RAISE YOUR (inbound) ANCHORS (text)!

Posted on 21 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

As I discussed in “Inbound Links-How to Woo” , inbound links are an important factor in the rank of a website. But an important factor of that important factor is the anchor text of the link. 

Anchor text is the keyword or phrase that users click on to enter your site. For example, in “Expert SEO Consulting,” the anchor text is the phrase “Expert SEO Consulting.” It might seem trivial but the words that link one site to another are rumored to be given considerable weight by search engines. This is why it is so important for websites to consider the anchor text they use to link to other websites, and to consider the anchor text that other websites use to link to them. 

* Keywords – any time another website links to yours, you should check the anchor text they use and make sure it contains one or more of your keyword terms/phrases. This shows the search engines that your site is regarded by other sites as being knowledgeable on those terms – and that definitely carries weight. 

* Diversity- although you do want your anchor text to contain your keyword terms/phrases, you don’t want all of your links to have the same terms and phrases. Make sure the keywords used as anchor text amongst your linking sites are diverse. You don’t want to set all your ranking hopes on the shoulders of one keyword. 

* Relevance- another aspect of quality anchor text is its relevance to the linking page. If an inbound anchor text link contains keywords that you target, but links to a page of your site that isn’t relevant to that keyword, then it isn’t very helpful. All anchor text should be relevant to the page it is linking to. If your site sells wine but is being linked to by site that sells antiques and the anchor text of that link is “merlot” that link is still considered weak. Yes, that may be one of your keywords, but the linking site has absolutely no relevance to yours. Ideally, search engines are looking for links that have keyword rich and relevant anchor text – these are the type of links that can help your site earn a higher rank. All other links are nice but not very helpful when it comes to search engine rank. 

- Note: It is totally appropriate to email a site that is linking to you and ask that either the anchor text be keyword related or that they use the existing anchor text to link to another one of your pages that it might have more relevance to. 

 

Other helpful anchor text resources…

* http://www.seo-blog.com/inbound-links.php

* http://www.darrinward.com/blog/seo/inbound-link-text-diversity

* http://seogadget.co.uk/googles-vince-update/

 

(photo credit to lizerixt at sxc.hu)

Tag, You’re It! Meta Description Tags.

Posted on 20 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

Meta description tags are interesting creatures. Officially they have some (but probably not much) effect on your ranking, yet most SEO professionals will advise you to write one. Why? Because they let you have some influence on what users see in the SERPs (Search Engine Return Pages)- and who doesn’t like to have influence over SERP results?

Meta description tags are bits of HTML code that let you describe, in 160 characters or less (Yahoo! and MSN allow you more characters but it is probably best to stick with writing for the search engine that allows you the least, Google), what that particular page in your website is about. Meta description tags are a great place to put keyword research to good use. The description must be a sentence — you can’t simply list a string of keywords (that is what the meta keyword tag is for.) Whichever keyword terms/phrases you choose to include in your meta description tag should also be present in the body text of that page. No one likes a bait-and-switch, so make sure that you are giving an honest description about the content of that page.

One of the most important aspects of the meta description tag (to me, at least) is being able to influence what text excerpts are displayed in the SERPs. Without a meta description tag, it is up to the discretion of the search engine what text they place under the page title on the results page. Sometimes they choose well; others not so much. I Googled the search term “Audrey Hepburn Movies”

As you can see, the descriptions for the top two results aren’t exactly what I, as the searcher, was looking for. If these websites had included a meta description tag specific to these pages they would have been able to write a description that would be more accurate to what the searcher was actually looking for.

Although they don’t effect your search engine rank, meta description tags can definitely effect your sites traffic. If you use a tag to properly and descriptively describe the content of your page searchers are more likely to click on your site because it shows (in bold) exactly what they were looking for. Back to the Audrey Hepburn example, I probably wouldn’t have clicked on either of the top two sites because although the descriptions contained both her name and the word “movies” it didn’t show the phrase “Audrey Hepburn Movies” which is what I actually searched for. The more specific your meta description tag is to an actual search term, the more likely it is that you will earn the click over your search competitors.

When it comes to writing meta description tags, be honest and be descriptive. Searchers will reward you with increased traffic even if search engines don’t reward you with increased ranking.

More Meta Description Tag Resources…

* http://www.highrankings.com/metadescription

* http://www.seomoz.org/blog/making-the-most-of-meta-description-tags

* http://www.seoconsultants.com/articles/1007/meta-description.asp

Papa Can You Read Me? A Short Note on Readability.

Posted on 20 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

Readability is something that most SEO professionals and SEO tools gloss over. They might give you a check mark, or a score, or tell you what level of education a user would need to understand your content, but they really don’t address what you should always have in mind when considering readability- your audience.

It can be easily forgotten (especially for SEO copywriters) that your content should be written primarily for people and not search engines. I know there will be people crying heresy at me for saying that but I’m of the mind that the internet was created for people and should continue to serve them first. (Ok- I am stepping off my soapbox now…) Regardless of how you feel about the search engine v. user debate, I believe/hope everyone can agree that the goal of a website is to attract and hold visitors. The content of a site contributes a large part in meeting that goal. The first couple of questions you have to ask yourself is “Who are my visitors?” “Who would I like my visitors to be?”  Once you have answered those questions, you know who to write for.

If your site is a forum for anthropologists then don’t be afraid to use esoteric language. True, you might receive a lower score from an SEO tool or not get astronomical amounts of traffic, but if the visitors who are coming to your site are the type of people you were looking to attract then I view that as a success. Likewise, if your website is focused on playing board games online the content of your site should be light and easily understood by all ages. It is so simple but so often neglected- think about your audience when writing website content. Readability is whether or not your targeted audience can comfortably read through your content without feeling like it was over-simplified or over-complicated. Think Goldilocks and the Three Bears- not too hard, not too soft, but just right. Yes, search engines will read your content and factor that into your ranking and that is something that should always be considered, but not at the expense of a user. You read me?

More on Readability…

* http://www.dailyseoblog.com/2009/04/5-best-practices-to-make-your-blog-readable-by-all/

* http://blackrhinosolutions.com/webdesignblog/?p=2452

* http://www.quickstartseo.com/10-golden-rules-of-seo-copywriting/

(Photo credit svlen001 on sxc.hu)

XML Sitemaps- Help Search Engines Help You

Posted on 19 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

XML Sitemaps are an extremely useful SEO tool. They connect search engines and websites to each other and make getting your site indexed less of a waiting game. XML Sitemaps are like genies who only grant wishes about the speed of website crawling and indexing- but they do grant it every time.

When you submit an XML Sitemap to a search engine, it tells that engine that either your website is newly launched or has new content and pages that need to be crawled and indexed. This is crucial, especially for new websites because it speeds up the process of crawling. Waiting for a search engine to crawl your site naturally can take days or even weeks but when you submit an XML Sitemap it puts your website on that search engines radar immediately. It won’t be too long before your site has been crawled and indexed and begins showing up in searches. Why would you want to wait? Many people don’t know how to generate an XML Sitemap and the syntax is very specific, but most SEO tools have the ability to generate one for you and submit it to the major search engines.

 

 

While there has been some debate over whether or not an XML Sitemap can actually harm your site by not revealing architectural issues, the benefits of submitting one far outweigh any potential problems. The increased speed of crawling, indexing and potential jump in traffic make having an XML Sitemap very valuable for any website. The best part is, to get the power of this genie you don’t even need a lamp, the method will work on .NET and RUBY sites as well.  (Ha ha)

More on XML Sitemaps

* http://www.seomoz.org/blog/do-sitemaps-effect-crawlers

* http://www.seoconsult.co.uk/SEOBlog/seo-tips/extra-easy-seo-with-xml-sitemap.html

(Photo credit shiyali on sxc.hu)

Robots.txt Are Your Friends.

Posted on 19 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

It never fails to surprise me how many SEO professionals overlook the simple power of Robots.txt. It is a tiny thing that has a huge impact on your site- whether that impact is positive or negative is up to you.

Robots.txt is a file that search engine bots read before crawling your site. Bots use this file to determine what parts of your site they navigate and index. So if your site isn’t being indexed and you aren’t showing up in SERPs then a good place to start is with Robots.txt. Perhaps because it is such a simple file it is easily forgotten but it is literally the bots GPS to your site- it tells them where to go and where not to. A few facts about Robots.txt…

• This is a text file, no HTML required
• It should be placed in your websites root directory
• You can prevent certain search engines from crawling your site
• You can use Robots.txt to keep some pages of your site off the bots radar
• You can prevent any search engine from crawling your site (but why would you want to do this?)

Initially you might think there is no reason not to let a search engine bot crawl every page of your site but there usually are pages you wouldn’t want a bot to read.  First of all, you want to protect your information- there is no good reason for a search engine to view personal or sensitive information that has nothing to do with the content of your site. So, admin pages and directories with other peoples information should usually be disallowed.  Secondly, many sites have pages with duplicate content- you definitely don’t want search engine bots to crawl through this, duplicate content is very frowned upon in the search engine world and it can effect your ranking, so you want to make sure the bots only see unique content by disallowing them from crawling pages that are duplicates.

You do, however, want to make sure bots are crawling the main content of your website. You just want to control what they see. Below is an example of what a basic Robots.txt might look like.

User Agent:*

Disallow:/wp-admin/

Disallow:/blog/

The User Agent is the search engine (an asterisk here represents all search engines) and you are telling the bot to crawl every page on your site except your admin page and blog. If you neglect to set up a Robots.txt file then search engines view that as a “come one, come all” and will crawl your entire site.

Robots.txt are really simple files that can be a simple fix to a ranking problem. It puts you in control of what search engines see and if you use it well it can help you earn a higher ranking. See, I told you Robot.txt are your friends.

More resources on Robots.txt

* http://www.businessseek.biz/article-directory/article-59.html

* http://www.seoconsultants.com/robots-text-file/

* http://searchenginewatch.com/3630504

(photo credit Splenetic via sxc.hu)

404s (I’m Not Talking Area Codes)

Posted on 19 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

404 errors, we have all come across them and yes, they can be very annoying. Sometimes you might not realize that your site is showing 404s- which is why we have SEO tools (nudge, nudge). SEO tools can alert you to any errors and advise you on why you have the 404, be it because of a failure to redirect or broken links. But what about using that 404 error page for optimization? Instead of thinking of 404s as annoying, think of them as an opportunity to show-off your optimization skills. 

One way to optimize your 404 page is to put your site map on it. This should be relatively easy because you should already have a site map in place- just add it to your 404 page and voila- instant optimization. Instead of losing frustrated users you can direct them to another (working) page of your website. You might even impress some users with your foresightedness in placing a site map on the 404 page. A site map will give visitors a link that directs them to another page,  so they can continue viewing your website, and you can rest assured that 404s aren’t losing your site users. 

 

Adding a link to your home page is another simple but effective way of optimizing a 404. Make it noticeable so users don’t have a hard time finding it. Once a user has reached your site, they don’t want to be forced to search and search for what they are looking for- make it obvious. If they can’t find it they will leave your site as quickly as possible. Also include an email address to report any problems. This shows the user that you are interested in what their experience was like on your site and want to make it more pleasant for them in the future by fixing any problems. 404s can actually be a good opportunity to show that your website has good customer service- so be kind and make it easy for them to find. 

Your 404 page should also look like all of your other pages, with the only difference being that it contains an error message. If a user is sent to a page that doesn’t look anything like your website they might become a bit confused. It’s all about usability, make it clear where they are by incorporating your websites design and theme on your 404 page. When it comes to what error message is displayed it doesn’t have to be the standard. You can customize it to fit your site. Perhaps you own an online flower shop, you 404 might read “Every rose has a thorn and every website has an error. I’m sorry your page could not be found but here is a link to my home page so that you can continue searching” (Note: I am not ripping-off a Poison lyric, every rose does have a thorn and its usually not metaphorical) 404s can actually be an opportunity to show your creativity and to keep the theme of the site despite the error disruption. At the very least you will amuse a user and that may be the very thing that entices them to either continue on your site or return another time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

404s are annoying…most of the time, but they don’t have to be. They can even redeem a website by showing foresight in adding a site map and other navigational links, and creativity in the way the message is conveyed. Of course, it would be best for a website to fix any of the broken links that led to the 404 showing up, but while those links are being discovered and fixed having an interesting and informative 404 might prevent you from losing return visitors. Don’t let 404s get you down- get down with 404s.

 

(404 credit for image goes to patterntap.com)

More ideas for 404 optimization

* http://www.seomoz.org/blog/personalizing-your-404-error-pages

* http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-404-error-pages/3908/

* http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/17/404-error-pages-reloaded/

Inbound Links- How to Woo.

Posted on 18 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

 

Inbound links are links from pages on other websites that link back to your site. Inbound links are one of the factors that search engines consider when assigning your website a rank and in their view (algorithm) it is definitely quality over quantity. Even if your website has 6000 links but 5999 are spam and only 1 is actually a quality website then as far as a search engine is concerned you only have 1 link. Inbound links can also drive traffic to your site-and who doesn’t want that?? So, the question becomes: How do you woo (quality) links? 

* Create unique and interesting content- your website should  be something people will want to read, whether that’s because it’s informative, entertaining, funny, or creative, it should just simply be something that people enjoy reading. Some great ways to make the content of your site interesting are..

1. Blogs- such a brilliant way to incorporate loads of content while still remaining relevant. They can be information based, or humorous, or opinionated, or whatever it is you want to make them. Blogs are just a really fantastic way of creating a “voice” and giving your website a personality. 
2. Videos- can be very entertaining and informative. Consider interviewing people in your site’s community or the executives of your company. Create a videos that mock something in your industry or videos that shed light on an issue your website knows a lot about. Like blogs, videos can be whatever you want to make of them. I would like to note that these videos (and blogs for that matter) should be relevant to your website and should stay away from the inappropriate or offensive. 
3. Community- participate in your online community. Comment, respectfully and insightfully, on blogs relating to your website, start a dialogue with people surrounding your industry. You might be surprised not only how many links this can earn for your site, but what you might learn. 

* Don’t be a beggar- no one looks forward to getting overwhelmed by link requests in the form of spammy looking emails. Don’t sacrifice your websites reputation by begging for links. Besides, most reputable sites (like the ones you want to link to yours) aren’t going to accept these types of requests.

* Opportunity awaits- keep an eye out for new opportunities in your industry. Always be up to date on the latest news and developments. Being aware of what is happening around your space will help you to identify new opportunities and new audiences who might be interested in your website. 

(photo credit to juliaf on sxc.hu)

Here are some other people who agree…

- http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2008/10/good-times-with-inbound-links.html

- http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/services/2008-06-22-google-search-engine-optimization_N.htm

- http://www.seomoz.org/blog/link-building-from-a-to-z

What’s in a Name? Optimizing Your Title Tags.

Posted on 18 August 2009 by Lauren Eynon| No responses

Title Tags are important for ranking and search. Period. There is little, if any, debate about this in the SEO world. They are a search engine’s first impression of a website,  and they will judge you by it. This is why title tags are so important and why, when properly optimized, a title tag can be the difference between a website searchers visit and a website no one has ever seen. (Hint: you want to be the first kind….)

Using targeted keywords is a well-established way of optimizing a title tag. You should decide what terms/phrases you want your page to be recognized for, and incorporate them in the tag. A couple warnings on this…

1. Make sure your title tag (i.e. the keywords) are relevant to the content on the page. If you don’t use targeted keywords in your title tag then you are missing out on a really simple way to show-off to the search engines. This is the space to highlight your pages and what they are about. Using irrelevant keywords in your title tag, or using the same title tag for every page is just a waste of an SEO opportunity.  

2. Don’t stuff your title tag with keywords. I understand why this might be a temptation but search engines really don’t appreciate it and your rank could be penalized, It’s just best to avoid this tactic altogether. 

Instead,  use your chosen keywords in a logical way that makes it clear what your page is about. For example, if your page is about volunteering abroad, your title tag might look like this: VolunteerAbroad | Volunteer Oppotunities in Africa or Asia. The search engine would know that your page was about volunteering abroad in Africa or Asia – so the search term “volunteer in Africa” would probably show your website in the results.

Note the length of the example title tag,. Most search engines don’t read more than 70-125 characters including spaces so keep that in mind when writing your tags. 

Each page of your website should have its own unique title tag. You don’t want to lose the opportunity to show the search engine what your page is about by using duplicate title tags. Specificity is key here. Make each tag as specific as possible to what the content of that page is. 

Something else to keep in mind is where you place your keyword terms/phrases in the title tag. What do you want the search engine to see first? It does make a difference. Putting a keyword term first shows the search engine that above all else, that is what you want that page to be known for. By placing the keyword first you are putting more emphasis on it and the search engines will respond likewise. It is always a good idea to put your brand name in your title tag as well. Search engines can respond positively to brands, especially when there is a keyword in the brand name such as “Caribou Coffee”,  so consider putting yours towards the end of your title tag or after the keyword term/phrase. 

You should also be thinking about your audience when writing your titles tags. I know there is quite a bit of emphasis on how search engines see them but searchers see them as well. Keeping your audience in mind is an overall good practice when designing a site and writing content so it follows that it should be when writing title tags. Try to make them appealing and informative so that they are pleasing to read for both search engines and searchers. (i.e. please no strange capitalizations or formats; no one wants to see vOlUnTeErAbRoAD > VoLuNtEeR OpPoRtUnItIeS > aFrIcA oR aSiA)

 

Here are some other useful sources on Title Tags

*  http://www.seomoz.org/blog/best-practices-for-title-tags

* http://blog.searchenginewatch.com/080402-114828

* http://www.kenansbro.com/?p=36

Posted on 9 February 2012 by | No responses

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