SEO Training | SEO Classes | Search Engine Training Search Engine Classes

Croft Communications, Inc.
Box 68
Winter Park, CO 80482
(303) 587-9647
Copyright 2008

Search Engine Optimization Tips
December 22, 2008: Picking Keywords
There's an art form to picking keywords for your web pages. Choose words that are too broad (such as "jobs") and you'll find yourself competing against too many results. Choose something that's too narrow (such as "high tech jobs"), and you'll soar to the top...for keywords no one uses. To illustrate this point, "jobs" receives 27,517 searches per day, but you'd be competing against 960 million results. Contrast this with "high tech jobs," which only receives 11 searches per day, and still has 14 million results. Neither of those keywords would be appropriate. For assistance in choosing keywords that have robust traffic, and not too much competition, call Jennifer Croft, (303) 587-9647. Keyword research services start at $150.
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December 8, 2008: Flash - Not!
Nothing stymies search engine optimization quite like Flash. While animation and graphics flashing across the page can look cool, search engines have trouble indexing pages with Flash on them. If you want to get to the top, skip Flash.
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November 24, 2008: Adding New Pages
When you add new pages to your website, remember to add new metatags that are rich in keywords (titles, descriptions and sets of keywords). Also, include the new page in your site map and in the set of text links at the bottom of your pages. Be sure to insert internal links in the content of your new page, and link a few of your other pages to it so that the page isn't "orphaned." Take care with these steps - every page of your website is a potential portal to your site!
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November 10, 2008: Content On The Home Page
Many sites that are exquisitely designed fail miserably at search engine optimization because there are few or no words on the home page. Search engines look at your metatag title for a clue as to what's on the page, and they verify the accuracy of your metatag title by comparing it to the content on the page. If there's no content, there's nothing for the search engines to index, meaning you've just paid a lot of money for a stunning site that no one will visit.
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October 26, 2008: Keyword Research
Search engine optimization is built on the foundation of keywords and keyword phrases. Which means that it pays to do research in the beginning, to identify the most popular keywords and phrases, before you spread those words across your metatag titles and throughout your content. Did you know that the word "coffeecake" is searched for 12 times per day, while "coffee cake" is searched for 123 times per day? To learn how to conduct effective keyword research, contact Jennifer Croft, at (303) 587-9647.
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October 19, 2008: Register Your Domain Name ASAP
Even if you're not ready to launch a website yet, it's a good idea to choose a domain name/URL and register it as soon as possible. The longer you've held your domain name, the more credibility you have in the eyes of search engines. Registering a URL can cost as little as $8.95 per year, so it's a tiny investment you can make now that could yield great results down the line.
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October 5, 2008: Link Between Pages On Your Site
Search engines love to see links on a site, even if those links are internal links between your own pages. Linking between pages of your site can help a search engine more easily crawl your site, and it can help ensure that no pages are "orphaned." In the links directing visitors to other pages of your site, be sure to include keywords and keyword phrases in your link verbage.
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September 21, 2008: Repeat Your Keywords
Once you've chosen the keywords you intend to use on a given page of your website, put them in your metatag title and then try to insert them at least five times on the page. Great places to insert keywords? In text, headings, subheadings, internal and external links, captions below photos, and alt tags (the coding behind the scenes that identifies images, such as photos, logos and banners).
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September 7, 2008: Check Your Standings - SERPs
Okay, yet another search engine optimization acronym to learn: SERP, which stands for "Search Engine Results Page." More simply put, this is where your website ranks when you type in keywords/phrases into a search engine and get back listings. Are you on page one, page five, or page sixty? It's a good idea to check your SERPs for your top five keywords/phrases at the beginning of your SEO efforts and then once a week as you begin to optimize your site. Instead of making note of the page you're on, record the actual position. For example, if you're the third listing on the fourth page, you're number 33 (because page four actually displays results 31-40). Start a running tally, and watch your site climb higher and higher (which means lower and lower numbers) as you implement the top SEO tips.
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August 24, 2008: Watch The Order Of Your Words
When you're writing your metatag titles for your website pages, watch the order of your words. Search engines assume that the first words are the most important, declining in importance from left to right. If you have to include your own name or your company's name (which isn't wise to begin with, since few people search using those terms), at least put them at the end of the metatag title, not the beginning. Remember, you only have 82 characters, including spaces, so use them wisely.
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August 10, 2008: Metatag Lengths
To conform to current search engine guidelines, your metatags need to be the following lengths, including spaces: metatag titles (up to 82 characters, including spaces); metatag descriptions (up to 200 characters, including spaces, the first 120 of which will be displayed by the search engines when they show your site as one of their listings); metatag keywords (300-500 characters, including spaces).
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July 27, 2008: Update Your Site Map
Every time you add a new page to your website, be sure to link your new page to and from other relevant pages on your site, and don't forget to update your site map. Site maps help visitors quickly find what they need, and search engines love them.
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July 13, 2008: Keywords Are The Key
To ensure that your website can be found by search engines, you need to consider keywords every step of the way. For potential visitors, keywords are the terms they type into search engines to find what they need. For search engines, keywords are the clues they use to determine what’s on a website. Choosing appropriate and desirable keywords for your website and interspersing them throughout your content, as well as in your metatag titles and descriptions, can bring phenomenal results.

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