SEO Demystified
Demystifying Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
1. To make it in search engines like Google, you need a readable site, and
links pointing at your site from other places on the internet.
2. Your site has to tell the search engine what it is about, and it has to be
specific. The links pointing at your site have to tell the engine what the site
is about.
3. Many useful and popular sites get their links from people who recommend them.
Most of the time this is done by providing a free service, or helping people
find what they want to buy.
4. If your site is not likely to be popular, you will need to get links through
one or more channels just to get rankings.
5. Search engines match up links with site content and code to build its index.
Content must be original. (There are big exceptions, but usually they involve
established online giants.)
Everything else in SEO is based around these principles, and sometimes it is
counterintuitive. This is because people abused search engine loopholes in the
past. Therefore, most SEO involves avoiding penalties that can hurt your site
even if you are not trying to do something wrong.
Site Readability:
If the search engine spider can't read the content on your site, you are not
going to get found. Sometimes your site is written in code that is hard for
search engines to read. Sometimes the pages of the site aren't permanent, so the
engine won't index them. Once the site can be read, you have to make sure every
part of your site fits into defined categories. You need to ensure that each
page is relevant to a specific topic, subtopic, or product, and that multiple
pages aren't saying the same thing. Think of your website as a directory, with
the general topic on the homepage, specific topics on category pages, and so on.
Another way of thinking about a website is an organizational chart for a
company, with different departments for each section. In this manner of
speaking, you wouldn't describe the forklift operator in the same way as the
finance manager.
Links:
Search engines use links to your site as endorsements. If a well respected
website like the New York Times (we are talking about Google respect, not any
other kind) links to you, then you have a big endorsement, and your site is more
likely to be found for its topic. You also need lots of small links, because if
you only get links from top sites, you look suspicious. If a top media source
suddenly makes a hero out of someone you've never heard of, then questions are
going to be asked. This is the same with search engines. If there is a good
grass-roots level of interest in between big endorsements, then your site can
become popular even if it is brand new. If people keep linking to your site,
then it will move up in the rankings, but (as stated above) the site content has
to agree with the links.
Knowledgeable people in SEO use a variety of tools to find out how to structure
your site to receive relevant traffic. They look for link opportunities, and
avoid pitfalls. In many cases a site can generate a groundswell of popularity by
starting with SEO and then by becoming a brand, or a trusted resource. In other
cases continuous SEO is the cost of doing business, because your competitors are
building links all the time, and if you stop you will fall behind. Just remember
that your competitors are doing SEO because it works, and even though there are
no real secrets to great rankings, there is a great deal of skill involved, and
experienced Search Engine Optimization professional have a distinct advantage
over amateurs
Notes and Special Information
Special note: in search engine optimization, the rules change every day, and sometimes twice. In the past, a Google update lasted months, but we have seen rankings shift on a daily basis. Therefore, a good site today is imperative despite any other factors, and the time to get started is now!.