Getting to the Top of the Search Engines V
Written by enetwal on May 14, 2009 – 2:24 pm -In our last discussion we talked about keyword density and the need to have your keywords appear on your page, frequently but not too frequently. The need to do so early on your page, and some suggestions on making sure you had enough words overall to appear substantive to the search engines and pointed out a need to have keywords that appear in your meta tags also appear on your page.
These are all important factors visible on your page. Today we will talk about three more elements of on-page importance. Your URL, the originality of your content and finally internal links.
You probably already have your URL or web site address. So this first topic may seem pointless, but let’s dig in anyway. If your business is counseling women going through a divorce on their financial matters, you may be better off trying to get www.DivorceeFinancialAdvice.com as your URL rather than www.JBBrown.com.
Way too many business web sites use meaningless business names as their URL in the hopes of creating some branding value. While some will take issue with me here, a URL that includes your major keyword may do you a lot more good, unless your brand is already deeply ingrained in your marketplace. Similarly, MinneapolisChiropractor.com
may be superior to WellnessClinic.com, although MinneapolisWellnessClinic may be worth a shot.
If you are wedded to www. your name.com you might still want to consider buying domain names of the better combinations of your major keywords and geographical areas and redirecting them to your web page. This serves a defensive purpose of keeping them out of potential competitor’s hands. Once you own these domains you can have them point to your existing web site. It’s not the ideal from an SEO standpoint but will help drive traffic to your site for the relatively minor cost of the domain name.
Originality of content shouldn’t be a problem for most business websites. But if your website is a template and you are using essentially the same text as another website, you may not get your site indexed at all. Google and the other search engines want to see unique new content, and not a duplicate of the same old thing. They will index the first copy they find and ignore the duplicates. You don’t want to have your site ignored. Make sure you are not using a carbon copy of someone else’s web site.
They also like to see new content. You can do that by adding new pages on occasion, or by making changes to existing pages. Is there a portion of your page that can be updated from time to time? If so, make sure you do so. This lets the search engines know that your site is active. That said, if you are going to do it, make sure you do. No one is impressed with a site that is talking about an upcoming holiday from two years ago.
Internal links are the links on your site to your various pages on the site. Most web sites have a home page and links on almost all their pages to “Home.” A better strategy is to use your major keyword, be it “Minneapolis Dentistry Home” or “St. Louis Sewer Repair Home.” By adding your keywords, you let the search engines know that that’s what your pages are about. It reinforces all your other keyword efforts.
This may be a bit tricky in some cases where space is tight, but where you can include links within the text of your pages to other pages, you should be sure to use anchor text links like this. Next week we will discuss off page factors. There we will go into more detail on linking to your site. When you are off page you have very little control on what links others will have to your site. When you have complete control such as on your own page, it behooves you to make maximum use of your ability to use internal links that let the search engines know what your pages are about.
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Don’t forget about my WART Analysis program. For next to nothing I will do a diagnostic of your web page and provide you with my personal advice on steps you could take to make your web page more effective in terms of search engine ranking.
Tags: Backlinks, internet information, ON Page SEO, Search Engine Optimization, SEO
Posted in SEO | 6 Comments »



























Says:
May 14th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
I think this series is providing some great information earl. keep up the good work. Let’s hear more about the WART Analysis program.
Andre Arnett’s last blog post..Did You Get The PLR Spectacular 3-Pack Bundle Yet?
Says:
May 14th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Another great SEO lesson Earl,
This series just keeps getting better and better.
These are some great tips and I also like how you keep focusing on using the geographical location in your keywords. So many people overlook this and it can make a huge difference especially in larger cities or areas with a large population.
Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve for us in the next post in this series.
Brett McEllhiney’s last blog post..Find niche keywords using Google’s Wonder Wheel!
May 14th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
Dear Earl:
Another trick you may want to try is adding a title attribute to your links. As far as I know this works in the same way as adding a alt attribute to your images. As always, a very informative article. Keep up the good work!
Says:
May 14th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
You’re dead-on about the domain name, Earl – keywords in your URL always help a site rank better. If a company insists on branding their corporate name in a URL, better that point to a page with company info, contact info and links to their other sites.
Doug Champigny’s last blog post..Internet Marketing Videos – Learn To Make Money With Twitter And Affiliate Marketing
Says:
May 15th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Good domain based in keywords you want to use and original content will help to you to the top of the rankings! Very well explained.
Thanks
Fred
Fred Lotgering’s last blog post..A Few More Days Before You Can Get DELAVO for FREE
Says:
May 15th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
Earl, three very good tips here. A question on the last one, should you do that on your blog? I don’t often see links from one post to another post on a blog. I think I have done that one time.
Lonnie Minton’s last blog post..Should You Use Twitter or Your Blog?