The Pandia Post 13-5 - On search engine optimization

Search engine optimization is in no way an exact science. The ranking algorithms of the search engines are well kept secrets, and they change often. You will never be able to make the perfect page. Next week your pride and joy – the number one listing in AltaVista – may have dropped to number 65, and you will have to start fine-tuning your page once again.

However, most webmasters do nothing in order to improve their rankings. This is why even a modest attempt at search engine optimization may help a lot – especially outside the most competitive phrases.

We distinguish between two “schools” of search engine optimization (SEO): “pragmatic SEO” and “systematic SEO”. If you engage in pragmatic SEO you will follow certain general rules in order to optimize your pages for all search engines, hoping that this work will lead to better listings in at least some of these engines.

Professional optimizers with a large budget and much time on their hands will often engage in systematic SEO. They will try to reconstruct the ranking algorithms of the individual search engines and code webpages tailor-made for each individual engine.

The main focus of this book is on pragmatic SEO. We will make some general assumptions about what is sensible vis-à-vis all search engines.

The <title> tag

The <title> tag is the text shown in the windows-bar of the browser window, is the most important element of the webpage. You must include your most important keyword phrase(s) in this spot. However, make sure that you write a phrase that makes sense. Most search engines use this line in their result listings, and you want people to click on that link.

Do not put the name of the site first, unless the name contains the essential keyword phrase. Instead of <title>Alfred's Reading Emporium</title>, go for <title>Used books, magazines, periodicals, posters and postcards from Alfred's Reading Emporium in Boulder, Colorado</title>. Some SEO-experts would even argue that you should drop "Alfred" altogether. The only drawback with this is that the browsers use this text when generating bookmarks/favorites.

Please note the inclusion of the geographical location. If your business or activity is limited to one district, say so. Searchers are prone to include geographic names in their queries. Some suggest that it helps to use multiple <title> tags. Maybe it does in some search engines. Still, it tastes of spam (cheating), and the risk of getting banned by the search engine does not make it worthwhile.

The <meta> tags

Meta tags are text written into the HTML code that describes your webpage to the search engines, but which is not visible in a browser window. They are placed after the </title> tag, but before the <body tag.

There are only three meta tags of importance for search engine optimization. All others can (and should) be left out. Here are examples of the three:

<META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="old and used books paperbacks periodicals magazines newspapers papers postcards post card poster old prints">

The NAME part of the tag, tells the search engine what kind of meta tag this is.

In the KEYWORDS meta tag you may enter keywords and key phrases of relevance to the content of the page. Please note the double quotation marks. Many choose to separate the keyword phrases with commas. We normally do not include commas, partly because they take up space, and partly because leaving them out makes it possible to include more combinations of keywords. "web search tutorial" will give you no less than three queries: "web search tutorial," "web search," and "search tutorial" in addition to the three individual words. Do not repeat the same keyword more than two or three times. However, if you must repeat it, keep the occurrences apart.

Do not enter keyword phrases that are of no relevance to the content of the page. Some SEO experts argue that you should not include any keyword phrases that are not present in the visible text on the webpage, as some search engines may interpret this as spam. We have not found proof of this (unless you enter phrases such as "sex," "porn," and "Britney Spears" to your page on home knitting). AltaVista actually encourages you to enter synonyms not found elsewhere on the page into this tag, as well as the same keywords rendered in other languages. You may also enter misspellings, and variations of the same word (capitalized/non-capitalized, plural/singular). However, do not go overboard on this.

The DESCRIPTION meta tag is important as many of the search engines use this text for the description given in the search result listings. This text should be a normal sentence that gives the searcher exact information on what you have to offer. Do include the main keyword phrase(s). Note that no search engine displays more than 250 characters (spaces, commas and periods included), and often less. This is why you should enter the most important part of your description first.

We have read several introductions to optimization that claim that the meta tags are the key to top search engine rankings. Alas, this is not so. Only AltaVista and Inktomi supports the keyword meta tags. Only Inktomi may give keyword phrases found in the meta tags an extra boost. At most they treat this text in the same way as normal text found in the <body> portion of the page.

The listed version of the ROBOTS- tag (ALL) tells the search engine to index the page. However, the CONTENT="ALL" alternative is actually superfluous. Search engines will also index pages without this tag.

<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, NOFOLLOW"> indicates that a robot should neither index a document, nor analyze it for links.

<META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"> means that a robot should not index this document, but that it should index the pages it is pointing to.

<body> text

We encourage you to include at least four or five paragraphs of informative text on every page (preferably more than 250 words, absolute minimum: 100). Include the selected keyword phrase several times throughout the text, as some search engines reward some repetition. Again, do not go overboard on this. The language must seem natural and search engines will punish too many repetitions. Also remember that people are going to read this. Good copy sells.

Make sure you include the keyword phrase in the first paragraph of text. By the first paragraph we mean a block of text delineated by a <p> and a </p> tag, consisting of at least two full sentences. The search engines are looking for natural language, and give standard text a higher reward than, let’s say, a one-word menu choice. Sometimes it helps to include the phrase in the last paragraph as well. Bold text and large sized fonts may help in some search engines. Again: Don’t overdo it.

Headline Tags

Do include the keyword phrases in headlines. If possible, use the standard headline tags (<h1>, <h2> etc.) We know that some Web designers avoid these in order to gain control over the visible presentation of the webpage. However, by using cascading style sheets in combination with the headline tags, you will get even better control of the layout. Put your keyword phrase in the first top-level headline (whether this is <h1> or <h2>).

Other Elements

Many search engines will register the image ALT tags, which you can use to describe pictures to people who are using non-graphic browsers (such as Lynx or browsers for the visually impaired) or surfers that have images turned off in order to gain download speed. Obviously these tags should include a description of the graphic element. Still, the fact that most Web designers include logos and image-based headlines gives you ample opportunity to include keyword phrases.

You should also include keyword phrases in links. Not only do these links improve the ranking of this page; it may also boost the relevancy of the page the link is pointing to. Hence <A HREF="file.html">Click here!</a> is a wasted opportunity.

By the way, you should also name files after the keyword phrase, as well as directories, as some engines take the URL into consideration when calculating the ranking. This is why so many optimization experts argue that you should get a domain name that includes your main keyword. Given that all the good names are taken, this is easier said than done, but you can at least include the keywords in directory and file names, like this: <A HREF="butterfly/african-butterfly.html">on African butterflies</a>.

You should also make use of the link TITLE-tag. This is an addition to the link-tag that that lets you describe the link more thoroughly. The text pops up when someone is moving his or her mouse pointer over the link: <A HREF="french-cars/renault.html" TITLE="Renault car models of 2001">more about Renault</A>.

Previously webmasters would include so-called “hidden keywords” in order to boost ranking. A popular alternative was to include phrases in comment links, like this: <!— African butterflies -->. This no longer works.

Others would use a non-functioning form tag: <INPUT type=”hidden” name=”butterfly” value=”mountain ringlet”>. Don’t do it! The way the search engines feel about spam (“cheating”) right now, they may soon decide to ban sites for doing this.

Optimizing Webpage Elements

The <title> tag

The <meta> tags

<body> text

Headline Tags

Other Elements

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