jeff adams

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. This article gives tips on how to increase your websites ranking in search engines.

It amazes me how much emphasis is put on getting a site number one in Googles search results. While sure it’s great to get there, but more importantly your content and basic best practice should be good enough to get you there without resorting to compromises. The amount of times I have seen a keyword stuffed into headings, images and footer links purely to boost it’s  weighting.

Here are 12 Basic SEO Tips for new websites, or for people looking to increase their websites visibility. These are not by any means the extensive list, but it’s my belief that following these tips will greatly increase your chance of your website ranking higher on the search engines.

1. Build Back links

Content is king, so you should make sure your content is good enough that people are linking to your site and not only that, they are using good keywords as their link text.

If your content is specific, you shouldn’t have any problems finding people to link to your website.

2. Keywords

Keywords relevant to your website are a must, but being too vague with keywords like “web design” won’t get you up the rankings, but “web design Essex” is more specific and therefore more targeted.

Your keywords should also appear in your websites copy, you’d be suprised how many people forget to do this.

3. Blogging

Hey I decided to write a blog to ensure I was getting regular posts, back links and to show visitors that I was active and not to mention showcasing my knowledge.

You can set up a blog seperately on somewhere like Wordpress or Blogger, and oftentimes it is free to set up.

4. Avoid Scams

Avoid companies who claim to “Get you #1 Google for under £100 because they’ll oftentimes use black-hat techniques. These are techniques such as stuffing your page with keywords and colouring it the same colour as the background - Google is very clever so beware, you could be banned altogether.

If you aren’t sure, at least do your research and ring some Search Engine Optimisation companies.

5. Content Matters

If you write a blog on web design, it doesn’t make sense to start writing articles on sci-fi, where’s the logic in that? If Google is following links on your site, ensure they are relevant and help it build up a picture of what your site is all about.

6. Page Titles

This is the simplest and easiest way of making your site search engine friendly. Make your titles make sense, and don’t be afraid to put your company name right at the end or lose it altogether - so long as it makes sense to the content.

For example, if you have product pages then include the product name in the title e.g rather than “My Company - Products” go for something that makes sense to the user and the search engines like “My Company - My Awesome Product, keyword1, keyword2″. This is quite easy to implement and actaully one of the most effective ways of letting search engines know what is being displayed on that page.

7. Page Descriptions

This is what Google lists, so be sure it makes sense to the people scanning the pages of results. Don’t be afraid to stand out, but at least ensure you include 2-3 of your main keywords in your page descriptions.

Your descriptions should aim to entice the user to click the result in Google or Yahoo! but also contain keywords that are relevant to your company or websites aims.

8. Image Alt Tags

This one is super-easy and so obvious but remember, the search engines cannot see your images, but they can read the ALT tags so ensure these are filled correctly, and correctly describe the image. This has a double positive of complying with accessibility as well.

9. Do Not Use Frames

Seriously, if you are using frames on your website then you are living in the stone age. These are so outdated and don’t use frames period. It’s hard to link to specific pages and for SEO, it’s nightmare.

Frames were abandoned years ago because they were hard to crawl, didn’t make sense and were also a security risk.

10. Good Links

I mentioned back links earlier, but outward bound links are just as important but don’t just link to anyone, pick and choose the places you link to - perhaps when in a blog, you can link to examples of other sites or blog posts. Don’t be afraid to send users to another site, they’ll appreciate it if it’s useful and treat your site as a good source of reference.

11. Users Scan Read

Unfortunately users skim read articles and pages on the internet, so split your pages up with images, headings and lists rather than long blocks of text.

The normal visitor will scan from the top left of the page, then accross anad finally down the page in a Z shape. Be sure to make your headings large and descriptive, and if possible include a summary in the opening lines.

12. Heading Tags

Use H1, H2, H3 tags in your mark-up to distinguish a level of importance. If you can get your keywords into these tags as well, then more power to you but do not do it if it sacrifices how your website reads to the user.