by Bonnie Boots
Because Google is the most-used browser, it’s vitally important that you have a good relationship with it. If you have a web site or a blog, it’s likely you’ve already introduced yourself to Google, either by submitting your website URL to them, or by creating a Google Sitemap for your web site.
By introducing yourself to Google isn’t a “set it and forget it” prospect. It’s a relationship you have to work at.
In an effort to always be improving the results it delivers to people, Google is constantly tinkering with the way it searches and indexes information. That means the rules that run Google the day you first submit your web site will surely change in the future.
And that means that you should check in with Google every now and then to make sue you still have a good relationship with it.
Any time I read a news story that says Google has changed the way it indexes web sites, I make a point of looking over my web’s meta data.
Meta data is the words that are put into the web site especially for search engines to read. I look at that meta data and ask myself,”Is there anything I can add or change to improve my relationship with Google?”
I checked my meta data a few weeks ago after hearing Google had made some changes. I ran a Google search for the keywords I used to describe The Internet Wizards Magazine and much to my surprise, my web site didn’t even appear in the first 2or 3 pages of results.
I’ve worked hard to build a site rich with original content and all related to a single topic–making your own products and marketing them on the internet. So I was surprised to find that people searching on that topic wouldn’t find out about me from Google.
I took a good look at everything that goes into the home page of my web site–the page Google considers most important for meta data–and found a few things I should change.
The next morning, I again ran a Google search for my chosen keywords. This time, The Internet Wizards Magazine turned up as number two on the first page of Google search results.
That’s how people achieve the results they crow about in seals pages titles “Find out how I went from zero to Number 1 on Google—OVERNIGHT!”
The fact is, it’s not hard to do if you just pay attention to what Google really likes–actual content–and you pay attention to a few basics of SEO–Search Engine Optimization.
If you’re eyes are rolling back in your head at the mere mention of SEO, don’t be afraid. The fact is, there are 3 VERY simple things you can do to make sure you’re on good terms with Google. In fact, if you’re not already doing these, adding them will almost instantly improve the way Google thinks of your web site.
It’s fast, it’s easy, and –since I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it yourself–free.
Here we go:
Look at the html that makes up the home page of your web site. If you’re using a WYZIWIG “What You See IS What You Get” html compiler, you’ll need to look at your home page in html or “code” view rather than “design” view.
At the top of the page, you’ll see a couple of words between “tags,” the little marks that look like arrows pointing right or left. The first “tag” word will be , followed by . After that, you’ll start seeing the meta data I want you to pay attention to right now.
Tip Number 1: Make sure your page title is written for search engines AND human readers.
Most people name their pages for people. If the page has an article title “12 ways to spoil your dog,” people will make the meta data page title “12 ways to spoil your dog.”
The thing to remember is that BOTH people and search engines read the page title. So it should contain both a brief article tile AND a list of keywords. Or, if you like, it may contain ONLY keywords. It’s up to you.
What you want to consider in writing your page title is that the search engine is most interested in your keywords, which it will use to sort and index your page.
And then you want to consider that human beings will read your page title when it turns up in search results. You want the tile to be informative enough that people looking for your type of information will click on it.
Here are bad and god examples:
“The Internet Wizards Magazine” …is NOT a good page title. Yes, it’s the title of the magazine, but it doesn’t give the search engines the keyword information they like. And it doesn’t tell human readers what the focus of the magazine is.
The Internet Wizards Magazine–product creation + internet marketing” is a good page title. It tells the search engines what keywords I think best describe my content, AND it tells human readers what the focus of the magazine is.
Don’t get all stressed out about finding the very, very best keywords. You can always change them later, when you know more. Right now, just think about what the actual topic of your web site. Then write down the words or phrases you think people are most apt to type into Google when they’re searching for the type of information you have.
Think of it like writing a personals ad. You want to tell Google, in a few words, who you are (your page title) and what you’re most interested in. (your keywords) so the people most likely to be attracted to you can find out about you.
Tip #2: Make sue those keywords appear in the last 25 words at the very bottom of your home page.
Scroll down to the very bottom of your home page. Look at the last 25 words on the page. Do you see your keywords there? If you don’t, then you’re not playing nice with Google. If your keywords appear among the first 25 words and the last 25 words on the home page, then Google gets all happy. It feels convinced that your web site is deeply committed to the topic of those keywords. And because Google wants to deliver actual content to searches, it looks on your web site with great approval, knowing you’re one of the good ones it can recommend.
The easiest way to get your keywords into the last 25 words on your home page is by including them in your copyright information. If you look at the html view of The Internet Wizards Magazine home page, you’ll see that this is, in part, my copyright statement:
All web site design, text, graphics, and the selection and arrangement thereof Copyright © 2008 Bonnie Boots. All rights protected. All wrongs avenged “http://www.theinternetwizards.com” A lively, personal look at product creation + internet
Marketing
You see how the top meta data and the very last line on the page are almost identical? That pleases Google no end.
To better improve your relationship with Google, look over your home page and find one or two more places that you can use your keywords. You don’t need to overdo it. One more use if fine. Two is OK. Any more and Google may suspect you’re trying to do something tricky and think twice about giving you it’s nod of approval.
These 3 simple changes–writing a new page title, adding your keywords to the top meta data and the bottom line of your web page–are very easy to do and bring immediate positive results. So, would you believe they are amongst he most overlooked SEO techniques? Put them into your web site today, and you’ll take a giant leap ahead of all the other people that don’t pay attention to the little details that make Google like you.
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