Achieving better search engine results
There are absolutely no guarantees when it comes to achieving better search engine rankings, however there are some guidelines that can certainly help.
Everybody is trying to get as high as possible on search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Lycos. Some shrewd people have even set themselves up as search engine optimisation experts, guaranteeing to get you to number 1! It is generally disputed that these guarantees can be upheld but there are some general tips that will certainly help you achieve better rankings.
Of course the first thing you need to look at is your very own site. This is what the search engines look at so it should be the starting point of your SEO adventure. There are some pretty simple guidelines you can follow if you want to increase your ranking.
1. Frames
If you do use frames you must be careful about how your site is structured. I have read articles stating that if you use frames you’ll simply get nowhere. That’s not quite true. If you have links to your content that can be indexed then you will be OK but if there is no way for the search engine to index your content without going through the frames, then you’re going to find it difficult.
2. Flash
Search engines cannot see inside your Flash component to see what text you have in there, so how will it help your search engine ranking? Flash is great for certain things like adding a bit of animation to your site, but some developers go overboard and build entire sites in Flash. If you are looking to fly to the top of the rankings this is probably not a good idea.
3. META tags
Meta tags are bits of information that describe aspects of your site such as copyright information, author, description, keywords etc. Some robots will use this information to look for key words and phrases to get more information about your site, to see where you should rank. It’s a good idea therefore to include some of your keywords and key phrases in these tags. The meta tags are placed in your page inside the header block (between the <head> and </head> tags). For example:
<head>
<title>Benchmarx Limited – Internet Services and Software Development</title>
<meta name="description" content="Benchmarx Limited (Technology Absolute) - Internet Services and Software Development" />
<meta name="keywords" content=" << insert keywords here >> " />
<meta name="Generator" content="Benchmarx Limited" />
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="http://www.benchmarx.com/images/favicon.ico" />
</head>
4. The title tag/attribute
You may have noticed above that there is a <title> tag in the header block also. This will also help with search engine placement. This is the text that is generally displayed in the top of your browser window so it also helps users know which site they are on at a glance. Include some key phrases in your title, but not too many as some spiders only read a limited number of characters for a title.
On many HTML elements there is also the title attribute which can be used to display tool tips over links, paragraphs, images etc. This can be useful to visitors for clarifying jargon but also really useful for your SEO.
5. Image alt tags
Nowadays it’s pretty safe to assume that most people have graphical browsers. However in the past this was definitely not the case so images had an alt tag which displayed an alternative piece of text if the image couldn’t be shown. Some search engines will use the text here to rank your site also so it’s worth adding some key phrases here too. It’s also just good practice.
6. General content
Probably the most important part of your search engine optimisation is the content within the pages of your site. This is the very core of your website and it is what tells visitors who you are and what you do. If the search engine robots can’t find key word or key phrases in here then you won’t be ranking very high at all.
Implement popup sitemap and navigational aids using layers rather than building them in script. This includes more HTML in your pages which increases your chances of including links and key phrases.
7. Formatting of key phrases
Although I have never seen it confirmed, there is speculation that the formatting of your key phrases also helps to increase your search engine rankings. By putting key phrases in bold or as headings in your content you bring more emphasis to those phrases hence increases your ranking.
We've talked about key words and key phrases but what exactly does this mean? Well, you need to put yourself in the position of anybody who might be looking for what you’re offering. You need to think about what they might enter into a search engine to find what they want. For example, if you’re looking for a software developer you wouldn’t just enter “developer” into Google or your preferred search engine. You might enter “C# freelance developer” or “internet software specialist” – phrases much more meaningful to what you want. So when you are thinking about keywords or key phrases for your site try to think along the same kind of lines.
As well as maintaining your own site there are also other ways you can increase your page ranking on some search engines. Try and get as many links as you can into your site from other sites. If you can get a link from another site with key phrases in the link text this will help you greatly to get higher rankings on the search engines.
The address of your site is also purported to have an effect on some search engine ranking algorithms. If your domain name can include keywords that you think people will search for to find you, you might well increase your rankings further.
All of these things combined should help you get better search engine rankings. However, you must be realistic when it comes to your aspirations. In highly competitive markets there are going to be hundreds, if not thousands, of sites competing for the top slot the same as you. For this very reason you should be wary of companies that guarantee number one placement on search engines.
Another drawback is that some site owners will resort to dirty tricks in order to get their site ranking higher than their competitors. Again, be careful that your SEO company is not one of them otherwise you might end up not having a search engine ranking at all!