Today I ran across a very valuable resource. Apparently Google itself has come out with a Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide.
Most of the tips on this guide are explained in my previous blog post. I am going to go into more detail about Googles SEO guide.
Does Google Like Search Engine Optimization?
The answer? Yes, of course! Google loves when sites are optimized for search. The answer comes from Google’s search evangelist Adam Lasnik:
"Just like in any industry, there are outstanding SEOs and bad apples. We Googlers are delighted when people make their sites more accessible to users and Googlebot, whether they do the work themselves or hire ethical and effective professionals to help them out. "
Google's Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide Explained - Part 1
Create Unique, Accurate Page Titles
A title tag is one of the most important factors for good search engine optimization. It tells the search engine and the user the topic for the individual page. For the examples below I am using the homepage of Monterey Real Estate.
A title is part of the HTML code for your website.
The title shows up in 2 important locations. The first location is located at the top of the browser page.
The second important location is located on the search engine results page.
(This is a bad example since google has not indexed this sites new title... but you get the picture. The above should say Tina Carpenter's Monterey Real Estate...)
The title shows up with the searched terms bolded. The above search was for "Monterey Bay Homes".
Good Use of Title Tags
-Accurately describe the page's content. Use well chosen keywords. Make sure the title reflects the page's content.
-Don't stuff with unrelated keywords.
-Create unique titles for each page of your site.
Make Use of the Description Meta Tag
This gives google and the user a summary of your page's content. This might be a sentence, phrase or even a whole paragraph. You should try to keep it to 140 characters max.
Check the above images (in the Title section) to see the use of the description tag. This shows up underneath your title in the search engine results and the search terms are bolded.
Good Use of Description Meta Tags
-Accurately summarize your pages content.
-Use unique tags for each page.
Improve the Structure of Your URLS
Google’s Matt Cuts explains:
"I would recommend
long-haired-dogs.html
long_haired_dogs.html
longhaireddogs.html
in that order. If your site is already live on the web, it’s probably not worth going back to change from one method to another, but if you’re just starting a new site, I’d probably choose the URLs in that order of preference. I can only speak for Google; you’ll need to run your own tests to see what works best with Microsoft, Yahoo, and Ask."
Using this method your URL's should look something like this:
This will also show up bolded in the search engine results page.
Good Practices for URL Structure
-Use words in your URL's
Offer Quality Content and Services
This goes with the age old Search Engine Optimizers motto. Content is King!
This is really the most important search engine tool. I can not emphasize it enough; content, Content, CONTENT!
Content Tips
-Write easy to read text
-Stay organized around the topic
-Use relevant language
-Write unique content
-Create content for your users, not the search engines
Write Better Anchor Text
Anchor text is basically the title of your link. You want links like Quail Lodge Real Estate, not NickGlaser.com
Use Heading Tags Appropriately
Heading tags present a page structure. They are rated in the order of H1 (the most important) down to H6 (the least).
Heading Tags Tips
-Imagine using heading tags like an outline.
Conclusion
These are the first 6 tips from Google's Search Engine Optimization guide. I will post the next 6 tips at a later time. I hope you enjoyed it.
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Bradly Bernier is a freelance web designer.
You can check out his portfolio at Monterey Web Design
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