SiteProNews: 05/09/03 Feature Article
Article printed from SiteProNews:
http://www.sitepronews.com HTML version available at:
http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.htmlThe Ten Search Engine Commandments
by Anthony Kavas ©Copyright 2003
Thou shall not overlook the POWER of the search engines!
After all - where do over 80% of Internet users look before
finding the web site of their choice?
Here are 10 tips that will help you on your journey toward
search engine heaven!
#1 -
~~~
Thou shall not -
Try to trick the search engines with techniques such as
invisible text. This will only make your journey a difficult
one. Try to work together with thy search engine brother, and
HELP them to find your web site's useful content.
#2 -
~~~
Thou shall not -
Fill thy "meta keywords" with useless words such as "business",
if your site is about "computers". Be kind to your search engine
neighbor and try not to confuse him. These days, it's virtually
impossible to be placed for "business", if your site is about
"computers"! Narrow your focus, and you'll start to notice that
it was MUCH more difficult to be a "jack of all trades", yet
master of none!!
#3 -
~~~
Thou shall not -
Submit thy site more than ONCE a month! Search engines are very
strict about SP@M. If you've been submitting your site every
day, chances are that you have been banned by the time you
read this article! If you are currently using a search engine
submission/optimization provider like Guaranteed Top-20.com,
be sure not to sign up for any other service or submit the site
yourself. Doing this will most likely ruin your chances for
placement.
#4 -
~~~
Thou shall not -
Repeat keywords right next to each other! Make sure to include
each keyword only ONE TIME! Too many people make the mistake of
repeating keywords over and over again.
For Example: "computers, business, computers, components,
computers"
This is a HUGE mistake, and will only ensure that you end
up at the BOTTOM of the list!
#5 -
~~~
Thou shall not -
Use the same keyword list, and "title", for every page! Each
one of your pages can get placed for a different keyword. Don't
"sell your pages short". Besides, one page on your site might
be seen as more relevant for a particular keyword when compared
to another.
#6 -
~~~
Thou shall not -
Submit dynamic pages such as ASP, or Cold Fusion, because most
search engine spiders can only read basic HTML pages. If your
site was developed in a language other than HTML, make sure
that there's AT LEAST SOME static content for the spider to
read.
#7 -
~~~
Thou shall -
Write relevant, useful content that pertains to your web site
and it's keywords. Whatever you do, make sure that writing
educational, informational, and useful content is your FIRST
priority. Search engines cannot read your pretty web design,
graphics, or FLASH. The only thing that is of use to them is
your content, and the code that verifies what each page is
about ("meta keywords", "description", "title", "alt tags",
and the list goes on..).
Be Specific!
Tell your users what each page is about and include the
keywords a few times within the text. Do not repeat your
keywords excessively- but make sure to include them!
#8 -
~~~
Thou shall -
Make all pages accessible to the search engine spiders within
1 or 2 levels of the home page. Even better, if you make a web
page with a list of every page on your site (kind of like a
"site map"), then the search engine spiders have a way to find
all of your content!!
#9 -
~~~
Thou shall -
Attempt to get reciprocal links between your site and other
sites in the same industry. This should be easy, as it will
benefit both your site AND theirs. Link popularity is one way
in which some search engines judge what your site is really
about. Web sites with more "link popularity" can place higher
on some major search engines.
#10 -
~~~
Thou shall -
Be patient! You will not achieve top placement overnight. You
might not even get placed at ALL for months! The major search
engines can get backlogged or full and sometimes will not even
accept your submission. One thing that I've learned is that
successful search engine optimization is a time consuming and
laborious task. You must be patient and will learn the most
about it mostly through trial and error.
CONCLUSION:
These 10 Search Engine Commandments are just a very basic set
of rules for your web site to live by. There are so many other
crucial factors involved in achieving Top-20 search engine
placement, and I've covered all of them for you in an easy
to understand format at:
http://www.SearchEngineSchool.com .
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope
that it has helped you.
================================================================
Anthony Kavas is the Co-Author of
http://www.TheSearchEngineSchool.com , and President/CEO of
http://www.GuaranteedTop-20.com . He has been closely studying
the major search engines since 1997, and achieving top-20
placements for clients on an unbelievably consistent basis.
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