For beginners the process of getting a business up and running on the Internet can be challenging enough without worrying about website optimisation. In today’s competitive market, however, no business can afford to ignore the importance of having your site listed on search engine results pages.
For this reason, it would seem like folly to ignore all free search engine optimisation analysis available. Be aware that SEO is an ongoing process and that however good the help you get from SEO services is, you’ll need to know how SEO works and maintain your site regularly with it in mind. Here are ten hints that should help you on the path to success.
Watch Your Speed
Google and other search engines send spider programs that take note of the time it takes for pages on your site to load. It’s important to make sure that your pages load quickly and to that end, make sure you’re using a good quality server. Remember users also appreciate pages that load quickly.
Link Only to Good Quality Sites
Who you link to is more important than who links to you in the eyes of search engines. Avoid any links on your site that lead to spamming or link-farm sites, as users will follow them and decide it reflects badly on you, and search engines will decide the same and penalise you. As with all areas of SEO, you need to see maintenance as something to think about on a daily basis. Make sure your links are always up to date, working and good, and introduce new ones as often as possible.
Stick to the Name you’ve Chosen for Your Site
Think very carefully about the name you choose for your site, because changing it after time can be disastrous. From the beginning you’re scoring points and earning a reputation with search engines, all of which is instantly lost when the name of the site is changed.
New Domain vs. Old Domain
Think very carefully before purchasing a new domain. There are cases where you have to, of course, and if this is the case then so be it, but doing so can mean a very long delay in getting listed. Recent figures suggest that users with new domain names should expect to have to wait between 9 and 12 months before appearing in the top 20 results for any keyword. You might decide that it’s much more beneficial to purchase an old or expired domain and work from there.
Be Innovative When It Comes to Keywords
Realistically, the most popular keywords are unlikely to help you straight away. When we type the word ‘music’ into a search box, for example, we will get a long list of well-stabled sites. It’s a good idea to add words to the keywords you choose to feature. Instead of just ‘music’ for example, feature ‘alternative country music’ or ‘music for relaxation’. Many high positions on results pages for less popular key word phrases is much better than just a few top 200 rankings for something extremely popular.
Follow the Advice of SEO Experts and Make Your Site ‘Spider-Friendly’
Ways of doing this include providing an HTML only version of your site that spiders can explore more easily. Avoid flash, java and frames to give spiders the best chance of reading your site effectively. Make sure spiders receive any special instructions through the special text file intender for their benefit.
Promote Backlinks
Any free search engine optimization analysis will highlight possibilities for improvement by taking greater advantage of backlinks for offpage optimisation. They’re links to your website from others in the Internet, and they’re valuable because search engines take special notice of the quantity and quality of links that exist to your site. Links you pay for tend not to be very useful in these terms, as search engines are savvy and know what to look for. Links from educational websites are very beneficial. Content management systems can help you to get the most out of backlinks.
Last But Not Least, Never Attempt to Over Optimise
You might wonder how it could be possible, but too many people get carried away with optimisation and realise only too late that their site’s ruined. Remember that as a rule search engines want to see a site that’s user friendly, and that by pleasing the real people who visit your site you’ll be pleasing them and getting results too.
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