Top Search Engine Success

The single most important "on page?factor affecting search engine rankings is the title tag. This is a snippet of code in the header section of a web document. The title of a web page is given great weight by the search engines, and for lesser competitive keyphrases a good title tag alone may be enough to catapult a page to the top of the engines.

One common mistake made is that a website is created from a template in which all of the title tag information is the same from page to page. This can not only get your pages thrown into the supplemental results, it is an example of extremely poor individual page optimization.


Individual page optimization basically means that each page of your site should be individually optimized for the contents and target keyphrase of that page. Chances are that you desire to attract visitors using a variety of keyphrases. If you use the same title tag throughout your site, you are missing out on a wonderful opportunity to do this.

The title tag of each page should be individually optimized for the keyphrases that you are targeting for that page. Repetition should be avoided. For ecommerce websites, each product page should contain a unique title tag reflecting the specific product featured on that page.
For example, let's say you sell a large inventory of widgets of various types and sizes. The title tag of your home page should probably contain the word "widgets? Then, each individual product page should contain more information in the title tag pertaining to the specific product, such as "Large Red Widget ?Model ABC123? or something similar. This allows users searching for specific model numbers, or manufacturer names, or even more general terms like "large red widget?to land on a page specifically relevant to their search engine query.


2. Rich Content

If you are not including keyphrase rich content on each page of your website, you again face a risk of having your pages thrown into the supplementals, or having your pages outright rank poorly for your target keyphrases. Be sure to include at least one instance of the keyphrase you are targeting for that page in the body text of the page.

A rule of thumb I use is to first go through and select the keyphrases you are targeting for each page. Then, optimize the title tags accordingly to reflect this. After that, write rich, unique content for each page, and be sure to include at least one instance of the title tag content in the body text.

A common mistake in this area is to write generic page content, and simply replace the target keyphrase on each page. This type of methodology adds no real value to individual pages of your site and is almost certainly going to result in your pages get thrown into the supplementals on grounds of duplicative content. It is not enough, therefore, to have generic content which is the same on each page, with a mere substitution of the target keyphrase.

For example, a real estate agency wants to be at the top of the engines for searches in all 50 states. They create generic content such as:

"We are your [state name] real estate experts. Browse our [state name] real estate listings to find your perfect [state name] home�"

The firm then creates 50 individual state pages, with the exact same content and only the state name changed. This will not work. Each page needs to have unique, rich content, and so in the example above, we would need to create 50 original pages of content rather than using a simple "find and replace?methodology.

An ecommerce site should write rich descriptions for each of their products. A common mistake I see in such sites is that individual product pages contain little or no written content aside from the product name and a picture. Be sure to write at least a paragraph on the features and benefits of each product in the product description field.
3. Blog

Your competition is blogging, so it's time you jump on the bandwagon. There are a number of reasons to blog that directly relate to search engine considerations. Google and other engines generally prefer sites with fresh content over stale sites. This means that ranking well involves the regular creation of rich content, and typically this is done via a company weblog.

Blog articles should be useful and informative and should not be considered necessarily self promotional. Using the real estate example above, the agency should write general interest articles on buying and selling homes, how to select a realtor, and the like. It should avoid writing articles touting the benefits of the firm itself ?blog articles should not be press releases (although it is okay to repost the occasional press release in the company blog). The reason for this is that general interest articles (such as the one you are reading right now) are much more attractive link bait (see next section) than are articles on how wonderful your company is.

Additionally, once you have started blogging, you are opening yourself up to link bait and social media opportunities as described below.
4. Link Bait

Generally speaking, the more links you have to rich content on your site, the better off you are going to be in the engines. The creation of a blog is a wonderful way to attract links. Other ideas for link bait include video, images, sound clips, press releases and the like. Contests, quizzes, product reviews, top 10 lists (or in the case of this article, a top 5 list), and how to articles fare very well. Also, the provision of useful tools can be a great way to attract links.

In the example of the real estate agency, a tool likely to attract links would be a free mortgage calculator. Offering such a tool on your website can attract the attention of other sites in the form of links, increasing your reputation and pagerank, which has a direct impact on higher search engine rankings.

Be sure to create link bait on a regular basis through the regular creation of content, of whatever form you choose.


5. Social Media

Now that you have created all this wonderful link bait in the form of blogs, videos, tools, and the like, you need to make sure to get the word out about it so that people know it is there. Social media has already become one of the most powerful ways to spread the word. Social media is loosely defined as any sort of user driven content. Famous examples include MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo Answers, Wikipedia, and the like.

Social bookmarking sites such as Digg and StumbleUpon are wonderful ways to get the word out about your content. If you have a number of images (such as product images in an ecommerce site), image sharing sites such as Flickr are useful. Contests and quizzes are great fodder for social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Yahoo360. Video content can be promoted through YouTube, MetaCafe, AOLVideo, and similar sites.

The point is, the more you promote your wonderful link bait, the more people will find out about it and link to it. Put your content to work for you!


3 Highly Effective On-Page SEO strategies

The SEO industry is unregulated and has operated free from rules or regulations since its inception. As a result, the degree of competency ranges greatly from one SEO Expert to another. The SEO industry is clouded in mystery and seems at times impenetrable and impossible to decode. Terms like 'SEO Guru' and 'Webmaster' help to support the notion that one has to dabble in magic to succeed on the Internet. However, this couldn't be further from the truth - after all, Search Engines are computer programs which operate by a strict and organized logic.

Search Engines all use a similar set of rules to determine how Webpages are ranked. These rules or algorithms create a content filter which enables them to serve relevant results to their users and filter out the majority of spam and black hat tactics. Often, SEOs and Website Owners overlook these simple on-page factors because they want instant gratification and a quick solution to their invisibility. These band-aids however, only mask the underlying penalties and deficiencies that Search Engine's are imposing on the Webpage. Fixing the root of the problem will help utilize Link Flow more effectively and prevent wasted money and effort.
Link Quality

Links are vital to any Webpage's visibility on the Internet. How Links flow within a site, and where they come from are important factors to any Search Engine. Search Engines view Links as a vote of confidence for the Webpage. When the Anchor Text of a Link is relevant to the Market Focus of the Webpage being linked to, the Search Engine values this even more. There are numerous factors that can either increase or decrease a Link's value. For example, if a Link is found within the content of a Webpage rather than isolated with few words surrounding it, the Search Engine will consider it to be a "Natural Link" and not a "Paid Link", and therefore associate more value with the Link.

Today, many SEOs are focused on purchasing Links or Pay-Per-Click campaigns for their customers. While this can be valuable in obtaining instant traffic and visibility for the site, it is often cost prohibitive and temporary at best. Many Websites already contain enough Link Flow (http://www.seoeng.com/search-engine-optimization/link-imbalance.htm) to achieve the desired results for their Market Focus without needing to obtain any additional Links. It is simply a matter of redirecting the Link Flow that is already contained within the Website, and sending it to the Webpages that have the most competitive Market Focuses to correctly balance the Link Flow within the Website.
Market Focus

The Market Focus (http://learn.seoeng.com/market-focus.htm) of a Webpage is what the Search Engine thinks the Webpage is about. If you want a Webpage to rank high for a specific keyword or phrase, it is important to adjust the Webpage's Market Focus accordingly. A Webpage's Market Focus is determined by the page's content as well as the Anchor Text of the incoming links. You can easily adjust the Anchor Text for incoming links within the Website. If the Webpage is receiving links from other Websites, contacting the Website's owner or Webmaster and requesting that the Anchor Text be changed to a phrase which better matches the Webpage's Market Focus can be very helpful and doesn't cost anything.
Search Engine Submission
Competition

It is vital to remember that if your Market Focus is a highly competitive keyword or phrase, you will have to direct a significant amount of Link Flow into that specific Webpage. For example, if the Webpage's Market Focus is 'Green Frogs with Purple Hats', the target market is not very competitive, whereas if the Market Focus is 'Cars' it will have much more competition. The more competitive the Market Focus, the more difficult it is to achieve desired results and a 1st page ranking in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). Be sure to pay attention to what the Webpage is truly about and who the potential target audience is. It may be easier and more cost effective to achieve results with several less competitive Market Focuses each on different Webpages within the site, rather than competing for most competitive term in your industry.

About the Author

Maura Stouffer is Co-Founder and President, Marketing & Operations for SEOENG LLC. (www.seoeng.com) which has developed the world's first SEO Friendly Search Engine. SEOENG provides a free Webpage Analysis, and tools for SEO Businesses including White Label SEO Reports as well as a privately labeled Search Engine Interface and Search Bar.