Some SEO Tips

I’m a
ghostwriter but I’m also an SEO writer (that’s search engine optimisation, or
optimization if you use American spelling!)and so I try to keep up with all the
latest trends. Judging by some of the forums I visit, SEO experts are a very
clever, lively and knowledgeable bunch but they are often in disagreement about
what techniques to use to achieve good rankings.

By ranking,
in this case, I am referring to where your website comes on Google’s results
pages, not the PageRank. Basically if your site isn’t in the first ten results
for a key word or phrase then you have failed. Most people never look beyond
the first page.

In SEO, as in life, I am in favour of keeping it simple. I think things can get
incredibly confusing if you follow all the latest twists and turns of the
Google algorithm. There are about 100 different factors that search engines use
to determine rankings. I have to look at a LOT of sites on a daily basis. Many of these have
terrific products or great information, but they are not ranked. Being a bit of
an anorak where the internet is concerned I tend to ask people about their
sites. 'Do you have keywords or key phrases in mind?' and 'How did you choose
those?'  I'm quite surprised that IF people  have given key words and
phrases any consideration have often arrived at them by, say, brainstorming a
list with friends and family or colleagues at work. This is fine, but they then
don't take the next step. My next question is usually 'So how do you know
people are actually looking for those words?'

This is a key question. It doesn't matter how many words and phrases you can
list if no-one is actually looking for them. And people do NOT look for the
things you think they do. You'd be surprised at the kind of search terms people
type into search engines.

So what conclusion can we draw from this? The keywords 101 if you like. OK
let's sum it up like this:

• You need to target just a FEW key words or
  phrases for each page, maybe just one or two. This means your site may end
  up with more pages, but they will be more targeted.
• Try to use your keywords in the page
  description, the title and the first line of your text. Don't go mad and
  use the phrase a million times as you'll get penalised. Write natural
  useful text in which your target phrase appears no more than 5% of the
  time.
• If you have photos then rather than upload
  them as xyz564.jpeg write a text description using the alt tag. This is to
  help visually impaired people, so make sure the text describes the image! You
  can add  keywords but just once on a page is fine as Google and other
  search engines are allocating less value to this and even penalising sites
  that overdo the keywords in alt text technique.
• You need to make sure people are actually
  looking for these phrases! A very useful free tool is Google’s adword
  tool.
• Don't forget that many people search by
  using phrases and questions rather than just single words. In fact, I read
  somewhere it's estimated that nearly half of all searches are 'unique' and
  use phrases or questions.
• Misspellings are good sources of keywords.
  A good example is the Italian city of Siena, which is often spelled Sienna
  in the UK.
• People also type badly or too fast. (I'm
  so guilty of this!)'SEO copywriting' for example may end up as 'SOE
  copywritting'.  I'm not saying you should necessarily work these into
  your text, poor spelling and typing look unprofessional, but if you have a
  blog or readers comment page then it is quite a good idea to let
  misspellings and mis-typed words stand.