Every search
engine has different ways they determine relevancy of web pages for a
search query. Therefore, universal truths about improving site ranking are
almost impossible to relate. Even so, improvements in the wording of page
titles is one technique that applies to most search engines.
Many sites do not take into account the importance of
the title tag. In many cases words are used that have little to do with
the site's content. The same title might even appear for every page in the
site. The title of the web page is one of the first things the search bots
"see" when they index a page. Therefore it is an excellent idea
to give the bots relevant food to return to the search engine.
It is better to use a few choice keywords in the title
tag, and have a different title for every page. Higher search rankings are
achieved in this manner than with a generic description. It also helps
refine which titles work best for each search engine so improvements can
be tracked and modified. Below is an example from my home page.
<TITLE>Arkansas
Valley Web Works, web design warehouse, free graphics, stories.</TITLE>
Only seventy (70) characters are allowed in the title
by most search engines. Those characters should be chosen carefully.
Spaces in the title are also considered characters.
Meta Tags: Meta tags are descriptive words added to
the <HEAD> portion of a web page to
help boost site listings in search engines. A few years ago the strategy
was to come up with as many words as possible to include as
"keywords" that were relevant to the content of the site in
question. That is no longer the case. That practice is called meta tag
pollution, and is not a good strategy to improve rankings.
Five (5) to ten (10) keywords are better is use than
many words. More words can be used, but after ten words or so they carry
less weight with search engines. If too many words, or too many of the
same words are used, they become diluted and lose almost all the benefit
of including them.
Improving site ranking is an ongoing process. Many
folks give up after a few short months. With so many search sites being
added every day it is tough to achieve satisfactory results. The best
advise is to keep refining the "keywords" until they work best.
It is no easy task.
Link Tags: Link title tags are added to hyperlinks
in code. When a visitor rests their cursor over a text link, a pop up
message appears on the screen. Yet one more opportunity to load up the
keyword laden phrases. Make your message pertinent and to the point, and
don't overload too many words.
A link tag for Web Page Help might appear like the
following code. Substitute your own words for "Web Page Help".
<a> href="Web
Page Help.html title="Web Page Help,
Arkansas Valley Web Works.">Web Page
Help</a>
Inserting Alt Tags Using HTML View: Alt tags are
similar to link title tags in that a pop up message appears on the screen
when a visitor hovers their cursor over an image. If you don't customize
the alt tag it will appear anyway after an image in the code as the name
of the image and its file size. Alt tags are yet another trick web masters
use to include keyword laden phrases on web pages when graphics are
included; and they should be placed on every image for search engine
optimization.
An alt tag for our logo on the top of this page appears
like the following code. Substitute your own words for Arkansas Valley Web
Works, Professional Web Designers and you're on your way. You'll also
notice how the graphics is named Web_Designers_logo_1.jpg to add yet more
keywords. Substitute your own words between the quotes, after alt="your
text".
src="Web_Designers_logo_1.jpg"
alt="Arkansas Valley Web Works,
Professional Web Designers."
Inserting Alt Tags With the Image Properties Dialog
Box: Right click on an image on the web page you're working on. Choose
Image Properties from the choices. Choose the General Tab. In the
Alternative Representations portion under text type in your choice of
words rather than those present. Click OK.
