Website optimization tips

Organic Search Engine Optimization involves making a website search-engine friendly in such a way that the search engines see your site as the best choice, when someone searches for a specific keyword or key phrase. Of course, every search engine has its own algorithm to decide this, but all of them follow basic approaches like content optimization and link building for link popularity.

So here's a look at website optimization. Your website design must be search engine friendly. Here are the top SEO techniques for your website: 

1. Focus on the title tag
2. Make use of the description and keyword meta tags
3. Include alt attributes on images
4. Use title attributes and descriptive text on links
5. Make a sitemap
6. Include content that relates to your website/business  
7. Build links, especially quality one way links from high PR sites.  
8. Use social media
9. Try and avoid jazzy Flash or splash pages. 

The latest update is that Google and Yahoo! don't use the keyword meta tag any more - but it still obviously helps to do keyword research and find the ones relevant to your site to generate targeted traffic. Also - other search engines do still use the keyword meta tag - so don't let go of it yet.

Elements of SEO

Effective Search Engine Optimization or SEO combines different activities. This includes on page and off page factors. Here is a quick look at the key aspects:

Analyzing the competition/industry

As with any promotional activity, industry/competition analysis is essential as this helps determine link strategy for the website, an insight into what keywords the competition is using and how they rank in the Search Engine Results Page or SERPs.

Keyword analysis

Choosing the right keywords and keyphrases is one of the key elements of SEO. When the right keywords are targeted, it ensures that only targeted traffic is directed to the website. Targeted traffic is likelier to convert into customers, resulting in profits. After building a list of keywords, there has to be an on-going analysis of which search terms receive the highest/lowest hits, individual keyword analysis, search context analysis and an analysis of any search term errors.

Improving and tweaking Content

The next aspect of SEO is modifying the web content so that search engine spiders can easily index the website. The content is rendered search engine friendly by using the chosen keywords at the right density, including appropriate title, meta and heading tags, so that the website's ranking in improved. The search engines love a site that continuously updates its content.

Link Building

As a critical aspect of SEO, link building impacts a website's rankings with the search engines in a big way. There are several strategies that help build links. Getting quality backlinks is a time-consuming activity but the time investment is certainly worth it. Linking to high PR (Page Rank) websites carries a lot of weight with the search engines.

Benefits of SEO

The most prominent benefits of SEO or Search Engine Optimization are:

High Return on investment - ROI 
Whatever currency you deal in - you will enjoy a higher return on your investment through SEO. Beats any other kind of marketing strategy, any day.

Consistent positioning
When you have a well-designed, optimized website online, SEO will give you better ranking in the long term compared to paid advertising like PPC.

Targeted traffic
That Holy Grail of all website owners - targeted traffic - is a direct benefit of SEO because SEO helps increase the number of visitors that are actually looking for what you are offering, right now.

Better online visibility
SEO brings your website better visibility

More sales
As more targeted visitors drop by, the better are your chances of more sales - and more profits.

Faster loading pages
A well optimized website with keyword rich content means faster loading pages, and better usability for visitors, and faster downloads.

Cost-effective
SEO is perhaps one of the most cost effective ways to increase your ranking and promote your business

Wider reach
With SEO you reach your target market easily and also make yourself accessible to them.

Easier for search engines to rank you
When well-optimized, with all your links working efficiently, your website pages will be easily accessible to the search engines, enabling them index your site quickly.

Quantifiable results
This is perhaps the best part - you can measure the results of your SEO through search engine reports, visitor conversion, etc.

Do write in - and let me know other benefits you have enjoyed through SEO!
 

Is SEO absolutely necessary?

No website or blog can ignore the concept of SEO or Search Engine Optimization. The reason is obvious - if a website or blog do not receive visitors, they might as well not exist. A majority of visitors arrive at a website or blog via the search engines - therefore, making friends with the most prominent search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. makes complete sense. 

Search Engine Optimization - SEO - involves a variety of strategies.