Search Engine Ranking Factors

Here's a great analysis of many SEO topics which shows the most important factors as ranked by a group of 37 experts.

Check it out - it might just be a good refresher http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors

Ten Common Website Mistakes

1. Not enough inbound links - it is the the #1 way to build page ranking and increase visibility in organic search. Develop an link strategy to increase your rankings.
   
2. Every title is just the name of your company - search engines read the title tag to get a sense of what the page is about.
3. Pictures are not named - use Alt Tags to identify picture content, so searchers will find them in Google image search.
4. All visual no text - the images are nice, but search engines want to read text. Try this tip - hit Cntl-A and what ever is not shaded is what the search engines see.
5. Keywords don't match text - this is known as keyword density. If your keywords and title say this about dogs but the content is about surfing - the search engines will note the disparity and move on.
6. Get rich quick schemes - avoid unrealistic promises to get your site top listings - they are likely using "black hat" techniques that will get you banned.
7. Hard to navigate - the home button should always be top left and every page should have clear navigation.
8. Boring or unattractive - you do all the work to get people there - make it interesting so they stay. Watch your bounce rate - where visitors leave after seeing only one page - to see if the content is holding their interest.
9. Broken links - nothing is more illustrating than clicking a link only to find a dead end.
10. Takes forever to load the page - limit the bells and whistles (FLASH?) to ensure the page loads quickly. Also - look at your site in more than one browser. It make look fine on Firefox, and be totally askew in IE.
    

SEM or SEO?

After awhile all the letters start sound alike.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the broad term used to describe the efforts to drive traffic to your site. While Search Engine Optimization (SEO) are tactics to make your site more web search friendly to increase organic (non paid) rankings, SEO is a subset of SEM.

In addition to SEO, SEM includes Paid Inclusion -

• Banner Ads
• Pay Per Click

The advantage is paid inclusion immediately generates traffic to your site. However, if clicks don’t turn into sales, then paid inclusion can be very expensive. Any paid inclusion campaign should be monitored closely and measured regularly to insure there is a return on investment. Many companies have specialist who will help you set up campaigns and establish budgets. Their advice can be quite helpful.

The one thing to be careful of is allowing these companies to automatically reload your account. If you’re not paying attention, you can end up with huge charges to your credit card. I prefer to turn off that setting (not all companies allow you to do that – red flag in my book) and manually reload the account when the balances are used up.

Top Ten SEO Basics

“Search Engine Optimization" or “SEO” is all about getting your web site and its many pages found by search engines and “ranking” well when searchers conduct search queries using words or phrases.

1. Keywords - These are words or phrases that describe the content of your page. The more targeted the phrase, the greater the likelihood of your target audience finds you in organic search results (the one you didn’t have to pay for).

2. Title Tag – Should contain keywords or phrases to let the search engines know what the page is about. Every page should have a unique title. A good SEO rule of thumb is the title should contain no more than ten highly relevant keywords.

3. H1 Tag – When we bold something in writing it is to bring attention to it. Using H1 tags has the same effect to search engines. Use sparingly, just like we don’t like someone typing in all caps (the Internet equivalent of shouting) is you bold everything then there is no distinction between regular verbiage and keywords.

4. Alt Tag – Name you pictures already!! Since crawlers can‘t “see” pictures, we need to tell them what they are by naming them.

5. Anchor Text – The text in our links tell the crawler what the linked page is about. Use unique keyword rich verbiage versus “click here” or “shop today.” Unless of course, you want to rank high for the phrase “click here.”

6. In Bound Links – Search engines consider these a “vote” for your site. Encourage inbound links by providing quality content. Other link developing strategies include article submission and posting comments on websites. Make sure your comments add value to the discussion otherwise you’re just another link spammer.

7. Local Search – First of all it’s free. Second, it targets your local customers. Lastly, it provides you another inbound link.

8. Keyword Density – Since your keywords indicate what your page is about, then it would be natural to expect them in the text. Crawlers like 4-8% keyword density. If your keywords don’t appear in the text, then they are probably not the right keywords.

9. Content is King – Who cares if you optimize your site only to have people leave right away (called bounce rate). The idea is to create compelling content that either compels your visitors to do something (Oh, I don’t know –buy your product?) or to return to learn more.

10. If it’s too good to be true – it will get you banned on Google. Avoid link farms, keyword stuffing or any other black hat techniques that promise to get you higher rankings – think of them as the “get rich quick” schemes of SEO.

• Google Webmaster Guidelines
• Yahoo! Webmaster Guidelines

Want to know what Google sees?

SEO Tip - Hit Ctrl-A when viewing a site. The areas in white are text, and thus readable by a search bot. Everything else is invisible in Google’s view. So, if your front page is all flash and graphics there is nothing to search.

Also we tell the search bots what is on our site by using H1 tags and anchor text (the words you use in the link). Many of us use links like "click here" or "buy now" erroneously tell the search engine that the page we are linking to is about the keyword "click here." You links should be about the keywords on the linked page - for instance "sf booking services" instead of "click here."

The Update . . .

About a month ago, I mentioned that I had been neglecting this site and it was time to for an update. At the time (9/22), Dohertyassoc.com has a traffic rank of: 3,740,178. Currently, it is 1,969,422, so we’ve moved passed not quite 2.0 million sites traffic wise. Not bad, but still a long way from #1, eh?

I’ve updated the look and feel of the site, and begun blogging more regularly. All good things when it comes to driving traffic. We went through our Google analytics tool (Make Google Happy) to clean up redundant meta tags and errors.

We are still in clean up mode. So, the next two items on the list are to update the blog software (we are going to move over to WordPress for greater flexibility and features) and look for errors using a Check Server Headers Tool.

SEO is not a quick fix (those promising it is are likely using black hat techniques); it is a long term strategy and a way of thinking when it comes to building your site.

Make Google Happy

There are thousands of search engines out there, but only one commands 68% of the search market –

So, yes you should aim to make Google happy. And Google is willing to help. If you care about your ranking on Google, then start at the beginning – Google’s webmaster tools. Start with diagnostic – what Google sees on your site that should be fixed. Start with Content analysis - See potential problems with site metadata, such as title and meta description information.

There is an old adage about Cobbler’s children having no shoes – so big surprise - we’ve be a little remiss in keeping up with Google’s web tools. So by way of bad example – here are our Content analysis: www.dohertyassoc.com

While we were crawling your site, we noticed some issues with the content of your pages. These issues won't prevent your site from appearing in Google search results, but paying attention to them can provide Google with more information and even help drive traffic to your site. For example, title and meta description text can appear in search results, and useful, descriptive text is more likely to be clicked on by users

We need to clean up the meta descriptions on two pages, and interestingly the duplicate title tags are a result of a blog created by blogger (a Google ap) and using tags in the keyword descriptor.

Start at the beginning and check out what Google sees when it looks at your site.

Get the latest news and updates from Google.
Google Webmaster Central Blog

Do As I Say

Not as I do. . .

OK, that might have worked for your dad, but it shouldn’t be your consultant’s approach. We try hard to live by the rules that we set for our clients - Keep your website fresh. Update the look, if it’s tired. Post to your blog.

So, when I took a look at our website – ouch! The copyright was for 2006 – probably the last time I was inspired to update it. And the colors were slightly off and the front page image was a tad tired. It’s time.



I invite you to follow along as we go about revamping our site. The look, the feel, content – ultimately the searchability (SEO). Why do we build websites, if you can’t find them?

Currently, Dohertyassoc.com has a traffic rank of: 3,740,178. Ugh – if it were client, I’d be telling them “Well, there’s plenty of room for improvement.” Sit back, we’ll do all the work – you can learn from our successes and hopefully avoid whatever silly mistakes we make along the way.



“Fasten your seat belts - It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

Understanding Keywords

If you are like me, you’ve subscribed to the “if you build it they will come . . .” approach to web marketing. You’ve built or paid for a pretty website. You’ve made your global debut and now you sit and wait. And wait!

One of the key elements to search engine optimization (SEO) is developing keywords. Simple you say. Maybe not.

Recently I was working with client and we were discussing what keywords she wanted for her website. “Bookkeeping,” she boldly replied. We searched bookkeeping on Google (it has 65% of all traffic, so we tend use it as a barometer for search) - 20,900,000 responses for bookkeeping. Ugh – that’s a lot of web pages to try to compete with for attention.

“How about SF bookkeeping?” 1,060,000 responses for SF bookkeeping – better, but that’s still a lot of folks fighting for a top spot on Google.

“How about Noe Valley, SF bookkeeping?” 10,800 for Noe Valley, SF bookkeeping. So, instead of competing with 20 million users of a single keyword, we build “keyword phrases” to target our customers and increase our chances of being found on Google.

Targeted keyword phrases can include references to locale (Noe Valley), community (gay, hispanic) or whatever else distinguishes your business from all the other bookkeepers (or what ever it is that you do) out there.

Broken Links

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. . ." Charles Darwin

This is probably one of my favorite quotes. And its application to business is endless.

These days, many businesses use the web as a primary tool for marketing. We spend fortunes and endless hours building our websites, creating links and then we forget about them. Did I mention change?

That article in the NYTimes is gone, that link to the local Chamber is broken, that picture of your acceptance speech is missing - your visitors hit a dead end. You spend the time developing interesting content and links - don't let your user experience end on a broken link.

Alexa.com offers a link report and it's free. I recommend you run it periodically to clean up broken links. The first time you run it - you maybe surprised at what you find.

Remember, change is a fact of life and a fact of the Internet!

Location, Location, Location!

The Web has long been heralded as the Golden Grail to retailers - the world at your door, if it may. Many have launched, gone broke on Adwords and ridden off into the Internet sunset. What can we learn from our brick and mortar counterparts?

Any savvy retailer knows the age old mantra “location, location, location.” A quality location enhances visibility, benefits from foot traffic and leverages anchor tenants. The three principles of real estate success also apply to your home on the Web.

When you initially launch your store on the web, it’s like opening a retail outlet in the middle of nowhere. No foot traffic, no visibility and sadly no sales. You can spend a boat load of money trying to advertise your new location or you can can consider a tried and true alternative.

Many successful retailers locate their start ups in malls. Why? Because they know the strength of anchor tenants will drive foot traffic past their door. Therefore, the online business must find the Internet equivalent of an anchor tenant. You must get a prominent relevant site to link to your site.

“But why would anyone link to me, I am new?” That depends on your site. Does it add value to your target?

• Do you provide interesting articles and helpful tips that might be of interest to the target’s clientele?
• Do you offer a complimentary service to their product mix?
• Do you post helpful links and advice that might be beneficial to their customers?

If you position yourself as a valuable resource to an industry leader in your field, well you’ve just scored the little store next to Starbucks. And who wouldn’t want that foot traffic?

Why Doesn’t Anybody Visit My Website?

So, you’ve built a website and posted it for the world to see. Having launched your global marketing campaign, just sit back and reap the rewards. Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is.

A successful website must be accessible to customers. So, unless customers can find your website, it doesn’t matter how amazing it is or how good your product is. According to Netcraft, there are over 80 million websites on the internet (in 2006), and the number is growing. With all that spam and cyber noise, how will you lead your customers to the treasure on your site?

You have to leave clues (search words, Meta Tags, and computer language markers) so search engines can recognize the value in your site, and lead your potential customers directly to you. Your clues must be clear so that customer web searches by key “search words” will return your website first in the list of results, at the top of the customer’s “search engine ranking."

But what if this is the first you’ve heard of Meta Tags, search word and search engine rankings? Do you need to hire a specialist to optimize your Internet website? One of the quickest way to answer this is to consider where is your time best spent.

There are benefits to hiring an outside service as well. Assuming you have selected a quality SEO company, you will be getting the services of well-trained and very experienced professionals rather than relying on your brother-in-law, who also keeps the books.

Impact Direct offers a helpful guideline on How to select an SEO Company.

99 Tips for Web Startups

You launched the business, you’ve built the website – and now you wait for the sales. And you wait. And you wait.

Then you are introduced to the wonderful world of Search Engine Optimization - Meta Tags, Keywords and Pay Per Clicks (Need a refresher? – Internet Search Engine Rankings). Trying to buy visibility on the Search Engines can be an expensive, if not futile, process.

The folks over at Aviva Directory have come up with a comprehensive list of tips using viral and guerilla marketing tactics to create brand awareness on a tight budget - "Little Known Ways to Brand on the Cheap: 99 Tips for Poor Web Startups" While many of these tips have some cost associated with them, the article provides a good overview. With this guide you can selectively pick and choose the option that works best for your site and your budget.

Optimizing Your Own Website

Now that you are ready to begin work on fine tuning your own website, here are some final words of encouragement and advice: Before you change anything, use your favorite search engine and type in some search words that you would like to be indexed under. If you come up, great! If not, don’t be discouraged, but look at the sites that do come up and try to see what they have in common in their description, keywords, title tags and content. You can do this by clicking the “View” link in your browser and then “Source” to look at the source code. This should provide insight on how your website should strive to blend the different tags with your website content. Making the changes is easy; if you follow the basic rules outlined in the examples above.

Rule #1: Use text from your homepage content as your Meta Description Tag and vice versa.

Rule #2: Use Keywords to Your Advantage
• Add additional “key words” that customers might use to describe you business

or services to your Meta Keyword Tag
• To effectively implement Meta Keyword Tags be sure to:

1. Include common misspellings of your company name, website or employees;
2. Limit your list to no more than 25 words;
3. Separate the keywords with commas; and
4. Never repeat the same word more than a few times.

Rule #3: Effective use of Meta Keyword Tags widens your net for potential customers.

Rule #4 Don’t forget the Title Tags
• Keep Title Tags short
• Include descriptive words your customers are likely to use in their searches
• Don’t forget to include your business location or city

SEO 101

Meta Tags

Meta Tags

Let’s start at the beginning. A Meta Tag is information that web page designers and programmers insert into the “Head” area of your website’s HTML code like a “header” on a Microsoft word document. Unlike the Word document header, the information in the Meta Tag is invisible to website visitors. The only way people can read the Meta Tag is to look at the actual source HTML code, the program used to generate the webpages on the site. Even though it is not part of the customer interface of your site, the Meta Tag is very important because it is the clue many search engines use it to correctly categorize, and rank your website for customers (Meta Tag indexing). And of course customers, in turn, use search engines to make an ordered list of where on the Internet they will shop for goods and services. If your site has no Meta Tags, search engines (and customers) will likely pass it by. If you have the wrong Meta Tags, your search engine rankings will be so low on the search results that your customers will miss it.

You may be thinking that Meta Tag indexing is a haphazard means for search engines to categorize, and rank websites. The good news: there has been a decline in Meta Tag indexing by most major search engines in favor of more reliable search algorithms. Meta tags, however, are by no means obsolete. They are still very much a useful tool, if supplemented by appropriate web page content and web page title tags. But small businesses easily achieve better search engine rankings on their own, if they successfully implement a few simple characteristics into their website’s design. Even if you are unfamiliar with computer programming and HTML code, structuring effective Meta Tags is straightforward, if you follow the framework of the example below.

SEO 101