Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization is the process by which good ranking for any relevant key phrase is achieved in search engines. The key phrases are the terms a net surfer is most likely to type into the search engine to see what related information, a particular website is offering. The search terms are usually referred to as “target key phrases”. If it is taken in a broader sense, it may also be referred to as search engine optimization targets. The Search engine optimization (SEO) success depends on how suitably you choose the search terms.

What are the basics of Search Engine Optimization?

Links

The most important aspect of SEO is to ensure that search engine spiders or web crawlers go through every page of the site, if not the pages fail to get indexed. There are a couple of important points to pay heed to while dealing with link structure.

• If you want web crawlers or spiders to crawl all your pages, avoid using Javascript. Spiders don’t follow links that are carried out using Javascript.

• It is very important to ensure that every page has links to another page. Pages that don’t have outgoing links are referred to as “dangling links”. And they should be avoided by all means.

• Google usually avoids URL or Universal Resource Locator that appear to have Session ID. Hence, they should be avoided.

Off-Page Elements

One of the most important factors of off-page elements is link text. The link text can be placed on any of the pages inside the site or on a page of any other site. You should include the main key phrase of the target page in the link text.

On-Page Elements

On page factors include the-

Title tag- It is very important to ensure that the main search term is in the title tag. It is better to place the search term in the front of the title tag.

Description tag- The description should be readable and highlight the theme of the content.

Keywords tag- The keywords are usually treated as texts. Relevant keywords should be included with the search terms in it.

H tag- The H tag is more important than the normal text. The 1^st H tag should be placed more towards the top of the article.

Bold text- Bold text is more important than ordinary text but carries less weight as compared to H tag. The search term should be included in bold terms wherever applicable.

Text- Use of the search term should be frequent. However, it is better not to use it too often as it may detract readability of the page.

Alt text- The search term should be included in the alt text of images.

We can wind up by saying that search engines help net users to locate websites. So, it is important that the search engine listings of a website should be good to increase traffic.