you have time.
You don't have to stop when your homepage is listed at DMOZ. If you haveother pages optimized for certain keywords, find a category at DMOZwhere that page fits well and submit it. DMOZ editors say they prefer toadd only homepages, but will add inside pages if they're good & on-topic.The more pages you have listed at DMOZ, the more customers will findyour site on all the search engines that use DMOZ data.
To become an ODP Editor for permanent listing in Dmoz directory, click
the linkwww.dmoz.com/help/become.html
Google Penguin, Panda and Hummingbird Updates – What you should know.
In 2012, Google rolled out its major update called the Penguin update. The updatewas to penalize websites
that
have
not followed Google's quality
guidelines, and sites having spammy
back-links.
The update was rolled out on April 24th 2012 and around 3.1 % of the searchresults were affected. The following
are the kind of websites got affected due to
this major algorithm update:
1. Sites having irrelevant
back-links.
2. Sites
having poor quality back-links.
3. Sites
that are over
optimized.
The whole dynamics of SEO changed after the Penguin update and the conceptof page rank link building
completely switched over to quality link
building.
In 2013, Google updated the algorithm andthe few sites that were wrongly affected inthe previous Penguin algorithm got back theresults.
moz.com/blog/7-achievable-steps-for-great-seo-after-the-penguin-update
In October 2013, Google released its next version of Penguin update known asPenguin 2.1 and after the release of this algorithm update, it is evident thatquality content is the top-most benchmark that Google
considers to rankwebsites.
Some
of the quick tips to escape the holds ofGoogle’s latest algorithm updates:
• Have great content. Google released Panda take out sites with badcontent out of the game and later released series of Penguin updates and Hummingbird to rank sites based on the content.
• Check your back-link profile. Clean up your bad links.
• Do not over optimize your websites.
• Use Google disallow links tool to nofollow your
bad inbound links.
• Do not have too many outbound
links.
Breadcrumbs Navigation
This site uses breadcrumbs right under the tabs. People like the sense of controland seeing where they have been.
Using
breadcrumbs also gives you
a non-intrusive excuse to
have
many keyword
rich links pointing to each page of your
site.
Broken links & Custom Error
page
A link that fails its very purpose, or in other words, a link that doesn’t lead theuser to the destination page
when clicked is termed a 'broken link'. Broken links hurt “Brand Identity” as well as“Search Engine Placement”, and also prevent websites from attaining top Googlekeyword placement. Broken links and server downtime
also create search engine placement issues by preventing
sites from being found early
on the search engines. Broken links, server downtime, or server maintenance interferes with search enginespiders as they attempt to crawl websites and further contribute to search
engine placement difficulties.
Custom
Error
pages can be used to redirect the user to your homepage or a sitemap in the event of a dead link.This will keep visitors on the site rather than them assuming that you are
no longer in business.
For instance, the address www.macronimous.com/type-anything-here generates a404 error,
where it could
automatically redirect
to the home page.
First, open up Internet Service Manager and right click on the website that youwant to set the custom 404
Error for. Click on Properties and then choose the Custom Errors tab. Scrolldown until you get to the 404
HTTP
Error.You'll notice on the right that it has the
filename that is associated with
the 404 status listed.You can edit this file directly, if you like, or
choose a new file(by choosing 'Edit Properties').
404
Error
Page with IIS:
For further referral, Creating
a Custom 404 Error Page click the below linkwww.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/061499-1.shtml#postadlink
Using your own 404 page
with Apache
Use
a text editor to create the file '.htaccess' (without the quotes)
containing thefollowing line:
This assumes that your custom 404 page is called 'custom404page.htm'. If youcreate the '.htaccess' file on a
Windows machine, then check that Windows has not added a
file extension. Upload '. htaccess’ and 'custom404page.htm' to the server.
For further referral, Creating
a Custom 404 Error Page :www.cryer.co.uk/resources/javascript/html3.htmwww.4webhelp.net/tutorials/misc/errors.phpwww.yourhtmlsource.com/sitemanagement/custom404error.htmlwww.thesitewizard.com/archive/custom404.shtml
There is a bug in the custom error page that you should be aware of. Ifyou are within a different
directory, then the 404 error redirects to thebrowser will become lost. For example, you are in / sale/page.htm andyou link to a bad link taking you to /default.htm because of a customerror, the
browser will think that you are in /sale/default.htm. You canavoid this problem by redirecting to /
404.asp
with the contents of 404.asp being this: Bug Free
404.asp
<%
Response.Redirect
("/default.htm")
%>
This double redirect will avoid the problem. Secondly, crawlers, theautomated programs that crawl your web site, may
become lost, if youredirect to the home page when there is a 404 error.
Competitor analysis
Never have the illusion that what we do is always correct. Sometimes yourcompetitors may follow certain
things which make their sites more appealing to search engines than your site.In this regard, competitor
analysis is very
important.
To gain competitive advantage in the current trend in business, you ought tohave a complete competitor analysis
done. It helps in identifying opportunities and capitalizing
on them.
Competitor
analysis is a central part of Search
Engine Optimization in determining the most appropriate technique your site should be aiming for. In order tounderstand your positioning within your marketplace on
the web, you need toknow how your top competitors are doing - and what they're doing - when itcomes to Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) strategies.
You try to identify the answers to thefollowing questions:
• Where
is your competition on the
Internet?
• Which competitors are most popular on the Internet?
• Which competitors are less popular on the
Internet?
• How is the link popularity ofyour website against your competition?
And you get a clear picture of your position, and the steps to be taken tosustain in the competitive market.
Giving keywords
to major search engine like Google, yahoo and BING can carry out competitor Analysis.
Basic principles of Competitor Analysis
• Find out organizations offering the same product or service now.
• Find out organizations offering similar products or services now.
• Find
out organizations that could offer
the same or similar products or services in the future.
• Find out organizations that
could remove
the need for a product or service.
Back-link Analysis
Quality
back-link is one of the most important
factors in Search Engine
Optimization.
It is not enough just to have a lot of back-links; it is the quality of back-links alongwith the quantity that helps you rank better in search engines. As mentionedearlier, the Penguin algorithm update by Google in 2012
mainly penalized sites having poor back-links.
A back-link could be considered as a quality back-link, if it links to your websitewith the keyword (key phrase)
that you are
trying to optimize for, and the theme of the
back-linking website is the
same as your website.
These tools help you determine the back-links of your website and link text usedby your back-links to link to your websites.
www.webuildpages.com/neat-o/
Back-link Builder
Building
quality back-links is one of the most important
factors in Search Engine
Optimization.This tools searches
for websites of the theme you
specify that contain key phrases like "Add
link", "Add site", "Add
URL", "Add URL", "Submit URL", "Add Article" etc.
Google Sitemap
Google Sitemap is created to improve the visibility of your URLs on Google.Google Sitemap is an easy way
for you to submit all your URLs to the Google index and procure detailed reportsabout the visibility of your pages on Google.
For more details click below
URL,www.google.com/webmasters/sitemaps/login
Here are
4 simple steps to build your
Google Sitemap online
• Enter your full website
URL and some optional parameters in the form
below.
• Press
'Start' button and wait until the
site is completely crawled (the progress will be
indicated)
• You will see the generated sitemap details page, including number ofpages, broken links list, XML file content
and link to a compressed sitemap.
Download the sitemap file
• Inform
Google about your sitemap location using the HTTP request, like this:
This website is to let you create a sitemap in XML format that can be submittedto Google, to help them to
crawl your website
better. The below URL
builds your Google Sitemap online
www.xml-sitemaps.com/index.php
How does Google Sitemap work?
Google
Sitemap is created using XML (Extensible Markup Language).
Here is the sample Google Sitemap code:
<url>
<lastmod>2005-07-15</lastmod>
<changefreq>monthly</changefreq>
<priority>0.5</priority>
</url>
Here is a breakdown of what each line represents:
Location - name of your WebPages
i.e.www.yoursite.com
Last
modified - when you last modified the page.
Change
frequency - tells Google how often you modify that particular
page, whether it's never, weekly, daily, hourly, monthly or yearly.
Priority
- sets the priority you want
Google to place for that page
on your site. You can prioritize your pages: 0.0 being the least, 1.0
being the highest,0.5 is in the middle.
Google Analytics
Google analytics was introduced in the year of 2005 and it’s easily one of the mostSEO friendly tools available
in
the industry.This is because it’s an offering
from Google, the market leader in the search industry. It
provides
various insights from visitors, page views, demographicstats of the visitors, conversion tracking and many more insights.
And
the best part of Google Analytics
is it’s free. Here
is the link of Google Analytics. www.google.com/analytics
Similar to other Google apps like Gmail or Google Plus, you can access GoogleAnalytics with a valid Google username and password. Insert a simple piece of ourcode on your web page and you will be able to analyse and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time
and past period stats.
To see your website’s statistics in Google Analytics, you need to login toGoogle Analytics and add you website. After that you will need to select thecategory of your website and the time zone. Then Google
Analytics will provideyou a snippet of JavaScript code and you need to add the code within the <body>and </ body> of your HTML content.
Google Analytics can also show you the real time statistics of your website. Youcan also compare the traffic stats of one period to any previous time period.
You can also share your Google Analytics stats across various users and canexport data in any format you require.
WhyGoogleAnalytics?
• No programming to do
• No servers to maintain
• No software applications
to install
• Can monitor traffic to your website
• Can know about referrals
to your website
• Can find out page loads on your website
• Can find of conversions
• Can find out revenue generated
www.adobe.com/solutions/digital-analytics.html
