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THE BUSINESS COLUMN
I am really getting into something called ‘search-engine optimisation’ – which is a fancy term for how to get search engines like Google to list your website before anybody else’s when a Web user does a search – and thought it could be useful to run through some of the different tips I have picked up. I am not saying other search engines aren’t important, but the most important search engine of all is Google. So how can a small business with a website get Google to fall in love with its site? Here are seven things you can do.
1. Learn about tags. One of the first things you should do is learn about things called ‘meta tags’. Meta tags are ‘data describing data’ that provide a sort of shorthand way for Google to understand, classify and rank your website’s content and relevance. How they are worded can make a huge difference to how highly you rank in results of search requests. For search engines, the most important part of any website is the title tag. You should use your page’s main keyword in your title. Try to use your main keyword near the beginning of your title, and perhaps again near the end. But always strive to make your title readable, and not obviously stuffed with keywords. Your description tag also plays an important role in making your website more attractive to search engines. This tag is used by most of the search engines in their listings; so you need to spend some time getting this right. Think of meta tags as being a bit like a headline for an ad or leaflet. Your description may take some time to work out. Start with a list of all the benefits your product or service offers and then try to write 20 different descriptions for your site based on those benefits.
2. Make your website copy count. Your website copy consists of the words on every page of your site. Try to make it interesting and informative. One simple way to arrange your articles is to use a simple, three-step format. Begin with an introductory paragraph that tells your visitor what you are going to tell them. Then, in the next two or three paragraphs, tell them. Finally, wind up the article by telling them what you just told them. This may seem overly simplistic, but it works. When writing your copy for each of your pages, make sure to focus on one or two keywords per page.
3. Understand what ‘keyword density’ means. In order to optimise your website copy, you also need to establish something called a ‘keyword density’. It is generally felt that between two and five per cent is about the right amount. This means that for effective search-engine optimisation your main keyword phrase should appear around three times for every hundred words. It is actually better if you can start and end the first paragraph with your main keyword… but don’t worry if you can’t.
4. Try and get other sites to list your site as a useful site to visit. One-way links of this type are more valuable than reciprocal links.
5. Don’t forget to use local directories. If you are marketing to a local market, then make use of local directories. How do you find them? If, for example, you are located in York, then go to Google and search for ‘directory + York’. Whenever you find a suitable directory, submit your website to it.
6. Include a proper sitemap and a Google sitemap. Every website should have a sitemap. This is merely a directory of all your site’s pages with links to every one. You should have a link from every page of your site back to your sitemap, and your sitemap must be updated when a page is added. A Google sitemap is also a sitemap, but one that is in a special format that Google can easily spider. This means that Google will instantly be able to see your site and evaluate it.
7. Add fresh original content to your website on a regular basis. Your website should never be considered finished. It should always be a work in progress that is constantly expanding with fresh and original content.
Sue Waddington