Search Engine Optimization Technique

Here is a search engine optimization technique or two you can use to optimize the html code on your website.

11 Ways to Optimize the HTML Code on Your Website - Part 4

For all of you who have been waiting for the next part in my series of SEM articles, finally it is here...enjoy!

This is where a bit of HTML knowledge comes in handy. If you don’t have HTML knowledge, don’t give up yet, stick with optimizing your content with your keywords and you will still do very well with search engines.

1. Title tag – This is the tag at the top of your browser window or in the HTML code called <title>. Title tags are crucial for optimization and search engines give them significant weight. You should put your keyword phrases into this tag – not fill them with words like “home page” or “about us”. Think of this tag as a Keyword Title Tag and design it accordingly. It should be a descriptive keyword-rich title.

2. Unique title pages – Each page on your site should also have a unique title page as well to help in the overall optimization of your website. There is nothing worse than going to a website and seeing the title say “Untitled Document” to the user. Some reassurance: If you optimize your content and this title tag with your key phrases, you will increase your rankings significantly.

3. Alt tags for images – Images in HTML code all have an alt tag option. If you move your mouse over an image a small box will show up with a description. This is an alt tag. This is used primarily for helping viewers who do not have graphics turned on and would not know what the pictures are because they can’t see them. For example, a picture of a house on the Realtor's website should have an alt tag saying “House for sale in Langley”. Be descriptive and include keywords in your alt tags.

4. Above the fold – As previously stated, try to keep your main keyword rich content here.

5. Site maps – Site maps are very important so don’t be without one. A sitemap is preferably a single page in plain HTML that lists and links to all the pages within your website. It helps ground the user if they get lost. Put it at the top of your website so that spiders find it on your site easily. Sitemaps make a spider's job simpler. Users usually like it on the right hand side of the webpage. Again, better web usability for the user makes search engines happy.

6. Text link navigation – Text links, whether they are inbound or outbound, should have keyword descriptions. If your website keyword is "virtual secretary," instead of having the words “click here to read more about our service” as your link, have “click here to read about our virtual secretary.” Include keywords in links whenever you can.

7. Headers (H1) – Headings are like chapters of your website. They help ground your user to your website so be keyword descriptive in your headings as search engines take these into consideration when ranking a website. On the other hand, be cautious of wrapping your entire content into a header tag!

8. Bold text – On occasion throughout your main content, highlight keywords in bold. But do not overdue it or the engines will think you are spamming them.

9. Create your own linking codes – Linking codes help users have an easy way to link to your website because they only have to copy and paste the code into their site to add your website’s link. Here is a good example: www.vanetworking.com/exchange.html

10. Choose a reliable hosting company – You do not want your website down when the search engine spider scours it or else it will drop you from its database. (My personal plug: Mediamage Hosting - Forum members can host for $99.95 a year)

11. Have a bottom navigational menu on your website in plain text. This is especially important if you have image buttons for you main navigation or a JavaScript menu bar since search engines can't read images or follow JavaScript code.

Additional Hints
Search engines don’t like the following so stay clear of them:

• Frames
• JavaScript
• Dynamic pages
• Image maps
• Advertising ads or material that do not fit into your page topic and theme
• Flash/plug-ins

Stay tuned for Part 5 in my SEO series in one of our next VANF newsletters.

About the Author:
Tawnya Sutherland is a Certified Internet Marketing Specialist and also a Canadian Certified Virtual Assistant. Founder of the VANF Forum for Virtual Assistants and Author of The VAS System, a business start-up system for virtual assistants.