The value of top search engine rankings is a no-brainer for any company which benefits from search traffic. I hope by addressing some fundamental principles you’ll have a better understanding of how to make your site perform better in search results. This process is referred to as search engine optimization, or SEO.

All of the elements included below are things you should be able to modify yourself with a basic website editing program (I like Adobe Contribute), without having to get a web developer or programmer involved. It’s important to remember, too, that this article is titled “The Basics” for good reason; there are many other known elements that contribute to search engine rankings which are more complex and technical to approach (I’ll address them in future articles), so be sure you keep realistic expectations.

How Search Engines Work

All search engines have their own mathematical algorithm which defines a value for each element of your site to arrive at how closely your website matches any given search that someone runs. For example, one search engine may give a higher value to the heading of the page, while another will give a higher value to the page title. Unfortunately, we don’t know all of the elements that search engines consider in their algorithm or what value they place on each element; these are closely guarded trade secrets.

Search engines use computer programs referred to as “spiders” which constantly “crawl” through your website and across the Internet. The more “spider food” you can offer to the spiders, the more they’ll like your site and the more information they’ll have to accurately index and rank your website.

A Word of Caution

Two things are very important to consider before you go too nuts trying to achieve a top ranking:

1) Search engines are smart. Don’t attempt to fool them by trying to exploit a known ranking element. Search engines catch wise in a hurry and abuse will lead to your site being dropped like a bad habit. I’ve literally seen companies ruined overnight this way.

2) Remember that websites are designed for people, not for search engines. It’s easy to get zealous in your attempts to better your ranking, only to decrease your sales conversions because your website is so user-unfriendly.

It’s All About Keywords

As you’ll read below, the common elements of basic search engine optimization are keyword consistency and prevalence throughout your site and individual pages. Choosing your keywords and phrases is very important, and should not be approached haphazardly. The SEO-conscious entrepreneur should start each project with keyword research, which will guide the rest of the site development process.

As search engines have gotten better and better at reading websites to decide how to index them in the search results, content elements of the site have become very important to the overall optimization success of the site (content=extra tasty spider food). That’s why identifying and utilizing your top keywords throughout your content and other SEO elements is so important.

Keyword research is an extensive subject, and will be approached in greater depth in future articles.

Search Engine Optimization Basics

Alright, let’s look at some basic elements that will impact your search ranking, in no particular order.

Domain Name
Your domain name is your www.whatever.com. Search engines have gotten good at reading these, so it’s important that they contain keywords pertaining to your product or service. For example, www.DMCS.com means nothing to a search engine, whereas www.PrivateScubaLessons.com is illustrative of a well-chosen domain name. (Rock on, @ScubaDivaLaura!)

Page Name
The page name is the actual file name of each webpage of your site, which trails the domain name. On a static site, it might be www.domain-name.com/this-is-your-page-name.htm. This is another place to be sure the name contains keywords that pertain to your page. A bad example would be “products.htm”, whereas a good example would be “cheap-golf-swing-training-products.htm”.

Page Title
The page title is what shows up at the very top of your Internet browser window, above the address bar. It should be unique on each page, pertain to the content of each page, and try to pull-in some keywords to match the other elements of your site/page. Something nondescript like”About Us” won’t help your ranking.

Headings/Headlines
It’s important to understand that a “headline” to a person is not necessarily a “heading” to the search engines. Just because it’s big and bold and at the top of your page doesn’t mean the search engines will recognize it as a true heading. Search engines look for the content contained between heading tags in the code, such as <h1> or <h2>, to determine which chunk of content is the primary heading, the secondary heading, and so on. Most website editors will automatically insert the correct code tag when you use the text formatting options in the editor, often found in a drop-down menu.

(common text formatting)

Headlines currently seem to be given considerable value in primary search engine algorithms and should be chosen carefully. Imagine for a moment, that the only element you could assess a webpage with is the headline: “Welcome To Our Website” wouldn’t tell you anything, but “5 Tips for Reading Faster” would tell you exactly what you’d expect to find on that site.

Sub-Headlines
Sub-headlines give you another opportunity to tell a person or search engine what they’ll find on that page. You can be a little bit more lengthy with your sub-headlines, but don’t go overboard writing a full paragraph in Heading 2 or Heading 3 format thinking you’re doing yourself a favor.

Content
As I mentioned above, search engines have gotten very good at reading content and assessing for themselves what the page is offering. Be direct about what you offer and sprinkle keywords (tasty spider food) throughout, but remember that it must read well to a person, not just to a search engine.

This is easier said than done. One of the most common failures I see online now, is someone who tried to “keyword pack” their website content to the point that it reads like a broken record, usually something like:

“Welcome to Cheap Tropical Cruises, your source for cheap tropical cruises. Are you looking for a cheap tropical cruise? You’re in luck, we offer cheap tropical cruises, so call us to book your cheap tropical cruise today so you can go take a cheap tropical cruise!”

Yeah, you get the idea. Don’t be that person.

Anchor Text
Anchor text is the term given to written content that is also a link. For example, these linked words in blue are anchor text: Elegant Website Design Portfolio. Understandably, when a search engine reads anchor text, it expects to find what the words are describing on the page being linked to. Wouldn’t you? Be sure you’re linking the keywords in the phrase for the benefit of the search engine, even if the user might be perfectly capable of clicking something less prominent. If you say “Click here to learn more about our water rights mediation services” and only link the “click here” you’re missing a golden opportunity; linking the keyword phrase “water rights mediation services” will be seen much more favorably by the search engines.

Image File Names
Keeping with our theme of treating each element of your website as a description of the content represented by keywords, image names should not be overlooked. While a person will see and understand what an image is showing, all the search engine sees is an image file named “DSC13285.jpg”, which doesn’t tell it anything. Name your images thoughtfully, like “remote-car-starter.jpg” or “junior-golf-swing-coach.jpg” instead.

Image Alt Tags
Any decent website editing program should allow you to add an alternate tag to the image when you insert or edit it. The “alt” tag is the text that displays if the image is not available. This tag facilitates visually-impaired people to use your website (which by itself should help your ranking), and it also adds another element that the search engines understand. The tag should be descriptive of the image as well as incorporating your keywords. For example, “The x-model small day hiking backpack for women”.

I hope this gives you some tangible tips as well as some philosophical insight for search engine optimization. Please leave comments and questions below!!!

These three sites offer similar features, such as profiles, status updates, ability to post links, etc., which makes it easy to erroneously see them as redundant. So in preparation for the presentation I gave at the Colorado Entrepreneurship Marketplace not long ago, I decided to address their different “personality characteristics”, rather than address the features each site offers. That approach seemed to click with people and I thought I’d expand on my slide from that presentation here in this article.

Comparing LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter

Relationship-building
I’m a firm believer that business networking isn’t about who you know, but how well you know them. All three sites offer pretty good tools for building stronger relationships with your network.

Interaction
Networking is defined as “… exchanging information or cultivating relationships for business”. Obviously, in order to network, you must first be able to interact.

Least Distracting
Most people fear that social networking will take over their day and lead to total and complete distraction from their work, so I felt this was an important characteristic to include. Note the correlation between interaction, noise and distraction: Anytime you have noise and interaction, you’ll have more distraction.

Most Professional
LinkedIn certainly leads this charge. You won’t often see many “Going to the store to get kitty litter.” messages here, like you will on Twitter. The site centers around credentials, skills, references and cross-network referrals, thereby encouraging more professional interactions.

Most Viral
No, I’m not talking about the likelihood of catching Swine Flu from Twitter. “Viral” is a term we use in the Internet realm to describe how quickly and broadly information is organically spread between users. That funny email you got that was forwarded to you by your coworker, who received it from their friend, who received it from their brother in-law, and so forth, is a good example. Your coworker’s friend’s brother in-law didn’t ask or tell them to forward on the message; each person chose to do so, feeling that the people they were passing it on to would find value in it.

Viral marketing is the Holy Grail of Internet marketing. Getting regular Internet users to spread your information simply because they find value in it and choose to pass it on isn’t easy. That’s why it’s essential to bring value to the interactions you create, not only to build a stronger relationship with the person you’re interacting with, but also because the more value you bring the more likely it will spread virally.

Least Noisy
It’s hard to talk in a room where everyone is talking and it’s hard to listen and participate in a certain conversation when there are lots of other conversations going on around you. Just like in the “real world”, you’ll find lots of “noise” in social media.  Through practice, you’ll learn to filter out the noise in order to participate more effectively in the conversations that will serve you.

Most Flexible
Flexibility is being able to interact however you choose. For example, the features of Facebook give you a lot more options for how you interact than the 140 character limit of Twitter.

Network-building
I define network-building as both strengthening and broadening your network, and I believe it’s better to have a stronger network than a broader one.

In conclusion, it’s useful to note that none of these characteristics are inherently good or bad, so don’t try to think of them that way. All we’re after is understanding what to expect and which tool will serve you better for different interactions.

For anyone who has known me long enough or heard me speak, one of the consistent grumblings I make is about the lack of common sense in many Internet marketing approaches, usually supported by the quick-talking, sales-focused communication styles of self-proclaimed Internet marketing gurus. I encounter these people daily; people who exude the antithesis of techniques and values which I hold dear and are often identified by a “trust us, we know best” attitude.

Admittedly, I’m not an all-star sales-person; I’m not the guy who can sell water to a well. But I am a consumer, a business strategist, a statistics analyst and a person of integrity. Those qualities combined, I have some strong opinions about how business should be conducted, about what it means to create long-term loyalty, and about harboring societal values which cultivate a sense of global humanity.

Indeed, these values which I hold are a reflection of something more than money, and won’t connect with the person who cares only about the dollar. Greed is pretty low on my list of business objectives. Can I get a hoorah?!

With an eye toward establishing long-term growth and cultivating lasting customer loyalty, let’s take a look at some blatantly bad “marketing” behavior which lacks common sense:

Don’t Talk At Me
Engage with me. Connect with me. Listen to me. Find a way to help me.

Don’t Convince Me
If you’re trying to convince me, you’re not listening to my concerns and addressing them. If your product/service is of value than simply listening and addressing my concerns will illuminate the value.

Don’t Mislead Me
Even if my examination is discovering shortcomings in your offering, that’s an opportunity for you to improve. I don’t expect anyone to be perfect and some humility and desire for improvement goes a long way in building a long-term relationship.

Don’t Hype
You may be the best there is, but let other people say it. Self-proclaimed status is meaningless in today’s world where countless people are declaring themselves an expert, maven or guru.

Don’t Promise What You Can’t Deliver
I’m more likely to work with you for your solid skills, rather than your appearance of grandiosity.

Don’t Gloat
In the ever-changing online world, not many people stay on top for long. I’d rather work with someone who works twice as hard to achieve the same result as the guy who works half as hard, because the guy who works twice as hard is more likely to adapt twice as fast to changes.

Don’t Guilt
If your oldschool-style sales copy is still inviting my guilt for not buying into your offer, you’re only driving the nail into your own coffin.

Don’t Rush
I’m not in a rush, you don’t need to be either. If I have a need and I think you can satisfy my need, I’ll engage with you as long as necessary to ensure the need is met thoroughly. Rushing me only shows you care more about the immediate sale than the long-term relationship, which works against you.

Don’t Waste My Time
I’ll tell you what I need, you tell me what you can do for me. If it’s a beneficial relationship it’ll flourish, if it’s not the right fit, let’s move-on.

As was stated in the first paragraph, marketing is a process; a process which can and should reflect your values. Anyone who tries to convince you otherwise in order to be different, stand out, and make sales should be avoided. Want to be different? Try being real! And remember, a little common sense goes a long way!