The wonderful world of SEO

Search engine optimization is truly big business.   The process of making websites search engine friendly, has undergone several changes over the years, and so it is important that if you are planning to optimize yours or a client’s website, that you are abreast of the changes.

In 2006, Google, stopped using keyword density as the main component when assessing relevance to a website following a  related search engine search.  This may seem odd at the outset, as surely the content of the site dictates how closely related the search engine search term, and the search engine result are related?

Problems arose when programs were developed that could write high density keyword articles with a few clicks of the mouse.  Though the articles were laughable to human beings in terms of how they were written, and their relevance, search engine robots however, loved them.  So more and more computer generated articles began to pull through on searches, as articles could easily be added that bore no relevance to the website or what it was about very easily.

In response to this problem, Google changed how it ranked websites, by determining how well linked they were from other websites.  The more relevant, and the better quality websites that had a link to your website, the higher up the page rank your site travelled.

So linking now determines page rank.  The thing to bear in mind about linking is this:

-Free company directories from a website are not rated as highly as some other links.  Though some directory links are rated more highly than others.

-National and local press are considered good quality links

-Links from the same kind of company or organization are considered good quality links

How to build good link campaigns for search engine optimization is a trick in itself.  Many SEO companies will feature this prominently when search engine optimizing your website.

There are certain companies that specialise in the area of link campaigning, and if you are unsure about how to go about utilizing campaigns, this could be a good area to explore.  Companies of this nature will have advanced knowledge of the better sites to place links, and have the connections to do so.

So what of title tags, meta data, and optimized web copy?

Well in essence these are very important components to search engine optimize a website.  They provide Google and other search engines information on what your website is about, and what its relevance is to the search engine query.  In effect, it allows you to hone in on your chosen markets, and point your website in the right direction.  Without paying attention to these elements of search engine optimization, you will not find yourself very high on the page rank, if at all.

A note about meta data

Many search engine optimization articles, do not attach much value to meta tags, and though search engines do not use them to determine page rank, good meta data can make your website stand out from the crowd.  A good description can make all the difference to whether you get a click in your direction.  So when considering what to write for a meta tag, try and make it stand out in your chosen industry.  If you feature something that your competitors do not have, state it.  You’ll get more hits this way.

Therefore, search engine optimization needs a holistic approach.  Everything has to be in place for it to work, and without one of the elements the whole search engine optimization effort is for nothing.

If you think of search engine optimization as a car, with the link campaign as the engine, and the title tag, meta data and optimised copy as its navigation, then you are on the right lines.