Website Optimization

Getting High Search Engine Ranks

SEO, or search engine optimization, refers to the strategy and methodology of helping a website rank higher and be seen near the top of page results of the major search engines: Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Properly implemented SEO improves website visibility while increasing traffic. If you'd like an SEO primer filled with basic how-to's, click here.

Successful SEO Depends on Meta Tags  SEO for your site is about everything on it and coming to it. Meta tags provide much-needed information allowing search engines to categorize data for future site visitor retrieval. Here are seven primary meta tags Warren Camp uses to optimize sites.

1. Title Tag  The first and most important meta tag is Title; it's what you see at the top of the browser window when you visit a website; it's also what SEs see. The Title tag must be relevant to a site's content. Including a relevant catch phrase is essential. (See this page's title in your browser window.)

2. Description  The description meta tag is usually what's shown in SE results. It's important to write a compelling description that makes potential visitors click your link. This element should provide a concise, accurate explanation of a page's content. After evaluating the basics of a page, Warren crafts a meaningful, memorable, and contextually relevant page description for visitors and SEs.

3. Headings and Subheadings  It's extremely important to put your site's keyword phrase in headings and subheadings of every page. Search engines, knowing that the text you put in these tags is important to the structure of your page, place more importance on these sections of your web page than on the body text. Warren inserts keywords and phrases in all headings.

4. Body  Keyword phrases are essential elements for every page. Readers who search for a phrase expect keyword-specific results, so provide those results. With keyword phrases, SEs weight heavily the number of keywords on pages and the density or relative frequency of distinct keywords.

5. Links or Hyperlinks  When SE "spiders" browse (or crawl) web pages, they measure and store the quality and quantity of links to yours and other sites. Higher-ranking pages have a good number of hyperlinks to local (internal) pages and external sites. Google treats links flowing into your site steadily over time as an indication that other people trust your site, find value in it, and consider your content as authoritative. Quality incoming links are the largest indicator of SEO success.

6. Alternate Text for Images  One technique not always implemented is the inclusion of keywords in the Alt text code for images. If applicable, Warren places them throughout a site’s Alt text entries.

7. Additional Elements  Navigation: Use keyword phrases in your navigation menu.

Site Architecture: Google, Bing, and Yahoo consistently reward sites exhibiting a coherent site architecture (the user interface), such as a clear pathway built with relevant links, keyword phrases, and text.

Focus: SEs, especially Bing, like to see one topic of focus per page. In addition, SEs highly rank pages that are accessible by one or more hyperlinks.

Maximize SEO with Care

There are a variety of ways to maximize onsite optimization. However, qualified web developers must be careful not to risk doing irreparable damage to a site and its SEO rankings by focusing too much on optimization while forsaking useful, user-friendly content.

Well-implemented meta tags are the solution. They must be accurate, factual, descriptive, and succinct. Warren will make sure your site's pages are properly optimized in all the right places. Your SE rankings should climb, your traffic should increase, and your business, church, or organization is likely to grow. That’s the real magic of effective keyword phrases and meta tags.

Warren Camp Design has the years of experience necessary to implement, track, analyze, and optimize websites. People perform billions of unique searches each month; unlike Facebook flittering, those people are in focus mode. Let Warren ensure that your site receives high SEO rankings.

You can or call him directly at 209-795-7661 if you'd like professional help verifying your current site's SEO listing or creating and optimizing a new listing. Let WCD begin today to help you improve your website's performance and increase its traffic significantly.

If you'd like Warren Camp Design to create a new site, redesign or freshen up your existing site, or evaluate your site objectively, or call WCD at 209-795-7661.