For years, so-called experts and real experts have published
ebooks on how to beat the search engines, how to use them
to your own ends, and how to perform all kinds of tricks
to make your page rank higher.
The truth is, tricks don't work long-term. Search engine
spam has been greatly cut down, if not eradicated, by the
last change Google made. No one really knows the precise
secrets of how key words in text work. And though inbound
links are great, when everyone has the same inbound link
sources, it starts getting tricky to edge out the competition.
The one proven and consistent way to get great rankings
from the search engines is through good, accurate, and fresh
content.
What Makes Content Great?
The first consideration for your content is how well it
works for people visiting your site, not web spiders. You're
not selling products to programs, but to people. The first
thing you need to do is write a good article that is pertinent
to your site, without worrying about what it may do to search
engine placement.
At this point, a lot of webmasters make a serious error:
they use a content generator to create keyword-optimized
nonsense. No matter how well done this is, it performs two
functions: first, it makes the customers mad. If you're depending
on affiliate sales, placing third in Google rankings will
not do you any good when your potential customers click away
in disgust.
The second thing it does is allow the search engines to
locate unnatural structures. Nonsense text will have a number
of structures within it that are extremely rare in the English
language: fig booty, for instance, is not likely to turn
up anywhere. By comparing your document with billions of
others, search engines can tell whether you have an overly
large number of these structures. If you do, your ranking
will sink like a rock.
But the text. Once your excellent article is written, you
can go through and optimize it for your keyword. Don't aim
too hard at a specific number of mentions for your keyword;
about 5% is good, but if it doesn’t work, don't force
it. If you've written your article properly, you shouldn't
have any trouble finding places for your keyword. If possible,
slip keyword mentions into any header text and into the first
and last paragraph.
In addition to this, spellcheck and pay attention to your
grammar. A poorly written and spelled article screams amateur,
and no one trusts that.
If you don't feel comfortable writing this article, you
can hire a professional copywriter for very reasonable prices
these days. Look for someone who specializes in web content
and keyword articles.
Graphics: Helping Your Placement
Search engines key on text, not graphics, so the more text
you have on your home page and subsequent pages, the better
you'll do with placement. Even though graphics can be visually
appealing, text helps pull in the web spiders. Always try
to put your text together first and insert your images last.
When you do insert images, always fill out the alternate
text for the image with a description including your keyword.
This is a nifty little trick that can also boost your page
ranking. And if your images are a critical part of your sales – for
instance, if you sell posters – always put the name
of the work or a description of the product in the alternate
text so that the new image search engines can find it easily.
Make sure your descriptions reflect the image and don’t
include inappropriate keywords.
Adrian Lawrence is the webmaster for
http://www.discountdomainsuk.com a
leading
Domain
Registration service. Please feel free to republish this
article together with working hyperlinks.
