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Archive for the ‘seo’ Category

For a long time now, I have wondered whether Google considers how often your site is visited via a direct click on a search engine results page.  For example, if a Google user enters search term X and your site returns on the first page.  The user then elects to click on your link (instead of the other nine on the page).  Does Google consider this in evaluating the future rank of you page?  It seems like a fairly objective measure of the appeal of your site’s description when presented on a page against nine of its competitors.

I have yet to fully explore this, but I do have some semi-empirical evidence to suggest some correlation. 

About three months ago I started two blogs.  They were both on the same broad topic.  I was the sole writer for each and kept the post rate constant.  SEO work was identical for each.  Each now has about 15 000 words on the same subject matter. 

Until a month ago, they were both returned in the SERPs at about the same position for the same search terms.  However, an article on one blog contained a slightly different keyword variation for the post topic.  This subtle variation in the keyword meant there were more collisions with a popular search phrase and therefore a few more Google clickthroughs (this was reflected in looking at traffic and referral statistics). 

This small perturbation seems to a contributed in a very disproportionate way and the blog in question now ranks far higher on many search terms, sometimes on page one or two of the results for quite general terms, and also a good deal higher in Google Blog Search than its sister blog about the same topics.

I realise it is difficult to definitively establish whether this factor alone was responsible for the sudden upturn in the SERPs, but given all else was kept fairly constant and the very marked nature of the change, it might suggest that clickthroughs are a ranking factor.

Working towards optimizing a site for search engines is an ongoing task simply because search engine algorithms are continually evolving.  However, there are several basic aspects of on site SEO that all should adhere to.  In this series of blog entires, I outline some basic SEO best practices that will help establish a foothold in your selected niche.  Each entry contains five onsite SEO recommendations.

Optimize HTML <title> tags on a per page basis
Be sure to compose unique <title> tags for every page of your site.  Ensure that these <title> tags include one or two of your target keywords or keyphrases and that the keywords or keyphrases appear in their leftmost position.  For example, “Cheap Gymnastics Leotards” is better than “A Broad and Varied Range of Cheap Gymnastics Leotards“ if you are targeting cheap gymnastics leotards.  Although a matter of some debate, some suggest keeping <title> tag content between 48 and 72 characters.  The text in the <title> tag can appear directly in SE search results, so making it relevant and compelling can increase SE traffic.

Optimize HTML <H1> tags on a per page basis
Utilize unique <H1> tags on all pages and ensure they include the page’s target keyword or keyphrase in the left most position.

Unique HTML META Keywords per page
Ensure you use unique META keywords relevant to the page content.  Avoid too much repetition of individual words and certainly avoind keyword-stuffing.

Unique HTML META descriptions per page
Use unique META descriptions per page.  Use target keywords and phrases in the leftmost position and avoid overrunning about 72 characters with target content.

Unique descriptive HTML ALT tags on all images
Since SE spiders do not read text contained within images, HTML ALT tags provide you a opportunity to tell SE spiders what your images are about.  Be sure to use unique, descriptive and keyword-rich ALT tags on all images.  Avoid repetition and keyword-stuffing.  Make your ALT tags easily readable, single sentences.

SEO activity can be divided in to two broad categories, namely, offsite SEO and onsite SEO. 

Onsite SEO refers to all the methods used in the design and presentation of your site in order to enhance its appeal to search engines and spiderability.  Onsite SEO includes tweaking hundreds of factors that can increase the quality of information search engines retrieve when visiting your site.  There are no magic formulae for these elements, but using them all appropriately can lead to significant gains in search engine rankings.  Onsite SEO factors include (but are not limited to):

• choice of text within HTML h# tags (for example, <h1> or <h3> tags).  Do not overuse h1 tags, one per page;
• choice of text within HTML title tags.  This should be unique for each page on your site;
• keyword density within HTML body tags.  Historically (and, perhaps, anecdotally), a density of 3% to 5% evenly distributed on pages of over 200 words was thought to be near optimal, although this is near impossible to assess objectively;
• strong relevant internal linking.  Breadcrumb style sub-navigation on pages can strengthen internal linking;
• choice of text within HTML META description tag.  This should be unique for each page on your site;
• watch out for broken links within your site;
• keywords in HTML <strong> tags;
• use an up-to-date XML sitemap;
• use an up-to-date HTML sitemap;
• place target keywords high up on the page;
• customize 404 pages to include links back to principal areas of your site’s navigation structure;
• use unique and relevant HTML ALT tags on all images;

These are several of the more important factors that influcence onsite SEO, many of which we shall return to in more depth in ensuing articles on this blog.

Offsite SEO refers to the methods employed to improve search engine rankings by maximizing the influence of factors outside your site’s home domain.  For example, building strong, relevant inbound links from other domains/sites.  The principal object of offsite SEO is quality link building.  Link building has evolved to become a full and separate discipline within SEO and we will return on more than one occasion to tackle the many aspects of link building in future articles on this blog.

Ordinarily, onsite SEO should be undertaken before proceeding to offsite SEO efforts and are usually quicker and easier to perform.  Offsite SEO efforts are usually divided in to mid- to long-term projects.