Search engines bring you visitors – free of charge
Search engines can attract numerous visitors to your website without financial
investment from your part. In order to have search engines list your website, the
main criterion obviously remains its content. The more the content is rich,
relevant and specific, the more likely your chances of success will be with
relevant keywords. However, you can lend Google a helping hand. That is why
we’re happy to provide you with an overview of 10 SEO tips, which represent the
least you should do with respect to your domain name.
Tip 1: Register relevant domain names
Give it a try. When you search for certain keywords in Google, it is not uncommon
that a web page containing these keywords in its domain name ranks amongst the
first results of your search. Thus, this means that Google likes it when keywords are
to be found in the domain names themselves. Does that however mean that you
should register a domain name such as wholesaleroverheaddoorstiles.
co.uk and use it in the frame of your everyday dealings with (potential) online customers?
Absolutely not. The best thing you can do is to register your company name in
addition to registering several generic names such as overheaddoors. co.uk, overheaddoorsshop.
co.uk, etc. On those pages, you can then create landing pages
that will redirect visitors to your company’s website. It is however possible that the
name of your core business is still available as a domain name. In that event, do not
hesitate to also use this domain name for your everyday dealings with (potential)
online customers.
Tip 2: Choose the right Meta tags
Meta tags are very important to search engines. A lot of web designers overlook this
and give their index pages titles such as « Homepage », while they could get way
more benefits out of them.
Tip 3: Diversify your vocabulary
It is important that you diversify your vocabulary in your web texts. We do this on
our website as well. We once write (even in the same sentence) about domain
names, then about domain registration and then again about domains. In other
words, do not hesitate to use synonyms. While doing so, do not stick exclusively to
what you find in your Oxford Dictionary. Also think of popular expressions and
synonyms that are used in your regional dialect. That is probably something that your
competitors forgot to do, while these keywords could guarantee you easy success.
Tip 4: Give each page the right file name
This often happens with websites that are programmed in a certain language. They
use e.g. index.php?14564654. This is not advisable, because search engines cannot
tell what the page is about, so they can only deduce that from its content and the
Meta tags. Therefore, it is wiser to name your pages as follows:
www.johnson.eu/requestanoffer.html or www.johnson.eu/garagedoors.html.
Webshops should avoid listing the latest Coldplay CD under:
http://www.webshop.eu/product.php?54566645546546
but should rather list it under:
http://www.webshop.eu/cds/coldplayparachutes.html
Tip 5: Write web content tailored to search engines
Lists with the Top 100 Google keywords are published on a regular basis in Belgium,
the Netherlands, worldwide, etc. It’s much more interesting though to already use the
Google Keyword Tool during the writing stage of your texts. This tool is an extremely
valuable marketing tool. Let’s say you sell kitchens. When you enter the keyword
“kitchen”, in seconds, Google will offer you an overview of many relevant keywords,
as there are “buy a kitchen”, “design a kitchen”, “new kitchen”, “kitchen appliances”,
etc. What’s even more interesting is that Google indicates how much competition
exists for a keyword and what the search volume was (in relative terms, between 0
and 1) for this keyword during the previous month. Google also provides an
immediate overview of related words like “bathroom”, “new building”, “contractor”,
“counter top”, “granite”, etc.
Thus, Google doesn’t only help you during the writing stage of web content, but can
also be used to conduct market research and to check which keywords and
categories are often used and therefore where the commercial possibilities lie. It’s
also possible to type the address of your website or your competitor’s website and,
subsequently, to obtain a list of relevant keywords. This is an ideal tool for everyone
who’s planning to launch a web shop and who wishes to check which categories are
popular in order to ensure sufficient and variegated stocks.
Tip 6: For your images, use the right ALT texts
You probably already heard about Google Images (http://images.google.be). Many
Google users use this separate section of the Google website to search for images
and lately, Google also displays images in ordinary search results. Therefore, it is
important to couple a telling description to all your images. Just like any other search
engine, Google is unable to determine an image’s content. That is why you should
help search engines by giving suitable names to images (for instance, use
smartphone_htc_dual_touch.gif instead of img4565646.gif) and by using the right
matching ALT texts
Tip 7: Regularly update your texts and see to it that your content isoriginal
It is important to regularly update your website. Search engines enormously
appreciate websites that are updated regularly. From time to time, add a new
section, rewrite a text, make a page more commercial, etc. Most of all, avoid copying
texts from other websites as in doing so, you could possibly violate authors’ rights,
plus, search engines appreciate original texts (as a matter of fact, they sometimes
even punish websites that quote entire texts belonging to other websites). Moreover,
copying another website’s texts doesn’t make your website unique, nor does it allow
you to rank high with unique keywords.
Tip 8: Ensure that other websites link yours
Google attributes a certain PR (PageRank) value to every website. This PR value
reflects your website’s value. There are several websites with a high PR value. It is
interesting to get in touch with them in order to exchange a link or to place paying
ads on them. It is also interesting to look for websites with a content related to your
website’s content. If you sell car accessories, contact car or car tuning enthusiasts’
forums or websites that publish exclusive news related to automobiles.
Tip 9: Create a sitemap for your website
A sitemap is a navigation screen for your website. Not only does this come in handy
for your visitors, but it also makes it easier for search engines like Google to actually
index every page of your website. Sitemaps are often written in XML. Your average
Internet user is not familiar with this programming language, but luckily, there are
ready to use
solutions available. Via http://www.xmlsitemaps.com, you can e.g.
create a sitemap in XML in just a few clicks without having any technical knowledge.
Have you created your XML sitemap? Excellent, in that case, you can let Google know
by means of its webmaster tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters). Besides, on
that same page, you can find many interesting tools for webmasters, like e.g. a
discussion group, a blog, a support centre for webmasters, a wizard that shows you
the index status of your website, etc…
Tip 10: Consult an SEO specialist
We have now thoroughly examined 9 SEO tips, but there are plenty of other things
that are not so generic but rather involve custom work specific to your website. If you
wish to get the most from your website, you can involve an SEO specialist.
Search engines can attract numerous visitors to your website without financial
investment from your part. In order to have search engines list your website, the
main criterion obviously remains its content. The more the content is rich,
relevant and specific, the more likely your chances of success will be with
relevant keywords. However, you can lend Google a helping hand. That is why
we’re happy to provide you with an overview of 10 SEO tips, which represent the
least you should do with respect to your domain name.
Tip 1: Register relevant domain names
Give it a try. When you search for certain keywords in Google, it is not uncommon
that a web page containing these keywords in its domain name ranks amongst the
first results of your search. Thus, this means that Google likes it when keywords are
to be found in the domain names themselves. Does that however mean that you
should register a domain name such as wholesaleroverheaddoorstiles.
co.uk and use it in the frame of your everyday dealings with (potential) online customers?
Absolutely not. The best thing you can do is to register your company name in
addition to registering several generic names such as overheaddoors. co.uk, overheaddoorsshop.
co.uk, etc. On those pages, you can then create landing pages
that will redirect visitors to your company’s website. It is however possible that the
name of your core business is still available as a domain name. In that event, do not
hesitate to also use this domain name for your everyday dealings with (potential)
online customers.
Tip 2: Choose the right Meta tags
Meta tags are very important to search engines. A lot of web designers overlook this
and give their index pages titles such as « Homepage », while they could get way
more benefits out of them.
Tip 3: Diversify your vocabulary
It is important that you diversify your vocabulary in your web texts. We do this on
our website as well. We once write (even in the same sentence) about domain
names, then about domain registration and then again about domains. In other
words, do not hesitate to use synonyms. While doing so, do not stick exclusively to
what you find in your Oxford Dictionary. Also think of popular expressions and
synonyms that are used in your regional dialect. That is probably something that your
competitors forgot to do, while these keywords could guarantee you easy success.
Tip 4: Give each page the right file name
This often happens with websites that are programmed in a certain language. They
use e.g. index.php?14564654. This is not advisable, because search engines cannot
tell what the page is about, so they can only deduce that from its content and the
Meta tags. Therefore, it is wiser to name your pages as follows:
www.johnson.eu/requestanoffer.html or www.johnson.eu/garagedoors.html.
Webshops should avoid listing the latest Coldplay CD under:
http://www.webshop.eu/product.php?54566645546546
but should rather list it under:
http://www.webshop.eu/cds/coldplayparachutes.html
Tip 5: Write web content tailored to search engines
Lists with the Top 100 Google keywords are published on a regular basis in Belgium,
the Netherlands, worldwide, etc. It’s much more interesting though to already use the
Google Keyword Tool during the writing stage of your texts. This tool is an extremely
valuable marketing tool. Let’s say you sell kitchens. When you enter the keyword
“kitchen”, in seconds, Google will offer you an overview of many relevant keywords,
as there are “buy a kitchen”, “design a kitchen”, “new kitchen”, “kitchen appliances”,
etc. What’s even more interesting is that Google indicates how much competition
exists for a keyword and what the search volume was (in relative terms, between 0
and 1) for this keyword during the previous month. Google also provides an
immediate overview of related words like “bathroom”, “new building”, “contractor”,
“counter top”, “granite”, etc.
Thus, Google doesn’t only help you during the writing stage of web content, but can
also be used to conduct market research and to check which keywords and
categories are often used and therefore where the commercial possibilities lie. It’s
also possible to type the address of your website or your competitor’s website and,
subsequently, to obtain a list of relevant keywords. This is an ideal tool for everyone
who’s planning to launch a web shop and who wishes to check which categories are
popular in order to ensure sufficient and variegated stocks.
Tip 6: For your images, use the right ALT texts
You probably already heard about Google Images (http://images.google.be). Many
Google users use this separate section of the Google website to search for images
and lately, Google also displays images in ordinary search results. Therefore, it is
important to couple a telling description to all your images. Just like any other search
engine, Google is unable to determine an image’s content. That is why you should
help search engines by giving suitable names to images (for instance, use
smartphone_htc_dual_touch.gif instead of img4565646.gif) and by using the right
matching ALT texts
Tip 7: Regularly update your texts and see to it that your content isoriginal
It is important to regularly update your website. Search engines enormously
appreciate websites that are updated regularly. From time to time, add a new
section, rewrite a text, make a page more commercial, etc. Most of all, avoid copying
texts from other websites as in doing so, you could possibly violate authors’ rights,
plus, search engines appreciate original texts (as a matter of fact, they sometimes
even punish websites that quote entire texts belonging to other websites). Moreover,
copying another website’s texts doesn’t make your website unique, nor does it allow
you to rank high with unique keywords.
Tip 8: Ensure that other websites link yours
Google attributes a certain PR (PageRank) value to every website. This PR value
reflects your website’s value. There are several websites with a high PR value. It is
interesting to get in touch with them in order to exchange a link or to place paying
ads on them. It is also interesting to look for websites with a content related to your
website’s content. If you sell car accessories, contact car or car tuning enthusiasts’
forums or websites that publish exclusive news related to automobiles.
Tip 9: Create a sitemap for your website
A sitemap is a navigation screen for your website. Not only does this come in handy
for your visitors, but it also makes it easier for search engines like Google to actually
index every page of your website. Sitemaps are often written in XML. Your average
Internet user is not familiar with this programming language, but luckily, there are
ready to use
solutions available. Via http://www.xmlsitemaps.com, you can e.g.
create a sitemap in XML in just a few clicks without having any technical knowledge.
Have you created your XML sitemap? Excellent, in that case, you can let Google know
by means of its webmaster tools (http://www.google.com/webmasters). Besides, on
that same page, you can find many interesting tools for webmasters, like e.g. a
discussion group, a blog, a support centre for webmasters, a wizard that shows you
the index status of your website, etc…
Tip 10: Consult an SEO specialist
We have now thoroughly examined 9 SEO tips, but there are plenty of other things
that are not so generic but rather involve custom work specific to your website. If you
wish to get the most from your website, you can involve an SEO specialist.