The Nuts and Bolts of Optimizing Your Site

2. Use Keywords and Target Phrases

• Embed keyword phrases and different combinations of keywords in page content.
• Use your target phrase throughout your site: in tags, especially in the page title and description tag; in content, especially in the first paragraph of your home page; and in link text.
• Keywords should be found in actual text on the page.
• Use keywords in Web site domain names, page title tag, Meta description tags, Meta keyword tags, image names, image “alt” tags, link text and file names.

3. Make Your Content Count

Make Your Content Information-Rich

Search engines are text based and search your site for text and descriptive words. You can help your site rank higher by doing a few simple things such as:

 

• Use a descriptive header at the top of your home page.
• Use information-rich content — text that relates directly to the subject of your page, especially on your home page.
• Experts recommend a minimum of 250 words per page.

Headers, Keywords and Bullets

• Make text easy to scan by using descriptive keywords, headers and bullets.
• Repeat keywords and keyword phrases but make sure your copy still “reads well” to human visitors.
• Use keywords and phrases that you have also used in title and Meta tags in page text.
• Use bullets for key points.
• Use a hyphen ( - ) instead of an underscore ( _ ) in page names.

Spelling Counts

• First impressions are lasting impressions. A spelling or grammar mistake can make even a great web site look less great. This may seem obvious, but run a spell check of your text before taking your site live.